What is wrong with the English ?

[Skater]

It's because Sky Steals the cricket from live TV, and the money the ECB earns from it goes into peoples back pockets

No, that isn't true. I reckon most families in the country can afford Sky Sports, and there are loads of subscribers. The money from the TV deal, which is incidentally a lot more than was involved in the 4 deal, is put into grassroots cricket like Chance to Shine.

 

[Ollie_H]

It's not highly irrelevant. I'm trying to prove that everyone has influences to them.

 

[Adarsh]

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, being surrounded by water, are quick and flexible people who are good swimmers and climbers and such, cause that's in their genes as it was how their ancestors used to survive. With those skills. Hence you see a lot of good fielders.

India and Pakistan have a mix of the agile type, and the powerful type through the Sikhs and Pathans as they used to work in the field a lot and do a lot of heavy-duty work, meaning they have it in their genes to be strong and powerful.

I don't agree with that. A quick look at the Olympics will show how unsporty the guys from the subcontinent are.

Adarsh added 1 Minutes and 43 Seconds later...

It's not highly irrelevant. I'm trying to prove that everyone has influences to them.

Don't take this personally, but talking about an issue that has nothing to do with this topic shows nothing.

 

[Ollie_H]

But you are talking about external influences! Everything around us influences us! So just saying that being around asian people makes you play cricket is more of a generalisation. There are a lot more than just the asian immigrants that play cricket in our country!

 

[Sureshot]

Let's talk about external influences.

The external influence being that the Asian generations/communities were influenced by the spreading of the game by the Empire. They would never have known about Cricket without it.

Though I think we are treading on xenophobia quite dangerously.

As for not producing World-class sportsman/cricketers. Flintoff anyone? I shan't take it any further because it is a truly ridiculous statement that is xenophobic and ignorant of the facts.

 

[Adarsh]

But you are talking about external influences! Everything around us influences us! So just saying that being around asian people makes you play cricket is more of a generalisation. There are a lot more than just the asian immigrants that play cricket in our country!

If you think using a completely separate issue that may have "external influences", not even merely using it as an analogy, is a good way to debate this topic, then you're wrong.

Stop saying the same thing over and over again! I never said that just those influenced by asians play. Other people play too. I don't deny that. Goodness...Now let's actually discuss the issue at hand like the other posters are doing instead of pretending nothing's going on.

Adarsh added 2 Minutes and 4 Seconds later...

I meant world class teams, not players. Apologies, it was an honest mistake.

Adarsh added 1 Minutes and 52 Seconds later...

Let's talk about external influences.

The external influence being that the Asian generations/communities were influenced by the spreading of the game by the Empire. They would never have known about Cricket without it.

Though I think we are treading on xenophobia quite dangerously.

As for not producing World-class sportsman/cricketers. Flintoff anyone? I shan't take it any further because it is a truly ridiculous statement that is xenophobic and ignorant of the facts.

True, but ironically it can be argued that the colonies (Australia, West Indies, India) now are much more interested in cricket, and have produced better teams, than the English. Why is that so ?

 

[Sureshot]

World class teams, like Australia? I really don't need to say any more, do I?

Maybe the Chance to Shine foundation should be replaced with a rehab program to see if any of our prisoners can play Cricket.

Just joking, before anyone takes that seriously.


Edit: Because we have Football.

 

[Themer]

So themer how did you get come to know that?

I saw it in a documentary a while back, they think thats what causes Ice Ages and things like that. Its not relevant to this at all lol

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I knew Asia's horribleness at the Olympics would crush my theory...

World class teams, like Australia? I really don't need to say any more, do I?

Maybe the Chance to Shine foundation should be replaced with a rehab program to see if any of our prisoners can play Cricket.

Just joking, before anyone takes that seriously.


Edit: Because we have Football.

You have football, yet England couldn't qualify for the Euro Cup and haven't won a world cup in ages.

And a handful of world-class players doesn't cover up the massive amounts of players who didn't acheive a lot in all forms of the game. Flintoff and KP are the current English players you could class as great, compared to Ponting, Hayden, Hussey, Marsh, etc. from Australia, Dravid, Sachin, Kumble, etc. from India, Murali, Mendis, Vaas, Sanga, Jaya from Sri Lanka, etc.
All countries, maybe barring WI, Bang and Zim, have more players capable of being classed world-class in their team than England does at the moment, despite that England has the best domestic sturcture (Maybe second to Aus).

The only country which England have beaten frequently are the Windies - just above Bang and Zim in the ICC table - and the Kiwis, that too only in tests, not their best format.

Other sports aren't so rosy either. What is the problem behind that?

 

[Ollie_H]

We're just generally rubbish at sport.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

We're just generally rubbish at sport.

Admitting the problem is the first step to curing it

Now that's what we want to find out in this thread, why? Why is England so crap at sports (Particulary cricket) when they have such great domestic structures in place?

 

[sohum]

I agree with the post someone made about culture.

Although the English came up with cricket (and most sports, actually) the only sport that seems to have stuck on them is football.

Australians have a strong sporting culture, which is why they are dominant in many different sports.

India and to a lesser degree other subcontinental nations have a strong cricket culture. Cricket is not just any sport, it is the only sport (at least in India). With that sort of addiction, you are bound to produce many players.

English cricket was momentarily revived with the Ashes victory and, ironically, the introduction of Twenty20 cricket. However, injuries, lack of success and a haphazard selection process seems to have done them no good at all.

 

[Ollie_H]

To be honest our domestic structures aren't actually that good. The English football league has 4 major teams that always dominate. The English rugby is possibly the only good one.

 

[DPRA]

I think the main factor you have to look at is the weather, and Adarsh, seeing you live in probably the worst place in the UK (Have a look where Im from and you will know why I say that! )

With football, 9 out of 10 times the games go ahead even if the rain is heavy, apart from when it rains so much that the pitch turns out like this:

http://20072008season.fotopic.net/p49013171.html

But, with cricket, a little bit of rain can end the game ( where as in India, the weather is hot most of the time, over here you just don't know, I have been stopped playing cricket many times this year from the rain.

A couple of indoor cricket pitches and we will be fine!

 

[Adarsh]

The English Premier League is arguably the best in the world.

The infrastructure is brilliant, but there are just not enough quality cricketers coming through.