Posted by Technically all the players’ injuries are unrelated to playing back to back Tests, because they’ve not actually played the second one yet. We don’t care. We’re blaming the scheduling because we hate back to back Tests.
There’s also the fact that for half this match, people will be saying ‘back to back Tests are hard on the bowlers’ as the poor sods labour away. Even if they’re not tired, everyone thinks they are and every batting achievement is qualified and less worthy as a result.
Tests are special. You have to put space around them.
Apart from anything else, it puts players with niggling injuries in the invidious position of having to choose between their long-term fitness, and playing for their country now now now. It smacks of abusing the players’ dedication.
In baseball it’s more or less expected that the vast majority of pitchers will break down before the natural end of their career, thanks to the relentless scheduling. Is that what we want Test cricket to be? And if it is, aren’t even more players going to forsake it for the short form?
Also, and far more importantly, it confuses the shit out of me when Tests start on a Friday. This will not stand!
Considering this is the decider, (not that the organizers knew that it was going to come to this),
a few more days of anticipation, aggravation, grandstanding by captains, heroes recovering, back-stabbing by their rivals (well … by Twatto, anyway, whom I’m sure books media appearances simply for the purpose of undermining his fellow team members – first Hughes, now Lee. Team unity was always good before this wax model got a foot back in the door)
and earnest soul-searching by the English press as to whether your fans were, in fact, always as boorish as ours, along with some finger pointing, in the Indian tradition, that we started it first (we cant help being trend-setters)
would have set the scene nicely for a ripper. As it is, both teams go in half-done and confused. Perhaps it will rain?
(apologies for the excess wordiness (no, I’m not Indian) , but I never comment on English blogs during matches, so you’ve got it all in one package
Oh it’s fine, we need these back to back tests to fit all those very very very important ODI’s (8) and Twenty20’s (2) in before we head off to play even more cricket in the VERY IMPORTANT Champions Trophy
ARRRRRRRGHHHH!
And dont get me started on back-to-back test series….
Price, are you saying you didn’t enjoy the nineteen consecutive international matches we played against New Zealand, or the sixteen consecutive international matches against the West Indies?