Much like a red-headed stepchild, this blog has been neglected of late. Ideas haven't been seen through to completion, and entrys have been started but remain unfinished. Jive dancing kicks off (if that's the right expression) next week though so that should at least get things moving again. Celeb sightings have also slowed to a trickle (although Matt managed to spot Simon Hughes and Liam Gallagher while he was down here. Not together. Now THAT would have been a story!) but I did walk past Martin Fry from out of ABC on Oxford Street earlier today.
The real reason for writing today though is to convey my delight about welcoming back an annual visitor. Influenced by recent media coverage, you might think of cricket as a year-round non-stop cavalcade of strange hairdos and burned bails. And in many respects it is. But what I'm talking about is the return of the County Championship, and, more specifically, Fantasy Cricket. The simple buzz of getting home from school, pouring a bowl of Weetaflakes (aka Advantage/Alpen Wheat Flakes) and sitting down in front of Ceefax to check on the batting progress of Peter Bowler or the number of wickets bagged by long-term favourite Chris Lewis may now be in the past, but the pleasures of Fantasy Cricket remain. I can now wile away whole afternoons repeatedly pressing 'Refresh' on the BBC website, watching impatiently as Stuart Law edges his way towards a ton. I'm obviously never going to be anywhere near the big prizes: you need to study the minutiae of the fixture lists as well as the weather forecasts and the dates of all of the weird little cups that international players are involved in for that. Instead, I have the annual struggle between father and son to keep me entertained. There are few more satisfying sights than seeing it flash up in blocky green Ceefax pixels that Dad's star batsman/Captain has been caught for a duck (double minus points!) by my wicket keeper off the bowling of my star bowler/Captain (double points!). Although the craze for 'Fantasy' versions of stuff seems to have peaked (anyone remember the NME's attempt? You had to create a band from Britpop-era stars. God knows how the scoring worked but I remember Shaun Ryder being a superb buy for my band, Lunch Box), the flame burns just as brightly in me. Dad, good luck & here's to another exciting season!
If anyone wishes to join in the fun (and after that tribute I don't know who wouldn't), the closing date to enter in the same league as us is May 3rd. Get in touch and we can spend the summer months debating the relative merits of Bilal Shafayat and Jamie Dalrymple.
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5 comments:
I admire your child-like enthusiasm for what must otherwise be a totally mundane and mind-numbingly boring experience of following county cricket.
Seriously though, I do enjoy a bit of international test cricket but wouldn't have the faintest idea about county cricket... do they still have to try and hit home runs? Also, I hope they've changed the rules so that it isn't always a team of 11 against a team of 2. It always seems so unfair.
Despite those names sounding tempting, I'll have to pass. I apologise in advance if this anti-cricket rant may cause offense. It's a fat man's sport (to play - I wouldn't dare call you chubby, Prof) and I can imagine that county matches are bordering on obese. The entertainment of waiting for a ceefax page to turn is about as exciting as cricket gets. What a slow sport. Apart from that 20/20. Or do I mean the cheap booze? I like the fantasy idea, but only if you can fantasise away the cricket element (no rude replies, please). So, thanks for the offer, but I'll stick with SPSS for the coming months.
x
Fools. I await a more intelligent response from Lord G.
Now then. Firstly I apologise for my absence.
Cricket is like a fine wine (no, this isn't going to turn into a soudbite from Swiss Tony...) The more you understand the subtleties and complexities (though I tend not to agree with ly Goulden in that a certain brand of beer tastes not dissimilar to Tupperware) then the more you appreciate it. True enjoyment is achieved when you understand all its nuances. So there you have it, me and Dr Willis enjoy and understand this fine sport. We're also Doctors. This makes us certified more intelligent than non-doctors. Perhaps the enjoyment of cricket is predicted my an intelligence measure?
;-)
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