Okay, those boys over at Essex must just be plumb exhausted. Three matches in three days. Two 20-20s and a tour match. Not an easy stretch.
But, I guess, they do get paid a handsome salary just to play cricket here and there, so I don’t think they can complain too much. (However, if they are risking injury by playing so much, then that is a worthy exception to the above.)
Which brings about an interesting point: what do average county cricketers earn? Is it on par with, say, minor league baseball players here in the states?
I did a bit of googling. It seems the Players Cricket Association has recommendations for county clubs based on age, you can find it here. Though it seems as if, despite the fact there is a salary cap, most wages are not disclosed, and it can vary widely from county to county. The bottom looks to be around 10k pounds for an 18 year old rookie, with the top at around 100k for a world class international cricketer. As such, it is more like Major League Soccer here in the states, which also has a real gulf in salary, with the youngest players earning less than the average 3rd grade public school teacher – which, christ, is at it should be.
Also, it seems a fella can make quite the decent living simply playing international tests and ODIs for his country.
Back to the pitch: yesterday Essex stormed back to defeat Middlesex at Lord’s. Based on what I was reading on Twitter, it was quite the rockus atmosphere at the old ground. I heard estimates between 11,000 and 15,000 fans in attendance. Which, as it was pointed out to me, is more than they had for any one day of the first test in Cardiff.
Today there is a full slate of FLt20 matches, with Middlesex traveling down to Brighton to play Sussex at Hove. First ball in four and a half hours.
Next: this is something I just do not understand. The anti-technology stance on the part of almost all of sport’s governing bodies, at one time or another, just boggles my mind. With so much money involved, shouldn’t it be absolutely paramount to get the call right?
They get this in the NFL, Rugby Union, the NBA, the NHL, and heck even Major League Baseball, the old-timiest of all the old-timey sports, got on board in the last few years. But FIFA and now the BCCI just refuse to see the value in GETTING THE CALL RIGHT. Again, my mind, it boggles. Boggles it to point where I need to type in all caps, old man style.
Finally today, the ICC Intercontinental Cup starts on 06/21. More about this tournament next week, as it is just one more international tournament featuring lower level cricketing nations that I just do not get the point of. I look forward to diving in head first.
Oh, and peaking at the future series page over at Cricinfo reveals other interesting happenings in the world of Associate Nation cricket: Nambia in Ireland, Holland in Scotland and Ireland, and the UAE in Kenya. Hey, Cricinfo, send me to ball by ball these, will ya?
Until Monday, here’s a question: what does it cost to live in one of the places overlooking the Hove County Ground? Because, you know, that would be sweet.
Limited Overs 