First of all, here are some proper Resolutions, as this is the season for Resolutions:
1. Eat fewer nuts. (This is the only personal one, don’t worry.)
2. Stop writing bullet pointed articles. (Starting tomorrow.)
3. 1,000 words a day, five days week. This is the important one, the really important one. I have been rather prolific, posting wise, over the last few weeks, and that not only needs to continue, it needs to increase.
School starts back up in a week, and I cannot let that get in the way of posting. I would also like to start posting more at home, rather than at work.
4. Attend an actual match. Whether it be in England, Australia, or Bangladesh, I need to make this happen. I also want to attend far more matches here in Minneapolis. The MCA plays every weekend on fields not a 25 minute bicycle trip from my house.
5. Get 200 followers on Twitter, at least 60% of which need to not be Spam-bots.
6. Be more active in the cricket blogging community. Read, link, comment, like. There is so much great amateur cricket writing going on these days, I need to celebrate that.
7. 1,000 words a day, five days a week. 1,000 words a day, five days a week. I hate to repeat myself, but this is really the important one. However, I cannot always expect that to happen. 600 words is fine here and there, as is taking an entire day off.
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The good news is that there is a TON happening on the pitch this year, and so there will be absolutely plenty to talk about.
Test series in 2012 include (in no particular order): the remaining three tests between Australia and India; Pakistan v England in the UAE (three tests); England v Sri Lanka (two tests); the West Indies and South Africa are in England for three tests each; and finally England travel to India for four HUGE test matches.
Also: Australia travels to the West Indies in the spring for three tests, they host South Africa for three, and Sri Lanka is down under for three tests, as well, the first of which is the Boxing Day test (the other two are in 2013.)
Meanwhile, India, on top of the test matches already mentioned, host Pakistan for three, go to Sri Lanka for three, and host New Zealand for three more.
South Africa join in the fun with the aforementioned matches in England and Australia by hosting Sri Lanka for three, and they go to New Zealand for three this upcoming spring.
And we are just getting started. Pakistan go to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; the West Indies host New Zealand and travel to Bangladesh; and the minnows in Zimbabwe host Bangladesh.
And those are just the test matches, as I am not going to even begin trying to list all the ODIs and t20s.
The only drawback? Not one five-test series among the lot.
Note: all of the above is based on information from ICC’s Future Tours Programme, which is surely subject to change.
Which ones am I looking forward to? The ones I can watch, of course. All the home matches of England, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand are live on Willow.tv (the last two are the most important, as they are on during prime time hours here the states.) ESPN3 will have all of Bangladesh’s home matches, as well.
Of the matches I cannot watch, the India v England tests will be a treat, as will the India v Pakistan series.
Oh, and finally, on the international scene, there is the t20 World Cup this summer in Sri Lanka.
Meh.
Domestically, we will have another IPL, another Champions League, plus a whole host of domestic t20 tournaments that feature international cricketers: the Bangladesh Premiere League, the Big Bash League, and the Sri Lanka Premiere League.
England of course will also host what will hopefully be another great year of County Cricket. The first Championship matches take place April 5th – just a hair over three months from now.
All right, that’s it from me until tomorrow, as I just found out that Fire in Babylon is available on iTunes, and I think watching that will be a delightful way to ring in the new year.
Happy new year, ya’ll.
I doubt India will actually host Pakistan. Not without some visible change in the political climate.
Good set of resolutions. I think 5 & 6 go hand-in-hand. Good luck with #3, hats off if you can pull it off!
You know, I questioned that, too, but the ICC’s FTP was current as of December 14th, and from what I can tell via the Internet, it looks like the two boards are still trying to make the series happen. But you are correct, it is probably doubtful. Unfortunate.