brought home to me again the fact that the current scheduling by the ICC is more reminiscent of the grotesque and brutal administration of NFL football by the americans.
the NFL is a brutal, atrocious plantation type of organisation, that has absolutely no concern for the welfare of the players in this most brutal sport ever...although this season the NFL is loudly singing this concern that they do not have, fining a lot of players huge money for supposed safety infractions, while allowing others, favourite sons, to get away with murder.
now we have in the ICC that same generally brutal attitude to all players, which includes racism and classism to degrees very similar to the american sport of football.
was it only in my mind over these past 2 days that the 'elites' were eager and besides themselves to send westindies players fo almost anything at all?
at the officiating level on and off the field the white cricket teams and players benefit over the blac teams and players. but at the labour table all the players are workers and on the opposite side to ICC admin, the work of which is always trending to malfeasance and abuse of players rights.
cricket administration as well as admininstration of american sports is hardly democratic, imposing itself on the game, on players, with the sole intent of profits and the workers and fans be dammned.
that first ashes test must have beena gruelling experience indeed for all all the payers. first england were down and had to fight back every inch of the way. probably the most easy innings was the last innings by Oz for by then all the players were exhausted and wanted only to be off the field, resting up somewhere easy and cool.
now just a week later here we go again for 5 more gruelling days. the players must still be weary from that first game, and such weariness is bound to affect the quality of play and the outcome of this game starting tonite, night our time!
I am totally opposed to the ICC and its scheduling of test matches around the world. it is ridiculous to have so much test cricket being played, wearying both players and fans alike. test cricket is being played in front of empty stadia all over the world. what keeps test cricket going is not the fans at gates chaffing to get in but probably the sponsorship of corporations.
international cricket is simply very poorly run, with its total focus on profits of any kind, willy-nilly search and experimentation for the most profitable format.... from the top down without the decisive input of fan and player interests at the decison-making table.
it is all very disgusting to me, and very tiresome indeed as I watch the natural cricket season overturned in the westindies and sri Lanka,exposing test cricket to monsoon and wstindian rainy season washouts. even in england when early tours are scheduled when the english weather is still too cold and wet from the past winter. there has been no attempt to alter the Australian season to suit ICC scheduling and I wonder why?
all of this is nonsense to me, quite counter-productive and is bound to end in disaster of some kind. international cricket for it to survive must develop fast some kind of sanity in administration while tying all of the current neo liberal, profit-mad, elitist goons out to pasture.