Beyond the Boundary
Our game is under pressure, which is no surprise. The demands on how, where and who we play become more demanding; the competitions with red, white and pink( ugh!) balls ever more competitive. At times, the razzmatazz, TV, social media and over-the-top pundits surrounding us seem almost gladiatorial – is this really the Oval or does it feel more like the Forum? At such times, as ' gentlemen ', we must work harder to appear as such. So here are two gripes I continually shout about at the TV screen …
‘ Don ' t POINT!’ You all know what I refer to – the widescale abuse of the‘ raise the arm vertically with the first finger extended’ to signal your agreement to the echoing appeals around you. Now, we have even‘ our’ ICC Elites pointing towards the offending and soon-to-depart batsman as if it were personal:‘ I am giving YOU out, so on your bike!’ This is so wrong. For a start, it infringes our neutrality; we surrender the technical clarity of the signal for a gesture of ill-will. It must stop. So ICC Elites and ECB First-classers, please give us a better example to follow.
The second gripe is also one you are aware of – and highlighted recently by Howard from Herts among others – but here is a different slant. As gentlemen, it behoves us to look the part. Gone is the era of long, below-the-knee butcher’ s white coats – though, heaven forfends, I did see the 20-year-old‘ National Grid’ version still in use recently! My point here is that we are not meant to look like coaches; there is kudos in looking as if you have been at-one with the boys on the training ground, and that is fine for them that do that and wish to. We are not coaches, and yet, when we started our search for a kit supplier 10 years ago, we were told that the one chosen for us was because the contract for ECB coaches had been awarded there. That was the first battle we lost. Next, style and quality. It is a documented fact that we discussed, to fine detail, a deal with a few leisurewear specialists( notable among these was Lands ' End) who could easily provide from existing ranges quality polos, shirts, chinos, fleeces, hats and bags. But to no avail; second battle lost. What then ensued was three years of skirmishing, seeking to have every item offered to us improved to the quality we knew it should be. I will not go further with this detail or the outcomes, save for the one comment about pricing. It is the same‘ taxation’ argument as
applies to VAT; would you rather that those who make the purchase pay the premium, or would you rather have that‘ tax’ distributed throughout the entire membership?
Oh, I do have another gripe. This time it’ s about other people doing us all a huge favour. When will the Premier Leagues force each club to provide a qualified umpire and scorer – or face losing league points? Currently, many choose the sanction of a £ 25-or-so fine, but this does not work.
Time to ratch it up a bit then? Pierre Tartari
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