TOPIC:

FMD you would have to be kidding?!?!? No test against India at Optus. Although this has been telegraphed for some time, you'd have to say the WACA has failed in its advocacy mission if this is the result we get.

There are some disturbing noise coming through to the premier cricket clubs about reduced CA and WACA grants, delayed start to the season, possibly a reduced season. Cricket is looking sick in this country and if the Indians don't tour for whatever reason then that sickness might become terminal.

The thing I cant understand Dazz is where has all the money gone from CA?
The cricket season was barely effected by the Covid-19 pandemic as it pretty much hit here as the cricket season was winding up just a couple of meaningless one-dayers vs NZ were lost and the Shield final and last round and yet cuts are being made left, right & centre at CA and all of the state bodies, to me it suggests things were Crook in Tullarook before the pandemic conveniently hit.
Is it in anticipation that there might not be a T20 World Cup here this Summer & potential Indian tour being called off?
Sheesh imagine if this CV hit at the start of a cricket season (like it has for footy) what sort of mess would they be in?

And as for the Gabba being chosen ahead of Perth Stadium as a Test match venue this Summer for the Indian series you have to wonder if CA are even worse run then their football counterparts?

Beasley Hutton wrote: The thing I cant understand Dazz is where has all the money gone from CA?
The cricket season was barely effected by the Covid-19 pandemic as it pretty much hit here as the cricket season was winding up just a couple of meaningless one-dayers vs NZ were lost and the Shield final and last round and yet cuts are being made left, right & centre at CA and all of the state bodies, to me it suggests things were Crook in Tullarook before the pandemic conveniently hit.
Is it in anticipation that there might not be a T20 World Cup here this Summer & potential Indian tour being called off?
Sheesh imagine if this CV hit at the start of a cricket season (like it has for footy) what sort of mess would they be in?

And as for the Gabba being chosen ahead of Perth Stadium as a Test match venue this Summer for the Indian series you have to wonder if CA are even worse run then their football counterparts?

Spot on mate. That is the $64m question that CA refuses to answer. We know some of the $100m+ they had in reserve went up in smoke gambling on the stock market but they have been incredibly unresponsive to that elephant in the room - where did the money go?

I know for the premier club I'm involved in we've been told to expect a 25% reduction in CA and WACA grants for 2020/21. We can probably cope with that but we know there are other clubs who are already struggling so what does 25% less mean for them? What will this mean for the premier cricket season, junior district cricket and community cricket? Well don't both asking CA because they haven't got a clue.

I think what this "crisis" has highlighted is how grossly incompetent so many sporting administrations are in this country. These not-for-profits become cash cows for fads, expanded bureaucracies and overpaid executive salaries in the good times and as soon as there is a hint of trouble - and as you rightly say, its not like cricket has been directly impacted yet - they turn toes up and cry poor. We must have some of the most inept sports administrators in the world running sport in this country.

Dazzler wrote: FMD you would have to be kidding?!?!? No test against India at Optus. Although this has been telegraphed for some time, you'd have to say the WACA has failed in its advocacy mission if this is the result we get.

There are some disturbing noise coming through to the premier cricket clubs about reduced CA and WACA grants, delayed start to the season, possibly a reduced season. Cricket is looking sick in this country and if the Indians don't tour for whatever reason then that sickness might become terminal.

The problem is I'm guessing it was India who said hey only wanted a 4 test series, maybe to their advantage and the other touring test nation is a cricket minnow. What happened to the days when we could pull two decent nations down under? They can't surely play a test against Afghanistan at Optus stadium? That will run at a huge loss.

Yeah, 4 Test series, 1 Test series what a load of shit. Problem we have now is SAf don't want to come for a 5-Test series because they want to play, naturally, at home for a Boxing Day Test, NZ similarly. Everyone in the Southern Hemisphere has twigged to the Boxing Day Test at home so that leaves us high and dry.

Zimbabwe might want to come but who wants to see them (apart from me)?

Dazzler wrote: Yeah, 4 Test series, 1 Test series what a load of shit. Problem we have now is SAf don't want to come for a 5-Test series because they want to play, naturally, at home for a Boxing Day Test, NZ similarly. Everyone in the Southern Hemisphere has twigged to the Boxing Day Test at home so that leaves us high and dry.

Zimbabwe might want to come but who wants to see them (apart from me)?

Would have to be better than Afghanistan you would think. Zimbabwe were coming along well I thought maybe 10 or 15 years ago now but Mugabe ran the joint into the ground. Now he's turned to dust maybe they have some hope although just as much chance another power hungry dictator has taken over.

Mate I went to Zimbabwe for work a couple of years ago and it's a fantastic place, great friendly people but ruined by greed and kleptomania. A more decrepit city you'd be hard pressed to find. Harare had a feel and look like Perth in the 1970s.

They've got one of the nicest cricket grounds in the Harare Sports Club that you could every wish to watch cricket at. Fantastic pub, The Centurion, attached to the ground with great viewing down the wicket.

I'd love to see Australia help this mob recover from their recent re-entry into International cricket. In fact they were supposed to be coming here in August to play a one day series in Cairns or the NT and I was planning to go and watch that series but haven't heard a thing from CA about it and of course no chance of it happening now.

Australia has a responsibility to help them get back as a Test playing nation in my view.

Beasley Hutton wrote: The thing I cant understand Dazz is where has all the money gone from CA?
The cricket season was barely effected by the Covid-19 pandemic as it pretty much hit here as the cricket season was winding up just a couple of meaningless one-dayers vs NZ were lost and the Shield final and last round and yet cuts are being made left, right & centre at CA and all of the state bodies, to me it suggests things were Crook in Tullarook before the pandemic conveniently hit.
Is it in anticipation that there might not be a T20 World Cup here this Summer & potential Indian tour being called off?
Sheesh imagine if this CV hit at the start of a cricket season (like it has for footy) what sort of mess would they be in?

And as for the Gabba being chosen ahead of Perth Stadium as a Test match venue this Summer for the Indian series you have to wonder if CA are even worse run then their football counterparts?

People have forgotten why players stuck up for better pay & conditions when Packer started up World Series Cricket. Players were treated like dogs whilst management lived the high life. This was Bradman's way. He deserved 1st class whilst players were 3rd class. Nothing has changed. We have it in ALL sports. Management think they are the reason why the team is successful. It is the same in business. Qantas pay about $15m for the Irishman. Banks do the same. We need more savings for the rainy day. PM gets peanuts yet bosses in companies get rich doing NOTHING. Players need to revolt. They make the cake so should get a bigger slice.. STUFF the CA, AFL Olympics, etc..

Australian cricketers (especially those lucky enough to be on CA central contracts) are extremely well remunerated, that is not the issue here.
Maybe they are too well paid with the likes of Smith, Cummins, Starc, Warner et al all on anywhere between $1-$4 million a year.
The money they have accumulated from vast TV rights deals both Domestically & Internationally, Sponsorships, Ashes Tours etc that should have had CA financially safe for decades to come if managed well has all but evaporated overnight and as Dazz has alluded too it would seem most has been gambled away on the stockmarket which has taken a massive hit with this current pandemic.

The sad thing about Southern Rhodesia was that, even had the British convinced the Rhodesian Front to hand the place over in the mid 1960s, we may have still got ZANU PF; a lot of black African opinion had hardened against the government back then, but even worse, Mugabe's crowd would have been ruthless enough to destabalise Nkomo and take power.

There are more whites in Northern Rhodesia today than in the the South. In 1965 there were around 300,000 colonials in SR. In the early 1900s, the colonials granted themselves 91 per cent of the land, hence the big farms. Even the Dutchmen to the south only claimed 87 per cent of South Africa for five mlllion whites (1987)