Tuesday 27 August 2013

The Twelfth Post : Scotland and Netherlands Look Forward to a Future Without the English Domestic League.

Now that the remaining associate nations having been removed from the English domestic limited overs league (the YB40 formerly the CB40) I though a chat with each of the respective governing bodies would be in order to see how they felt about the restructure that removed them and where they go from here in their search for international growth and development.


Even when I introduced myself to the receptionist at Dutch headquarters and explained that I would like to have a chat with someone regarding their involvement/non involvement in the English domestic league there was a feeling of disappointment with the decision “Well, I don’t know much about it,” she said “besides that we’ve been booted out of it.” It was a sentiment echoed by Roland Lefebvre, National Junior Coach at K.N.C.B.
“We are very disappointed to have been kicked out of it.” He told me in pleasant and even tones. “There are now 12 games that are missing from our calendar. Games that are vital for gaining experience and exposure particularly for our younger players. These were some of the biggest benefits of being in the English league. Sometimes it can take a year or more for a youngster to develop his game enough to compete at a national level and these games were vital to giving that time to develop and grow. The regular intervals of games, highly competitive nature of them, high class opposition. It all went along to help bridge the gap between Dutch domestic cricket and international cricket. The platform is something we found very beneficial and something we will miss.

The issue of experience is one that was echoed by Ben Fox, Media Manager at Cricket Scotland.

(The Scots) At a time when Scottish cricket was looking to push through the professional barrier we were offered a chance to play in a professional league. Against opposition who do this, play cricket, every day. It was an opportunity we wanted to take to give a lot of our younger players a chance to test themselves against tough opponents and see if they could raise to the challenge. It was a chance to blood new players and let them see what was required of them if they wanted to make it to the top level. The chance to be able to play against top international players that were playing in the English county teams was inspiring for a lot of guys. Being able to chat with them after the games, pick their brains about various things was something that would never have been able to happen in Scotland alone at that time.  To be able to do this and play top cricket on a regular basis was what we were looking for and it helped immensely.

So experience was one of the major benefits of being involved with the English league but I wondered if there were any detrimental issues to being involved in with it?

(The Dutch) Well, probably just financial strain. Dutch cricket is still a developing affair and we don’t have large resources of funds to draw upon. Funding the travel to England to play the away games was a burden that could cost 40-50 thousand Euros over the course of the season.

The issue of financing travel was also a concern to The Scots as well as home players coming to compete against them.

(The Scots) Cost was always a factor. It was costly to go on tour to the English counties and when they came up here it was up to us to fund their stay in town. And with associate cricket there just isn’t much money around. So that was always tough. And when we first started in the competition the English counties didn’t really know what to expect and I think we had the advantage of their     overconfidence. They thought they could come up and easily pick off the plucky amateur upstarts meanwhile we could field close to a full strength national side as not many of our national team were on county contracts at the time. So we had the advantage of surprise on our side at the beginning and we were able to pick up a few victories as they underestimated us. But as time went on they were able to do better research on us and prepare better and then our better players would get picked up by the counties and offered contracts and before too long they would be playing against us. With the addition of the change of heritage rules by the I.C.C. recently allows Scotland to select players with Scottish parentage but born elsewhere to be selected for the national team, bringing our selection policy in line with the rest of the world, means that players like Matt Machan, Iain Wardlaw and others already in a county contract to turn out for our national team but be playing against the Saltires in the English league. It was a very different situation at the end than it was at the beginning.

Was the failure attract a genuine oversees star a problem?

(The Scots) We had Rahul Dravid from India for most of a season and he brought some star attraction for us and helped us win a few games too. His experience was a great thing for our boys to learn from at that time and many benefited from his wisdom during our time with him. But the thing about oversees professional stars is that you would have to pay them and money was always an issue with us as a developing cricket nation.  We just don’t have the payroll might of a team like Surrey who can afford to have a Graeme Smith or a Hashim Amla on their books. There’s just no way we could compete with that level of payout. Sometimes the professionals wouldn’t contribute that much to the team in terms of community. They would show up on game day, play, maybe win a game or two, and then disappear after the game. Not share that much with the younger guys in terms of experience or sharing knowledge.
In this last year of the comp we took the view of just using it to bed in some younger guys and give them a taste of what’s expected from them at the next level. It’s a shame that we didn’t pick up any victories this year, it’s the first year that the Saltires haven’t managed a single win, but we didn’t see that as a problem because the experience has done the younger guys the world of good and will stand them in good stead for the future.

Would you have continued to stay in the English league if they’d invited you too?

(The Dutch) Oh yes. I don’t know why they felt we wouldn’t be invited to participate again. I know they are restructuring the groups but I still feel that we could have joined them. It would be good if England took a more inclusive attitude to the associate nations on its doorstep like the Asian nations do. It seems that Afghanistan and other developing nations from that region are always playing competitions which involve the test nation in some form or other. Right now there is an emerging nations competition involving Afghanistan, U.A.E. and other developing cricket nations against the four Asian full members under 23 teams. England could be as supportive to its neighbour if they so choose, although they would probably not have the equal funds as some of the Asian nations have at their disposal.

The issue of continued involvement raised a more circumspect response from The Scots.

(The Scots) That’s a difficult one. I think that we at Cricket Scotland through our involvement in the competition had run its course. That it is time to move on to new challenges and start forging our way and concentrate on international cricket. We have a lot of cricket on these days too and finding time for all of it is something we have had to factor in. There’s a T-20 qualifier this year in November and if we don’t make the 2nd place in the world cricket league championship we will have to go to New Zealand to try and win our way in from that qualifying tournament in January. So it’s a busy winter and we often find ourselves playing cricket all year long. Plus the new Pro Series is giving us lots of cricket to keep up with and to keep challenging us.

While it was clear that The Dutch still wanted to remain in the English domestic league and The Scots were happy to give it a cheery wave goodbye I wondered if The Scots wished they had pulled out of the competition earlier?

(The Scots) No. we feel that it was good for the length of time that it lasted. That it has come to a natural end. It was good while it lasted, and it’s sad to see it go, but its time to move on.
Exciting time await us.

What now for Dutch/Scottish cricket?

(The Scots) Well, now we have to look to fill the gap in fixtures.
(The Dutch) Well, now we have to look to fill the gap in fixtures.

Filling the gap in fixtures is the tricky part though.

(The Dutch) Well, sometimes we have a very busy schedule and sometimes our schedule is quite empty.  It often depends on what qualifying events we have to attend. For example the world cricket league championship is wrapping up soon and depending on results in that will determine if we gain automatic qualification to the 2015 world cup. If we don’t gain automatic qualification we go to a further qualifying tournament in New Zealand in January. But that is one thing. Another is developing the Pro Series which we have already started with the North Holland Hurricanes and the South Holland Seafarers. We are looking at competing against regional teams from Scotland and Ireland and this could be the way to provide regular experience and competitive cricket at a high level and fill the gap left by been left out of England’s competition.

The Pro Series and potential Euro League is an attractive prospect for The Scots too.

(The Scots) Well, that is the challenge. There is now a gap of twelve games to fill. We obviously hope to attract some more full members to play us and of course there is the Pro Series that will provide high level competition for the players who are breaking through. There are even plans for a Euro League with teams from Ireland, Scotland and The Netherlands competing against each other. One of our teams, The Highlanders, went over to Holland recently and one of their teams visited us in Scotland to play some games against The Reivers and it seems to have been a success, so, that’s something hopeful and interesting for the future.

Will T.A.P.P. (Targeted Assistance and Performance Program) funding from the I.C.C. be used to attract international games?

(The Dutch) Hosting more international games against the full members is an objective but the costs involved are often prohibitive. We would like to hold some three game series but with the costs of a home series being met by the home nation it is often
out of our reach. T.A.P.P. funding could partly finance something like this but at the moment we are looking at developing our raising own domestic cricket level and also the Pro Series.

The Irish had been competing in the same English domestic leagues as The Scots and The Dutch but left the tournament in 2010 to focus their resources on international cricket. Is this the model to follow to progress?

(The Scots) Yeah. Probably. The Irish left the English league a few years ago to focus on international cricket and that seems to be working out for them.
We try not to look at Ireland through the green eyes of envy, but they are doing very well at the moment. We have always had a great rivalry with Ireland that dates back as long as anyone can remember and they are our natural rival in cricketing circles.
Mind you, we can all remember a time a few years ago when Scotland used to beat them on a regular basis and win all the trophies going. So hopefully we can get that cycle working in our favour again.
We will be doing everything we can to do so and also to close the gap between us and the full members.

(The Dutch)  I know that the Irish left the English domestic league after a few years because they had quite a lot of their own cricket lined up and though it would be better to focus on that rather than the county scene. They have been quite successful in getting full member opposition to play them, although, still not as much as they would like.
That is now the challenge for Dutch cricket too. We need to attract big nations in order to fill the calendar and to keep moving forward.
It’s an exciting time.

Both countries have admitted that missing the experience provided by the English domestic league will be something they will have to counter and both are looking to their respective Pro Series and the proposed Euro series to fill the gap. An additional drive to get top international sides to tour is a common desire too while both admit that this is a financial difficulty that is hard to navigate. The only major difference in thinking from each nation was in their point of view regarding the end of their involvement in the English league with The Dutch desiring to remain in it while The Scots are happy to call it an amicable end. Both nations will now have to forge their own identity internationally. One thing that is certain is that Exciting and interesting times lay ahead for both nations.


 

I spoke with (The Dutch) Roland Lefebvre, National Junior Coach K.N.C.B.  and (The Scots) Ben Fox, Media Manager, Cricket Scotland, both of whom graciously gave up some of their time to have a pleasant conversation with me and make this article possible.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

The Eleventh Post : County Memories.

With the Scottish Saltires’ ending their association with the YB40 English county domestic competition this summer, after ten years of involvement, the Cricket Scotland website encouraged fans and supporters to send in their memories of the competition and their highlights from over the course of their involvement in it.
It could be meeting an idol at the ground and discovering that they were everything you hoped they would be. .. or not! Or special Saltires’ moment; snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, a particular individual performance or even just mingling with the opposition fans.
I went for something a little more personal. 
Sometimes it's not about what you are watching, but who you are watching it with, or, how you managed to get the chance to watch it in the first place.


County memories.
I remember when the announcement was made that Scotland would be fielding a team in the English county one day tournament (the CB40 as it was then known). I was excited for Scotland, Scottish cricket and also for myself. This was a great opportunity for home grown players to bridge the gap between Scottish club cricket and the international world by adding a quality stepping stone of some high class experience. The chance to host some games on a regular basis would add to the exposure of cricket in Scotland too and with the rules allowing two international players in each team (added to the potential of England national players playing for their home counties when not on England duty added to the prospect of seeing some amazing international players that I would otherwise not have the chance to see play in the country I call home). All in all it was set to be an exciting time for Scottish cricket and cricket in Scotland. 
I looked on in envy as the schedule was announced and tried to set my work rota around when the home games were. At the time I worked as an underpaid, undervalued, assistant manager in a retail outlet in Stockbridge, struggling to make ends meet with the crushing weight of a mortgage and the tedious need to eat three times a day.  However, I did work close to where the games were due to be played at the grange ground and vowed that if I couldn’t get the days off I needed that I would rush round during my lunch break and peer over the wall, risking cuts from the surprisingly sharp and annoying holly trees (probably planted there by the authorities especially to discourage scallys like me from glimpsing some free high class cricket).
I remember when the supporter’s packs or members passes were announced. All ten home games included plus access to the members stand (the only place in the whole ground with any shelter providing welcome protection from the blazing sunshine we were guaranteed to get, and also offering one of the best/loveliest views of any cricket ground I have ever seen.) and also a nifty gold credit card sized gold members pass that you could whip out and show the security guard that would make him smile at you and politely move the barrier enough so you could swan past him like a big star entering the V.I.P. area of an exclusive club, leaving the hoi polloi behind, on the other side of the fence with the rest of the rabble, where they deserved to be.
AND on top of all that it ALSO included entry to the Scotland v. Australia full one day international!!!
And all for the ever so tantalizing, just out of reach (for a drone from sector 7G like myself), but actually really rather good value, price of £100.
I wondered how I could justify this expense to wife.
I’m no math wizard but I reckoned that if there were ten county games that I could go to that would make it a tenna for each game (saving about a third of each individual adult ticket) and then the international game against Australia would be FREE. Amazing value that just couldn’t be ignored.
I took this formula to the economic committee (the wife) and presented my case.
She said no.
I made a whining sound like a fan belt slipping in a car engine crossed with a cross two year old.
Wife said “If you can figure out how to squeeze a spare £100 out of this (she threw the household accounts at me) you can buy your bloody poncey pass.”
After several hours of juggling numbers, cooking various books and shifting decimal points and of forgetting to carrying the one, I went back to making the sound of a slipping fan belt and a terrible toddler.
Weeks go by and I continue to covert the gold members pass and the prospect of enjoying the debut season of the Scottish satires and all the promise of a bright future it contains while continuing to watch the bank account fail to grow enough to accommodate being a first hand witness of it.
Then one day, weeks after my birthday (the month after my birthday is not my birthday MUM!!!) my mother sends me a card. A birthday card. It contains a cheque. It contains a cheque for the precise and exact amount that a gold member’s season ticket to the Scottish satires debut cricket season in the English domestic league competition thingy would costs.
It must be a sheer coincidence.
Wife says “ohhhhh, that’s nice of your mum. You should put it toward something nice for yourself and not fritter it away on crisps and magazines.  Do you have any idea what you’re going to spend it on?
“Um, maybe.” I say rather sheepishly as a slow grin grows across my formerly forlorn features.
“Really?” replies wife. “HOWZATT”
I don't think I had smiled so much since I took 5 for 11 in a one day game when I was sixteen years old.


That reminds me, better buy her some flowers.


Friday 16 August 2013

The Tenth Post : What Would Moe Berg Say. Part Three.

In my attempt to meet one of my guitar heros, Mr Moe Berg from The Pursuit of Happiness I sent off my weird little letters to all sorts of places including all of his previous record labels. I didn't hold out much hope of actually getting a response from anyone, let alone the great man himself, and genuinely thought the closest I would get to my rock idol was this out of office auto reply from the maplemusic website. Mind you, you should have seen my face when this bounced back back to me ... well excited !!!

Hi there!
Thanks for getting in touch with MapleMusic.com's customer support! Our office will be closed Monday, May 20th for Victoria Day. Orders can still be placed during this time, but packages WILL NOT be shipped out until Tuesday, May 21st. We will do our best to respond to any inquires you might have as soon possible once we return on May 21st. Thank you for your continued support!
I regarded it as a form of success and at least I would have something to tell for my efforts rather than just a lot of dead air.
So, imagine my surprise and delight when I recieved this in my inbox the very next day from the lady who runs the bands website ...
Hi, Adam.
I've forwarded your email to Moe, and hopefully he'll have a chance to respond. All the best for your trip!
Peace,
V...),
Webmaster, tpoh.net
I honestly felt like I had won the jackpot and at least I knew that Moe was actually going to get a copy of the email I had written to him in his own personal email box. Whether he read it or ignored it (or read it then ignored it) was something else altogether.
I was over the moon. I quickly replied to her in my most charming manner I could manage, thanking her for even considering passing on my message and proceeded to offer her the most pathetic of bribes imaginable (some free tickets for the theatre where I work if, and only if, she ever found herself in Edinburgh, Scotland,  while there was a show being performed (in house productions only, not Friday and not Saturday night, pending availability and management approval.) How could she resist !!!
A few weeks passed and then, before I knew it, I was actually out in Canada enjoying a fabulous holiday with my Mother (who was out there on a year long teacher exchange) but there was still no reply from Moe.
I decided to send one last cheeky message to remind him that I still existed, was still interested in interviewing him and was only in Canada for a limited amount of time. so I sent the following email to all the possible contact address I could find ...



Dear Moe Berg,
My name is Adam Brook and I have previously written to you to request an interview with you while I am on holiday in your fine country of Canada for a few weeks June.
I have been in the Toronto area for about a week already and so far on my trip I  have seen Niagara Falls (an impressive amount/volume of water and an impressive waterfall), a baseball game (my favourite team (the Toronto Blue Jays) score an impressive 6-1 victory over  the Texas Rangers) and spent a lot of time with one of the most impressive ladies I have ever known in my entire life,  my Mother.
The only way this trip could get any better is if I could actually land an interview with one of the most impressive bands and singer/songwriter/lyricists of all time ever, Mr Moe Berg from The Pursuit of Happiness!!!
I understand and appreciate that you are extremely busy with all sorts of projects so any time you could spare  for a nice chat would be greatly appreciated and valued.


Please let me reassert my genuine request for an interview with your good self with the utmost respect and reprise you of the details as follows ... This summer, up until the date of ...) I will find myself in Canada, Whitby, just outside Toronto, and it would give me great pleasure to be able to meet you in person and have a polite conversation in an interview format about all sorts of things but focusing on your life in music.

We could meet over a lunch or a coffee & cake or even a drink or two. Your choice, my treat.*

I would like to record the interview and transcribe it onto my blog “Adamski Loves Cricket” (it’s a (mostly) sports blog I have recently started as I look to change professions). I would, of course, offer you first copy to correct any errors I might make before publication on the web.

Please be assured that this is a genuine request from a genuine person who has genuine respect for you and your work.

Yours sincerely

Adam ‘Adamski’ Brook

*pending partner price approval. (I.e. the wife says it’s not too expensive!!!)



After I pressed send I realised that I had forgotten to attach my contact details and phone numbers. I kicked myself in the ass for about 20 minutes before I decided to bite the bullet and ran the risk of being labeled a spammer and re-sent the entire message with this little disclaimer at the top ...
Please forgive the duplicate nature of this e-mail, but this one does contain my contact details while in Canada ... you know, ... Just in case !!!
Thank you
I pressed send again and thought that I had kissed my last chance of meeting a personal rock legend goodbye by being a dunderhead and forgetting to attach contact details.
Still, perhaps he will think its charming.
I wonder what he will say.


Don't know who Moe berg is ... check out this classic from their third album ‘The Downward Road’  
‘Pressing Lips’ showcases the thoughtful and intelligent lyrics seen all too infrequently in any form of music, all set behind a beautiful melody and wonderful harmony.
(sigh) Being in love with a goddess is hard when you're only a mortal !!!