Is Sky TV killing test cricket?

not everyone can afford sky especially old people who spend all day watching it

I was a late bloomer as far as Cricket was concerned, and enjoying the beauty of the game. I only ever watched it on Ch4 and loved to watch all forms of the game. I wish they would bring it back to terrestrial tv, I refuse to have paid for tv JUST to watch cricket!

I actually live near to the Hallam ground but struggle to find match dates and cost. To sit for the day listening to the sound of leather on willow <sigh> with a cool glass of something would be pure heaven.

Bring it back to normal tv is what I say

Watch it streamed over the internet perhaps? Quick google and you're away no special software needed.

Well we've just had the most exciting Ashes series for many a year take place in England, one that has captured the public imagination and generated acres of press coverage and how much of it has been available to watch to those of us who don't want to sell our souls to Rupert Murdoch's evil empire? A measly 40 minutes on Channel 5 every night.

An Ashes series is one of the most popular and important sporting events to take place in England, second perhaps only to Premiership football. Surely there's a case for making test cricket a "protected" sport that must be available on terrestrial television?

I find it bizarre that the publically-funded BBC spend a fortune showing hour after hour of minority sports that few people are interested in such as golf, rugby and minor athletics tournaments yet are unwilling to show the most popular summer sport in the country!

Well we've just had the most exciting Ashes series for many a year take place in England, one that has captured the public imagination and generated acres of press coverage and how much of it has been available to watch to those of us who don't want to sell our souls to Rupert Murdoch's evil empire? A measly 40 minutes on Channel 5 every night.

 

An Ashes series is one of the most popular and important sporting events to take place in England, second perhaps only to Premiership football. Surely there's a case for making test cricket a "protected" sport that must be available on terrestrial television?

 

I find it bizarre that the publically-funded BBC spend a fortune showing hour after hour of minority sports that few people are interested in such as golf, rugby and minor athletics tournaments yet are unwilling to show the most popular summer sport in the country!

Blowers was on the news yesterday saying that he thought it was inevitable that future ashes series' would be back on terrestrial TV. He said the decision to sell the rights to Sky was taken for pure greed by the same bloke who decided to get into bed with the arch crook Allen Stanford

Well we've just had the most exciting Ashes series for many a year take place in England, one that has captured the public imagination and generated acres of press coverage and how much of it has been available to watch to those of us who don't want to sell our souls to Rupert Murdoch's evil empire? A measly 40 minutes on Channel 5 every night.

 

An Ashes series is one of the most popular and important sporting events to take place in England, second perhaps only to Premiership football. Surely there's a case for making test cricket a "protected" sport that must be available on terrestrial television?

 

I find it bizarre that the publically-funded BBC spend a fortune showing hour after hour of minority sports that few people are interested in such as golf, rugby and minor athletics tournaments yet are unwilling to show the most popular summer sport in the country!

It struck me that this is about the second time I fully agreed with one of your 'sensible' posts. Then I looked at the date the thread started and wondered if it was the same thread I fully agreed with on two different occasions. Anyway...

in 2005, one of the greatest sporting contests that I had the pleasure to follow had just finished. Colleagues who had no interest in sport let alone cricket were rushing home as soon as they decently could to catch the final session on TV, interest in cricket has never been so high that I can remember... And then in their infinite wisdom, the English Cricket Board did a TV deal with Sky deal that killed that interest stone dead. Stunning.

Purely playing Devil's Advocate here, but please remember that the rights were sold before the start of the 2005 series, which just happened to be the most absorbing and addictive Ashes series since the 1986/7 series away. Channel Four merely became a sock puppet for Sky.

That's for those who followed the away series where we won, and couldn't watch.

The home Test Series were part of what was described as the 'Crown Jewels' of BBC Sport. Before that, there were a few years of one-day cricket on Channel Four (or SKY by deception - look at the captions and things like Hawkeye which crept in then), while the Tests were on terrestrial TV, but now it's all gone for free.

I wonder what the OP, the great BasilRathbon, would think of Test Cricket now?

20/20 Cricket seems to have ratcheted up the scoring rate so that Test Cricket is now like the old Sunday 40 overs game when it was first introduced.

Once upon a time 1.5/2 runs an over and no boundaries before lunch was the order of the day for Test Cricket and I think I preferred it. Nowadays they seem incapable of patient batting. The stroke that Joe Root played to get out today had me spluttering into my tea. I doubt whether Sir Geoffrey ever played such a ridiculous stroke in his life, never mind in a Test match.

I don't think it's Sky's fault. I'm sure they would prefer a Test match to last five days. Whoops there goes another wicket. Ali out now. Perhaps they just want even more days off.

I wonder what the OP, the great BasilRathbon, would think of Test Cricket now?

20/20 Cricket seems to have ratcheted up the scoring rate so that Test Cricket is now like the old Sunday 40 overs game when it was first introduced.

Once upon a time 1.5/2 runs an over and no boundaries before lunch was the order of the day for Test Cricket and I think I preferred it. Nowadays they seem incapable of patient batting. The stroke that Joe Root played to get out today had me spluttering into my tea. I doubt whether Sir Geoffrey ever played such a ridiculous stroke in his life, never mind in a Test match.

I don't think it's Sky's fault. I'm sure they would prefer a Test match to last five days. Whoops there goes another wicket. Ali out now. Perhaps they just want even more days off.

The run rate hasn't been very high. You can blame Sky for some things but you can't blame them for a lack of application and poor shot selection from our batsmen. And the windies have bowled quite well in favourable conditions. It's England, we collapse once a series (at least) and this another one. Bowlers will probably save the day but that's been the case for about a decade at least.

The run rate hasn't been very high. You can blame Sky for some things but you can't blame them for a lack of application and poor shot selection from our batsmen. And the windies have bowled quite well in favourable conditions. It's England, we collapse once a series (at least) and this another one. Bowlers will probably save the day but that's been the case for about a decade at least.

Agree with what you say but it's not just England. They all seem to be prepared to swing the bat. It's just not (Test) cricket.

Agree with what you say but it's not just England. They all seem to be prepared to swing the bat. It's just not (Test) cricket.

Totally agree. Theres a reason why cook has scored more test runs than any other englishman - he plays test cricket. Root, as talented as he is, seems to play a 4 or 5 (or 3!) day limited overs match if you see what I mean. The rest, Stokes aside who is maturing into a fine cricketer, are even more frantic. And its a global thing. South Africa were the same apart from Amla who went the other other way and reverted back into his shell and just poked and prodded for 4 tests really.

Theres the argument that 4 day county cricket isnt as strong as it was (although 20/20 is better) and batsmens technique is getting shown up because of stiffer examination - just look at the revolving door next the openers postion. Young Hamid was the only one who looked the part and hes got a top score of about 40 and an average in the teens I think this season for Lancs. Can batsmen get the yips?

Sky might not be killing Test cricket but now that the big games aren't being shown live on terrestrial TV interest in the grass roots village game has gone off a cliff. The village I live in used to have a first and second team, now it can't even raise one. The ground is being used by a team from another village. The village I grew up in has a brand new cricket pavillion (and proper covers for the wicket! Spoilt or what) but the second team in full of old blokes in their 50's. The best team in the area now have to get in players from miles around and have lost their second team.

Kids aren't taking the game up any more. If this goes on the Test team is going to be all public schoolboys and South Africans.

I get your point but you forgot to mention fishing, now there’s a spectator sport if ever there was one.

Lol! Anyone on here remeber "Pro Celebrity fishing" on Yorkshire TV? It didn't last long.