Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[eaLiTy]

UAE has been fielding teams full of Indians and Pakistanis for the last 50+ years. Even after this much time, they can't get a single national to represent their squad. So there is no point in saying that making teams 100% comprised of foreigners will have any positive impact on the popularity of cricket in that particular country.

The reason is simple, the Middle East community do not love to play Cricket but majority of them are die hard Football lovers. To find players from national community there should be some interest and it is lacking and the next aspect is the payment they get playing the sport.

The same can be said about teams like Hong Kong, Germany, Norway.etc. Then there is a second category, comprised of teams such as Denmark, Netherlands, Japan.etc. These teams used to be comprised mostly of natives. But now they are also moving towards 100% foreigner composition.

Netherland has some good players and to attract new members to the sport they need to see it as a sport that will provide them a good future especially financially and until then you will not find a huge pool of talents.

[7788bitcoin]

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Netherland has some good players and to attract new members to the sport they need to see it as a sport that will provide them a good future especially financially and until then you will not find a huge pool of talents.

The money in Cricket is really less compared to other sports, some of the big nations are able to give a good payment for their players but to think about an associate team able to attract players with their pay scale is a distant dream. Players always look to secure a good future and they will sort of look for sporting events that could give them a platform to showcase their talents and with franchise cricket in full swing players can make money if they have the skills even if they are from an associate nation.

[Sithara007]

Netherland has some good players and to attract new members to the sport they need to see it as a sport that will provide them a good future especially financially and until then you will not find a huge pool of talents.

Netherlands has some of the oldest cricket clubs in the world. But during the last two decades, the popularity of the sport there has taken a severe hit. The ICC is favoring teams comprised of foreigners and the ones with native players such as the Netherlands are losing out. A number of cricket clubs have closed down in the recent past, some of them more than a hundred years old. Remaining players don't feel confident, as they are concerned about the decision made by the ICC to reduce number of participating teams in the world cup.

[blatchcorn]

Netherlands has some of the oldest cricket clubs in the world. But during the last two decades, the popularity of the sport there has taken a severe hit. The ICC is favoring teams comprised of foreigners and the ones with native players such as the Netherlands are losing out. A number of cricket clubs have closed down in the recent past, some of them more than a hundred years old. Remaining players don't feel confident, as they are concerned about the decision made by the ICC to reduce number of participating teams in the world cup.

Netherland was never a good cricketing side, we have lost Zimbabwe and Kenya who were once a very strong cricketing side due to icc cricket friendly policies. Now countries like UAE and Oman are participating in WC as associate nation while strong teams are vanishing.

[Marvell1]

I really think that the rule needs to be changed right now and it must be done so that only the people with citizenship can play for the national team. This should be really simple in my opinion, if you have the citizenship you can for the national team and if you don't have the citizenship you cannot. I know this was changed back then so that it helps a lot more teams come forward but now it is causing more problems than good. What are rule changes there will be a lot more countries coming forward to play cricket!

The ICC on the other hand is very clear on this. Until two decades back, it was not possible for foreigners to get in to national teams. But this rule was changed sometime ago.. and then anyone with 6 months of residence was allowed to represent national teams irrespective of their citizenship status. Now we can see a lot of medical students from South Asia featuring in national teams all over the world. Countries such as Russia and Czech Republic are attractive destinations for students from India and Pakistan and some of these students in turn end up in cricket teams.

[galambo]

I really think that the rule needs to be changed right now and it must be done so that only the people with citizenship can play for the national team. This should be really simple in my opinion, if you have the citizenship you can for the national team and if you don't have the citizenship you cannot. I know this was changed back then so that it helps a lot more teams come forward but now it is causing more problems than good. What are rule changes there will be a lot more countries coming forward to play cricket!

I don't think icc will consider imposing this rule that only citizens will be part of national team. This will eliminate teams like uae, Oman and alike. This policy is having negative impact on teams like Nepal who are 100% composed of native players but are getting less money from ICC.

[Sithara007]

I really think that the rule needs to be changed right now and it must be done so that only the people with citizenship can play for the national team. This should be really simple in my opinion, if you have the citizenship you can for the national team and if you don't have the citizenship you cannot. I know this was changed back then so that it helps a lot more teams come forward but now it is causing more problems than good. What are rule changes there will be a lot more countries coming forward to play cricket!

I don't think icc will consider imposing this rule that only citizens will be part of national team. This will eliminate teams like uae, Oman and alike. This policy is having negative impact on teams like Nepal who are 100% composed of native players but are getting less money from ICC.

OK.. then let them have these "national" teams that are made up entirely of foreigners. But they should come up with a rule stating that only teams with more than 50% citizens in the playing XI should qualify for any ICC funding. Else even teams such as Nepal and Kenya will be forced to include foreigners in their teams, as the ICC funding is based on the performance of the team. For example, a team like Oman receives around $500,000 per year from the ICC (since they are ranked higher), while Argentina with 100% native composition receives around $10,000 per year.

[galambo]

OK.. then let them have these "national" teams that are made up entirely of foreigners. But they should come up with a rule stating that only teams with more than 50% citizens in the playing XI should qualify for any ICC funding. Else even teams such as Nepal and Kenya will be forced to include foreigners in their teams, as the ICC funding is based on the performance of the team. For example, a team like Oman receives around $500,000 per year from the ICC (since they are ranked higher), while Argentina with 100% native composition receives around $10,000 per year.

I don't think countries who have talent like Nepal can afford foreigner players. With 10,000$ you can't expect a country to develop a quality team. If Oman is getting .5 million per year then it's just wastage of icc funds since they can't produce a structure that can produce a team in the long run.

[pakhitheboss]

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I just hope that he doesn't break down mentally again. He's an allrounder which is already a very tough job when you're playing all 3 format (including franchise cricket The 100 etc). He's also field out of the 30 yard circle so Joe Root's experience should help him a bit but of course it would depend on who is going to be next vice-captain.

His mental health will be concern as the task of captaincy might break him and i wont be surprised if he retires early because of the huge burden bestowed upon him. If the earlier break was really due to mental breakdown as a player i doubt he will take the pressure as a captain. They need to find someone else and groom rather than putting all the pressure to Ben Stokes.

I think Stuart Broad will be the vice captain.

I am sure the English board would have discussed his mental health and would have also discussed it with doctors and then only they had given him this responsibility. If still he losses his mind during the upcoming match then he might lose his career at this time. I think they will either choose Stuart Broad or Jos Buttler as the vice captain.

[Sithara007]

I don't think countries who have talent like Nepal can afford foreigner players. With 10,000$ you can't expect a country to develop a quality team. If Oman is getting .5 million per year then it's just wastage of icc funds since they can't produce a structure that can produce a team in the long run.

Well.. I agree with this. Whatever ICC funds that are flowing to Oman ends up in the hands of players from India and Pakistan. There is no long term benefit for the game in Oman, as these players return to their homelands after a few years. On the other hand, teams such as Nepal and Kenya are suffering from a reduction in the ICC fund allocation for sometime. I don't know much about Kenya, but Nepal is a cricket crazy nation and it is one of the most popular sports there. The same can be said about a few other countries, such as PNG, Maldives and Fiji.

[coinism]

Well.. I agree with this. Whatever ICC funds that are flowing to Oman ends up in the hands of players from India and Pakistan. There is no long term benefit for the game in Oman, as these players return to their homelands after a few years. On the other hand, teams such as Nepal and Kenya are suffering from a reduction in the ICC fund allocation for sometime. I don't know much about Kenya, but Nepal is a cricket crazy nation and it is one of the most popular sports there. The same can be said about a few other countries, such as PNG, Maldives and Fiji.

Till 2007 (as far as I remember) kenya was permanent member of ODI world cup but after that don't know what happen that we didn't saw Kenya in any WC till date and Zimbabwe is also removed on grounds of politics. IRELAND and Afghanistan are two new good edition but it will be better if both Kenya and Zimbabwe were also there.

[BALIK]

I don't think countries who have talent like Nepal can afford foreigner players. With 10,000$ you can't expect a country to develop a quality team. If Oman is getting .5 million per year then it's just wastage of icc funds since they can't produce a structure that can produce a team in the long run.

Well.. I agree with this. Whatever ICC funds that are flowing to Oman ends up in the hands of players from India and Pakistan. There is no long term benefit for the game in Oman, as these players return to their homelands after a few years. On the other hand, teams such as Nepal and Kenya are suffering from a reduction in the ICC fund allocation for sometime. I don't know much about Kenya, but Nepal is a cricket crazy nation and it is one of the most popular sports there. The same can be said about a few other countries, such as PNG, Maldives and Fiji.

I think the ICC funds should be spent on the teams who are actually serious about cricket and are not making the whole team only with outsiders.

I really don't think it's like they don't have any native players.

I think that the team is made out of foreign players just because they don't want to spend time and money searching for players in the native region.

So, instead of giving them a good amount of money, I think ICC should concentrate on the countries that are actually trying to find legit players to play for the national team and give them some money for help.

[blatchcorn]

I think the ICC funds should be spent on the teams who are actually serious about cricket and are not making the whole team only with outsiders.

I really don't think it's like they don't have any native players.

I think that the team is made out of foreign players just because they don't want to spend time and money searching for players in the native region.

So, instead of giving them a good amount of money, I think ICC should concentrate on the countries that are actually trying to find legit players to play for the national team and give them some money for help.

This is what we are trying to figure out that why ICC is giving more funds to teams that have 100% foreigner players over teams that have 100% native players. Its an irony that 100 years old game is still having a world cup of 8 to 10 teams. Cricket need to expand beyond these 10 countries, its need of the hour.

[7788bitcoin]

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I am sure the English board would have discussed his mental health and would have also discussed it with doctors and then only they had given him this responsibility. If still he losses his mind during the upcoming match then he might lose his career at this time. I think they will either choose Stuart Broad or Jos Buttler as the vice captain.

I am not sure whether the England Cricket board evaluated and consulted his doctors before giving him the captaincy. The upcoming series will determine whether Ben Stokes will be able to perform well as a captain and whether he will be able to deliver his performances and if he is able to do that it is well and good. Jos Buttler could be the Vice Captain.

[Sithara007]

This is what we are trying to figure out that why ICC is giving more funds to teams that have 100% foreigner players over teams that have 100% native players. Its an irony that 100 years old game is still having a world cup of 8 to 10 teams. Cricket need to expand beyond these 10 countries, its need of the hour.

The reason is very simple. The headquarters of the ICC is in UAE, and the organization is being managed by people with zero connections to cricket. And there is a disproportionate influence on the ICC coming from the GCC nations, who first invented the idea of fielding teams entirely comprised of foreigners. Two decades back, the eligibility criteria was changed, under pressure from the Emirates Cricket Board (and supported by the BCCI and PCB). Anyway, I won't be surprised if the number of participants are reduced further in the future. The PCB has already suggested a 4-team super league (big 3 + Pakistan).

[Juggy777]

This is what we are trying to figure out that why ICC is giving more funds to teams that have 100% foreigner players over teams that have 100% native players. Its an irony that 100 years old game is still having a world cup of 8 to 10 teams. Cricket need to expand beyond these 10 countries, its need of the hour.

The reason is very simple. The headquarters of the ICC is in UAE, and the organization is being managed by people with zero connections to cricket. And there is a disproportionate influence on the ICC coming from the GCC nations, who first invented the idea of fielding teams entirely comprised of foreigners. Two decades back, the eligibility criteria was changed, under pressure from the Emirates Cricket Board (and supported by the BCCI and PCB). Anyway, I won't be surprised if the number of participants are reduced further in the future. The PCB has already suggested a 4-team super league (big 3 + Pakistan).

@Sithara007 mismanagement of ICC is nothing new though officially it can’t be proved, but one who follows cricket will know many of their decisions were biased, and till they continue to be influenced by selective few boards I don’t expect any major changes soon from ICC in test or any other format.

Furthermore I doubt that they’ll reduce the number of participants, and I also don’t think that Pakistan will get to play with India in test or any other format soon so the formula proposed by Pakistan won’t work either.

[blatchcorn]

The reason is very simple. The headquarters of the ICC is in UAE, and the organization is being managed by people with zero connections to cricket. And there is a disproportionate influence on the ICC coming from the GCC nations, who first invented the idea of fielding teams entirely comprised of foreigners. Two decades back, the eligibility criteria was changed, under pressure from the Emirates Cricket Board (and supported by the BCCI and PCB). Anyway, I won't be surprised if the number of participants are reduced further in the future. The PCB has already suggested a 4-team super league (big 3 + Pakistan).

PCB idea was rejected straight away. Don't know why they proposed such plan when India is not willing to play with Pakistan even in WC. Management is totally a different thing, you don't need to be a cricketer to be a good manager at icc executive body. The problem is icc has limited its focus to few counties only.

[JSRAW]

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I am sure the English board would have discussed his mental health and would have also discussed it with doctors and then only they had given him this responsibility. If still he losses his mind during the upcoming match then he might lose his career at this time. I think they will either choose Stuart Broad or Jos Buttler as the vice captain.

I am not sure whether the England Cricket board evaluated and consulted his doctors before giving him the captaincy. The upcoming series will determine whether Ben Stokes will be able to perform well as a captain and whether he will be able to deliver his performances and if he is able to do that it is well and good. Jos Buttler could be the Vice Captain.

There is no high profile series on the roaster. (Ashes is considered High profile there) 

- 1 off test against India ( India is leading series 2-1 atm)
- Then they have home season i guess. South Africa, NZ and yeah away tour of Pakistan if everything goes well.

[coinism]

There is no high profile series on the roaster. (Ashes is considered High profile there) 

- 1 off test against India ( India is leading series 2-1 atm)
- Then they have home season i guess. South Africa, NZ and yeah away tour of Pakistan if everything goes well.

Ben real test as a captain will be against NZ and Pakistan as NZ is too strong team while Pakistan is unpredictable at any time. In Ashes, England is no where near Aus atleast in next 2 to 3 years. England at the moment should focus on 1 or 2 years plan for developing a test team.

[JSRAW]

You guys remember recent controversy, where one prominent Indian Sport Journalist (Boria Majumdar) threatened Wriddhiman Saha for not giving exclusive interview. There was fair amount of outrage from the fans in favor of Saha.

Kinda funny story. Initially Saha didn't name the Journalist but he shared the screenshots of chat on Twitter. Twitter/Fans found one interesting typo "ypu" instead of "you" . Boria had a habit of writing "you" as "ypu" and well haha