What's the point of supporting a cricket club?

[Garawa]

I saw on Sky Sports News yesterday that Pieterson will play his last club game before going to play in something else. I know many go and play in the IPL and clubs can lose their best players for weeks when on International duty so it begs the question, why does anyone support a cricket club when they know many of their best players will probably play only a handful of matches! Can you imagine that happening at the Gills?

[gillsfan1066]

Whats the point of supporting Gillingham FC if next season God forbid Dack gets a broken leg in the second game and Cody Mac goes down to a season ending injury in game four , does that mean your not going for the rest of the season????

[Rimshot]

Support Kent, we don't have any overseas players, just Nash ( Kolpak) !! Nice to see our young WK in the ODI team though.

[Garawa]

Generally speaking though Chicago your players are your players whereas in cricket it seems they can go and play elsewhere. Lets say we were in the Prem, imagine if Dack went away for 2 months playing a tournament somewhere and then came back and spent 3 months away with England? That's what it appears to me. You start the season with X, Y, Z and X, Y go off and play in India (or wherever) where there is more money!

I'm not talking about injuries as that's a separate thing entirely and also happens in cricket. I'm talking about players choosing to not play for their club!

[fan_of_mulligan]

I think Test Cricket - where you play against the same opposition for five day's is in decline and with the exception of The Ashes the remaining Test Matches are seeing smaller attendances.

Twenty20 Cricket is growing in popularity and this is the same format that is being played The ICL, all the top players are moving to The ICL because that is where the money is and that is where the growing attendances are.

I am not sure what the attendances are for The County Championship, but given how popular Cricket is in India and India's population, more people go and watch Cricket Matches in India then they do in England.

When I watched Gillingham drew 0-0 away at Bristol City at Ashton Gate this season, we parked at Bristol Cricket Club and they open the bar for Football Supporters and let kids play football on the cricket pitch, and they make money during The Cricket Off Season while The Football League Season is being played.

Dover Athletic's Crabble Ground is at the top of the hill with The Cricket Ground at the bottom of the hill as well, that's another example I can think of where two clubs share the same facilities.

[lidbid46]

But its much the same when we have loan players for a few weeks who leave before you have really registered that they are here. You could support your local team - come to Sherwood C.C. in Borstal and we will make you very welcome. Drinks are cheap and the cricket is.... eccentric!

[Garawa]

Ha ha. I guess the issue though more is that the players going off tend to be your best players and not loan players. In football your best players have a week off and go and play for their country and none will go and play for another club. In cricket you could lose some for the summer and others for months to play for someone else for more money!

Imagine Dack, Cody and Egan disappearing for dozens of games just because they chased more money elsewhere or played for England for months! There would be carnage!

[Rimshot]

Lidbid I didn't realise you were Borstalites. I'm an ex Borstal boy myself ( if you see what I mean), lived in sunny Brambletree Crescent !

[lidbid46]

Yes; my mum always said I would end up in Borstal and I didn't disappoint! Can see the prison fence from my house.

[Rimshot]

When I was at the Math school our cross country route took us through the Borstal grounds; woe betide the boy who lingered near a working party of inmates !! I also lived for a very short while in Trevale Road, just the other side of the wall and neatly sandwiched between it and the Cookham Wood Women's prison.