Your Ideal Australian Summer

[formula1man]

I believe that if we arent going to have a test Championship we need to focus on the trophies countries have in their trophy cabinet, Have an official website for world cricket and just commercialize it a bit. As for ODIs we should focus on tri series, but to avoid them getting boring just have 3 rounds instead of 4.

This would be my ideal Australian Summer

We would have a rival come over every year, England (5 Tests), South Africa (4 Tests), India (4 Tests). Now I dont know if we should have South Africa or India come a 2nd time in 4 years coz the summer where we have two test series against lowers sides is quite boring.

So Maybe
Yr 1 - Ashes
Yr 2 - South Africa (4), Pakistan (2)
Yr 3 - India (4), Sri Lanka (2)
Yr 4 - South Africa (4), New Zealand (2)
Yr 5 - Ashes (5)
Yr 6 - India (4), West Indies (2)
Yr 7 - South Africa, Sri Lanka or Pakistan whoever is better at the time (2)
Yr 8 - India (4), New Zealand (2)

So The Ashes will begin (rough dates) 23rd November, The other summers will begin 14th November,

The second last Test will be the Boxing Day Test and the last Test will be the Sydney Test finishing 7th January.

Beginning the day after the Boxing Day Test Ends will be the Big Bash League. After The Sydney Test you will need to have 5 game days with 2 matches rather then 1. Having this window allows all players in Australia to play in the league.

You will need to aim to have the final on Australia Day 26th January.

Then the ODI Tri Series will begin on 1st Feb. play 3 rounds and have the finals, this will finish the summer up by 1st March.

 

[barmyarmy]

My ideal Australian summer involves an Ashes whitewash

 

[riz7khan12]

My ideal Australian summer involves an Ashes whitewash

Results | Global | ESPN Cricinfo

thats odd, thought you were a english fan.

 

[barmyarmy]

I really wasn't expecting an NZ fan to put the boot in there...
We all know what I mean

 

[puddleduck]

I really wasn't expecting an NZ fan to put the boot in there...
We all know what I mean

They're like abused spouses

 

[Sedition]

I really wasn't expecting an NZ fan to put the boot in there...
We all know what I mean

Forgot the Kiwis were ANZACs too eh?

 

[barmyarmy]

I've lived in New Zealand. Expect better from Kiwis tbh.

 

[sifter132]

I do kinda like the idea of having Tests first, before BBL and ODIs. One reason is that the pitches tend to be juicier in the early half of the season which is good for Tests, and the more hard and baked pitches would come later in the summer for the short forms.

I don't like the idea of India and SA coming so often, I think the 4th summer should be SL and Pak - 3 Tests each, not Ind/SA again. Or if 3 Tests is seen as too many for SL and Pak, put Ban or Zim in there too and they can come every 8th year for 2 Tests as well. Put them early in the summer when the crowds won't be coming anyway.

In fact that's the weakness with this schedule. If your marquee Test series of the summer has to play 2 or 3 Tests before the school holidays even start then you are losing a lot of potential attendance and basically damning Test cricket to a slow death.

 

[formula1man]

I do kinda like the idea of having Tests first, before BBL and ODIs. One reason is that the pitches tend to be juicier in the early half of the season which is good for Tests, and the more hard and baked pitches would come later in the summer for the short forms.

I don't like the idea of India and SA coming so often, I think the 4th summer should be SL and Pak - 3 Tests each, not Ind/SA again. Or if 3 Tests is seen as too many for SL and Pak, put Ban or Zim in there too and they can come every 8th year for 2 Tests as well. Put them early in the summer when the crowds won't be coming anyway.

In fact that's the weakness with this schedule. If your marquee Test series of the summer has to play 2 or 3 Tests before the school holidays even start then you are losing a lot of potential attendance and basically damning Test cricket to a slow death.

Yeah good point, I just feel the Big Bash Needs a bigger window then 1 or 2 games. reducing the ODIs and playing the tests sooner is the only way I can think of. unless you play the Big Bash in November but, that will take away all the excitement. I think the Big Bash is the best school holiday idea for CA, however I love Test Cricket too, not a huge fan of ODIs anymore, but i reckon a shorter tri series would make the few games exciting. coz with i tri series it isnt over until the 2nd final at least. I do like the idea of the Big Bash League too. T20 is great in this franchise situation, but in this way only, T20I is a complete waste of time.

 

[CG123]

A 3rd test against New Zealand in the future after that performance?

 

[formula1man]

A 3rd test against New Zealand in the future after that performance?

Maybe, I really want a 3rd Test against NZ, even a 4th, but they need to show consistent fight, not just one session.

 

[mrtwisties]

We should absolutely start our domestic season with the BBL. If T20 is about attracting new fans to the game, why on earth are we running it halfway through the season? In what crazy universe do you promote your product AFTER it's launched?

I also think the BBL would be much more interesting if it was played on spicier pitches - the more fast, swinging deliveries we see, the better the quality of the match will be. International players would also boost the overall quality of the cricket: so let's plan to have no limits at all on how many foreigners can be fielded in the playing XI. Australians are good enough to earn places for themselves, IMO.

Once that's done we kick off the international calendar. In the background, Sheffield Shield matches begin running - possibly with internationals in those sides as well so that people find it easier to kick on after the BBL. Hard to maintain interest in a side that doesn't have the same people in it.

For internationals, let's kill off ODIs entirely. I'm soooo bored of them, and so is the rest of the public. Replace them with T20Is. I've been at the MCG when it's packed full for a T20I on a Friday night. It's awesome. Let's do that at the start of every tour - Friday at the MCG, Saturday at the SCG, Sunday somewhere else, and all of a sudden we've had a three match T20I series and everyone's been introduced to all the new players from foreign climes. The newspapers will love it. Will random fast bowler be elevated to the Test side? Can random batsman carry his form from limited overs into the longer form? Will Mr X and Mr Y continue to sledge each other? Good stuff.

Test matches then start the following Thursday or Friday, hopefully with a pink ball so it can start later in the day and I can leave work in time to catch the opening spell. Sure, it's a travesty and all that, but there have been plenty more of those and you should have complained earlier if you're worried about that sort of thing - say about 1920. For mine, Test cricket hasn't been the same since they changed the size of the ball and the wickets back in nineteen dickety-whatever.

Who should we be playing?

Yr 1 - Ashes (5) + Bangladesh (2-3)
Yr 2 - South Africa (5) + Zimbabwe (2-3)
Yr 3 - India (5) + New Zealand (2-3)
Yr 4 - Sri Lanka (3), Pakistan (3) (an extra Test each if they're good)

Let's aim to fit in 2-3 Tests before Christmas against the weaker side, then raise the curtain on the marquee series on Boxing Day at the MCG. The way they've scheduled it this year is brilliant in that respect.

 

[formula1man]

We should absolutely start our domestic season with the BBL. If T20 is about attracting new fans to the game, why on earth are we running it halfway through the season? In what crazy universe do you promote your product AFTER it's launched?

I also think the BBL would be much more interesting if it was played on spicier pitches - the more fast, swinging deliveries we see, the better the quality of the match will be. International players would also boost the overall quality of the cricket: so let's plan to have no limits at all on how many foreigners can be fielded in the playing XI. Australians are good enough to earn places for themselves, IMO.

Once that's done we kick off the international calendar. In the background, Sheffield Shield matches begin running - possibly with internationals in those sides as well so that people find it easier to kick on after the BBL. Hard to maintain interest in a side that doesn't have the same people in it.

For internationals, let's kill off ODIs entirely. I'm soooo bored of them, and so is the rest of the public. Replace them with T20Is. I've been at the MCG when it's packed full for a T20I on a Friday night. It's awesome. Let's do that at the start of every tour - Friday at the MCG, Saturday at the SCG, Sunday somewhere else, and all of a sudden we've had a three match T20I series and everyone's been introduced to all the new players from foreign climes. The newspapers will love it. Will random fast bowler be elevated to the Test side? Can random batsman carry his form from limited overs into the longer form? Will Mr X and Mr Y continue to sledge each other? Good stuff.

Test matches then start the following Thursday or Friday, hopefully with a pink ball so it can start later in the day and I can leave work in time to catch the opening spell. Sure, it's a travesty and all that, but there have been plenty more of those and you should have complained earlier if you're worried about that sort of thing - say about 1920. For mine, Test cricket hasn't been the same since they changed the size of the ball and the wickets back in nineteen dickety-whatever.

Who should we be playing?

Yr 1 - Ashes (5) + Bangladesh (2-3)
Yr 2 - South Africa (5) + Zimbabwe (2-3)
Yr 3 - India (5) + New Zealand (2-3)
Yr 4 - Sri Lanka (3), Pakistan (3) (an extra Test each if they're good)

Let's aim to fit in 2-3 Tests before Christmas against the weaker side, then raise the curtain on the marquee series on Boxing Day at the MCG. The way they've scheduled it this year is brilliant in that respect.

It could work but what the West Indies just dont come? haha. My problem is with the forth summer, both Sri Lanka and Pakistan are hopeless. I hated the West Indies/Pakistan summer, was no competition at all.

Getting rid of ODIs is my future dream, but there is just so much history there with them.