Let's make it a race that truly stops the nation.

Video courtesy of Channel 7 and noteatpig2getha

It’s not often that we talk politics here at the Corner Post, but when there’s an issue to be had in sport we will go after it, so here we go. It’s time for Australia to make the Melbourne Cup a national holiday.

And I’m not the only one with this conviction. It seems quite a few people out there agree that it is finally time to take the plunge and give everyone a day off work on the first Tuesday in November. Forget about the millions in lost revenue, people are blowing all their money on the race anyway so what does it matter!

I love the fact that Melbourne is the only place in the world to get a public holiday for a horse race. It’s so wonderfully Australian, the notion of giving work the flick to dress up, drink up and have a punt on the gallops. It’s what this country is all about.

But why should Melbourne have all the fun? After all, isn’t it supposed to be the race that stops the nation?

Come on Mr Rudd, next year give us all the day off.


Some young fillies enjoy Melbourne Cup festivities.
Photo courtesy smh.com.au

For cricket purists, the real test is yet to come

Night Test Matches? It could happen if Cricket Australia gets its way.
Image courtesy of Google Images

So what’s going on with the crowds over in India? During the second test in Mohali especially, it looked as if the stadium was less than a quarter full. We have a population of 1.1 billion in a supposedly ‘cricket mad’ country. Their beloved superstars are taking on the top team in the world in one of the most anticipated tours on the calendar, but no one turns up to watch.

One explanation I have heard it that it’s simply too expensive for the average Indian to get to the cricket, with the price of admission equaling an entire day’s wage. Fair enough. But how then do you explain the massive crowds that the IPL 20/20 tournament had earlier this year? During the IPL we were saturated with more than fifty consecutive days of cricket, and the stadiums were full almost every day.

So this begs the question, why will Indians (arguably the most passionate supporters of cricket in the world), turn up for a relatively meaningless 20/20 tournament, but shun one of their country’s most significant test series?

Has the gloss worn off test cricket? Well it certainly is hard to compete with the glitz and glamour of 20/20, not too mention the obscene amounts of money being thrown around in the shorter forms of the game. But I for one think it would be a disaster if test cricket is ever removed from its mantle as the premier form of the game.

But how do we keep it relevant and exciting, especially as it faces stiff competition from the cashed up 20/20 tournaments? I have come up with a couple of ideas that could put the interest back in test cricket.

1) Night Test Matches
This idea is already being floated by Cricket Australia, and I think it has some merit. Same game but put it under lights. It would certainly create a unique atmosphere and some more interest from the general public. I can also see some decent crowns turning up, as people can attend after work. It’s important to keep the day matches going as well, but let’s throw some night ones in there for a bit of balance.

2) Test Match World Championship
I think a lot of interest would be generated in test cricket if the ICC conceived a test ‘world championship’ or something similar. Whenever you play a test match, the points go towards the world championship table (similar to what the current ICC rankings are, but with actual significance). Over a period of 2 or 3 years everyone plays each other once and you crown the Test Match World Champion.

That’s just two of my ideas. I don’t think we need to do anything drastic to change test cricket, just something to spice it up and make it exciting again. What do you think?

End of an era? Or end of common sense?

A bit of confrontation between Simon Katich and Guatam Ghambir. We love this sort of stuff here at the Corner Post!
Image courtesy of Google Images.

Now on the field I have been loving the series against India. I think so far it’s been a hard fought tussle between two passionate nations. Truly what test cricket is all about.

What I haven’t been loving however is the coverage off the field. Am I the only one sick to death of reading about how ‘the Australian period of dominance is over’ and how this is the ‘end of an era’? It seems a race by the journos (led by Peter Roebuck) to jump on the bandwagon and officially proclaim the end of Australian cricketing success as we know it!

But let me get this straight, four years ago we won a test series in India for the first time in decades. It was hailed as the ‘final frontier’, and one of the side’s greatest accomplishments. Now all of a sudden we lose ONE test match against the same side, in the same country, and the empire is crashing to the ground?

I’m sorry, but let’s call a spade a spade. I agree that Australia may not be streets ahead of the competition as they have been in the past, but to forecast the end of an era because we lose one test match on the hardest tour of our schedule is a bit premature isn’t it?

And before Roebuck and Co get too excited about the Indians, let’s not forget they are in a very similar position to where Australia were a few years ago. They have a number of senior players coming to the end of their careers. In fact, nearly half their team is nearing retirement. Names like Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and Kumble will not be easily replaced. Take those names out of the equation and suddenly the Indian order doesn’t look so formidable, even on the flat, lifeless Indian wickets.

Not to take anything away from the Indian side. They currently sport a well-balanced and winning team. But success in sport is fleeting, especially when you have the nation’s media breathing down your neck.

So before we pronounce a new world order let’s just be a little cautious. Sport is full of swings and roundabouts. India might well claim the Border-Gavaskar trophy, and it will be a well deserved win. But please, spare me and the rest of the Australian public the dramatic hyperbole.