18-07-2020, 23:05
It's the commentator/presenter and former Hants captain Mark Nicholas who invented the format, and he explained that it's aimed at encouraging kids to play in schools, as you can potentially get a larger number of players involved than the usual 22. That said, Pommie Mbangwa pointed out the obvious flaw in the set-up: if you've got a strong bowling attack but a weak batting line-up, you're going to end up effectively "winning" the match for one of the other teams. And that's before you even get onto the complications of a league system, in which a team who are badly losing a game could decide which of the other two teams they'd prefer to win, and just bowl absolute pies at them.
Maybe as a one-off thing for kids it might have its uses, though I'm not convinced the wheel needs to be re-invented on that front. Just get some decent equipment and outreach into state schools, teach the rules of the sport at a young age and then let the rest sort itself out.
Maybe as a one-off thing for kids it might have its uses, though I'm not convinced the wheel needs to be re-invented on that front. Just get some decent equipment and outreach into state schools, teach the rules of the sport at a young age and then let the rest sort itself out.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley