{"id":417557,"date":"2026-01-16T19:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/417557\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T19:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:51:08","slug":"testing-times-for-english-cricket-cricket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/417557\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing times for English cricket | Cricket"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma John\u2019s perceptive analysis of cricket in Australia is spot-on (England ruthlessly privatised cricket \u2013 Australia embraces it with constant public displays of affection, 9 January<\/a>). I have been visiting Australia for many years \u2013 our son and his family live in Sydney. The locals, on hearing my accent, mostly respond by saying \u201cSorry about the cricket, mate.\u201d It\u2019s not in a gloating or superior way, but in a genuine sense of puzzlement at how when we have often promised a real contest we perform like a malfunctioning firework.<\/p>\n

As Emma observes, in Australia cricket is a national obsession and accessible to all, either to watch or to play. In England it has become elitist, with free-to-air TV coverage long gone, the cost of going to a game increasingly prohibitive and the county game\u2019s importance as a place to learn having been eroded. In spite of a loyal and well-heeled bunch of supporters, epitomised by the Barmy Army, it has become a minority sport, and the poorer for it.<\/p>\n

Until cricket is opened up to all, our national team will continue to struggle; one day we may really be marking the death of English cricket.
Chris Smith
Exeter<\/p>\n

Emma John\u2019s analysis of how cricket is cherished in Australia while it withers on the vine here reflects a wider trend. I visited India in 2014, and every patch of wasteland was hosting a pickup game of cricket, with the outfield packed with 50-plus participants. In eight years of walking my dogs around my local park here in Manchester, the artificial cricket strip has been used fewer than four times a summer, while the football pitches are in constant use by boys and girls. Cricket<\/a> in England is dying as a participation sport.
Richard Houghton
Manchester<\/p>\n

Emma John\u2019s enlightening article reflects well on Australian cricket from an outsider\u2019s perspective, and is respectful. How many times did we hear \u201cworst Aussie team ever\u201d and \u201cEngland 5-0\u201d before the Test series? So many times England and their fans swagger into this country and carry on in a disrespectful manner. And who will forget the behaviour in the Long Room at Lord\u2019s <\/a>in 2023? There was no better feeling than sending them packing.
Simon Cavenagh
Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n

What a lovely article. Having immigrated from England 44 years ago, the cricket has been a constant delight. Summer would not be complete without it and yes, it is as present as the beach, or surfing, or barbecues. I love the vision of a late summer afternoon, golden light, long shadows and an Australian batsman striding into the middle at the SCG. It feels like home. Long may it continue.
Anthony Wood
Sydney, Australia<\/p>\n

Have an opinion on anything you\u2019ve read in the Guardian today? Please email<\/a> us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters<\/a> section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma John\u2019s perceptive analysis of cricket in Australia is spot-on (England ruthlessly privatised cricket \u2013 Australia embraces it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-417557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}