The increased player schedule

[James]

Fair call guys.

I'm more in agreement now than what I was when I started the thread.

 

[Dravid]

Seriously people are making too big of an issue out of this. The players are trained and they are fit enough to handle this kind of schedule. Sure you just played a game and you're tired but you'll be all right after a few days. That doesnt mean you can't play cricket for another couple of months just because you played a game and you're tired.

 

[social]

The Aus side has played 17 test matches and 36 one dayers in the past nine months - that's way too much.

When combined with their first class commitments, such a schedule does not allow for fitness work, rehab or skills training.

The ICC is sacrificing quality for quantity IMO.

 

[howardj]

It's been a pretty constant program for the last 18 months, though. From top of my head, since the last home summer...

Home vs NZ
ODIs (Chappell-Hadlee)
Home vs Pak
ODIs (VB)
ODIs
Away vs NZ
ODIs (tri series)
ODIs (vs Eng)
Away vs Eng
Home vs World XI
Home vs WI
Home vs SA
ODIs
Away vs SA
ODIs (vs SA)
Away vs Bang
ODIs (vs Bang)

Now, I'm sure that some of the other countries have had just as hectic a schedule, but it's still a lil over the top, IMO. I think there has to be a happy medium.

They had two months off in between the NZ and England tours though. They also had a week off when they got back from England, and the players who play both forms had a week off during the VB Series. Moreover, Australian cricketers earn a retainer between $620 000 - $150 000. For that sort of money, you have to expect to play a reasonable number of games. You should expect to be pretty tired at the end of the season. Their argument is also undermined by some of the players then shooting off to play county cricket in the off-season.

That said, the administrators need to be mindful of the wear and tear on bowlers. For instance, to have to be in Brisbane to play a meaningless Twenty/20 game just two days after the conclusion of the 5th Test last summer was ridiculous. Players should be allowed to have a full week's break after a Test series, and there should be at least four days rest in between Test Matches. However, in many cases, it's apparently the players themselves who demand shorter tours - therefore the scheduling of matches is more condensed.

 

[Jono]

When you see Ntini break down, you know there's too much cricket because that guy is a machine. I do believe that the schedule is too hectic, but I also believe some of the whinging that is going on has been overboard.

You go ask a hard working miner if his schedule is too hectic, and I think he'll say yes too. Granted he probably doesn't travel from his family like the players do, but boy I know which one I'd rather be doing.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

As has been discussed in the Gavaskar thread, the problem isn't cricket so much as the type of cricket and the demands it places on players. Guys in the 19th century were playing more days of cricket per year than most players today, but they weren't playing in three different countries in the space of a month.

 

[marc71178]

I guess my point is, how can New Zealand and Australian players complain about it when they get a huge six months off?

Well they then hop over to England to play County or club Cricket, thus tiring themselves out

 

[age_master]

I think too many ODI's are being played, if the number is reduces that would ease the playing schedule quite abit.

 

[age_master]

They had two months off in between the NZ and England tours though. They also had a week off when they got back from England, and the players who play both forms had a week off during the VB Series. Moreover, Australian cricketers earn a retainer between $620 000 - $150 000. For that sort of money, you have to expect to play a reasonable number of games. You should expect to be pretty tired at the end of the season.

as long as they get an end of season...

 

[howardj]

when don't they?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

when don't they?

They haven't had one recently. Between the New Zealand and Pakistan tours of Australia and the current series against Bangladesh, there's been no "off season" period for the Australian players at all. The longest break they've had would be between the tour of New Zealand and the Ashes, which was only a short while.

 

[howardj]

They haven't had one recently. Between the New Zealand and Pakistan tours of Australia and the current series against Bangladesh, there's been no "off season" period for the Australian players at all. The longest break they've had would be between the tour of New Zealand and the Ashes, which was only a short while.

Two months.


Anyway, it's interesting to hear the comments of the Chief Executive of Australian cricket, James Sutherland. I agree with him that people shouldn't generalise when they talk of player workload.


Sutherland meanwhile defended Cricket Australia's busy playing schedule after recent criticism that it was too demanding, with suggestions it had to contributed to Australia's unexpected struggle in the first Test against Bangladesh.

"I think it's about right," he said.

Sutherland said the program of matches was worked out in consultation with the Australian Cricketers' Association, the players' representative body.

"I'm concerned to read in the newspapers that people do tend to generalise about player workloads," Sutherland said.

"I've always maintained that player workloads is an individual thing, it's not a team thing.

"Not all Australian cricketers play Test cricket and one-day cricket, not all Australian cricketers charge in and bowl 30 overs like Brett Lee does," he said

"One aspect of it is the amount of cricket that's played, another aspect of it is the timing and the way in which it all fits into the program.

"Take the recent Bangladesh tour for example – I see criticism about it coming hard off the back of the South African tour.

"The reality is in consultation with team management and the ACA, it was decided the appropriate course of action would be to go straight from South Africa to Bangladesh.

"The wisdom of that some people have questioned but that was a process that senior players, team management and the ACA were all involved in," Sutherland said.

"They wanted to get straight into it, they felt they were in test match mode and they could get home sooner rather than later so people could enjoy a break then."

 

[LongHopCassidy]

I'm in full agreement with Sunny - there are millions of people who would take their places for nothing - so they can take the schedule as it is or get stuffed.

These people are being paid millions, idolised by young 'un's globally, and all they do (or at least all we see) is them complaining about the pressures of stardom and media criticism, being booed by their home crowd, and behaving like idiots while in their country's colours. They're being paid to play cricket - can't they be content with that?

I realise I'm generalising and being a tad harsh, but there are people who would do anything to represent their country and being paid to do something they love - enduring a packed schedule included.

 

[GotSpin]

Tours are too quick and packed with back to back tests.

A bit of R&R on tour would reduce the player workload

meaningless ODIs

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

It's the ODIs which are the problem, not the frequency or duration of tours.

In a perfect world, with money not coming into the equation, there would be...

• No Champion's Trophy
• Maximum of 3 ODIs per series
• More international players playing domestic cricket in their own country
• One large international tour or two small international tours per summer
• Maxium one Twenty20 match per tour (soon there will be longer series)

I would rather see less, but higher quality cricket than there is currently. Hell, I can't even remember much about the last Sri Lanka v Pakistan series.

 

[albo97056]

its not just the amount, its the times of year they play aswell...england india were playing in temps in the mid 40's in their summer, thats whats wearing them out.. when they should be in england preparing for a busy season. And nz playing in the dark in sa at least thats what it looked like lol