Gordon called Murdoch to complain

The thing about test cricket in general and the Ashes in particular has been going on for years, this is taken from the parliamentary review of the BBC charter back in March 2006 and is only one example of parliament looking at why no test cricket is shown on free to air TV:


"137. We strongly believe that some live home Test cricket should be available on free-to-air television. We note that instead of recommending a return to Group A the House of Commons Committee recommended that "formal binding undertakings" to secure some free-to-air coverage of home Test cricket should be agreed between the ECB and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.[49] We support the House of Commons recommendation and believe this is the most hopeful way forward."

Test Cricket is dead in the water. Even the players don't want to know.

what a load of bull

I wish test cricket would lose some popularity. I can never get a feckin ticket.

The latest Ashes victory had a lot of public interest .......... just check out the English captain's [ Strauss] price for a top 3 place in SPOTY.

long live test cricket.

I love cricket though and it genuinely p.sses me off that they have sold it down the river. This ashes series was, despite the negative publicity,a great series imo. Not too many "great" players admittedly (certainly not compared to 2005) but it was a great up and down series with lots of exciting cricket and great moments (i'll never forget freddie running out ponting on the last day, rivalled anything from the 2005 series). I don't think too many kids at school were talking about it though - it just didn't get the publicity because most of them didn't watch it. I went to a catholic school full of irish and italians in bedford, none of whom would've had any reason, traditionally, to have any interest in the alien sport of cricket, but in the early nineties (in the midst of england being truly awful at test match cricket) I remember it still being the talk of the playground during summer (to a point). Kids just love sport, any sport, but you've got to let them know that it is there.

2005 was something of a blip in a generally downward trend in the popularity of the game imo. Which is tragic to a cricket tragic like me

something i posted on the pub forum the other day

The latest Ashes victory had a lot of public interest .......... just check out the English captain's [ Strauss] price for a top 3 place in SPOTY.

This is meaningless. Would you suggest people aree more interested in Motor Sport (Button) or Athletics (Ennis)?

It's always busy at the Tests, as it attracts drunks.

what a load of bull - again

I wonder if Brown would ever try the 'sh1t or bust' approach to News International / The Sun?

"I have great faith in the reasonableness and intelligence of the British public. If they want to believe whatever outright lies this comic chooses to print, well more fool them. Tell me, do Sun readers actively enjoy having their intelligence insulted on a daily basis, by the private media fifedom of an Australian / American that has never paid tax in Britain?"

Something along those lines?

The sun would make mince meat of that rtb.

All the other papers would say he'd lost it too

Why not just take it off him?

The people that read the sun would never notice someone insulting their intelligence.

Positively

Well, there is always that, but isn't Brown approaching this point anyway - can't do right for doing wrong.

Maybe this move to reassign Test Cricket to terrestrial channels is a sign of him growing some cojones re Murdoch?

And he's removed the Derby. Well done Labour. Obviously done out of spite, what with Racing being a rich mans sport. That petition I signed obviously just rubbed the Socialist up the wrong way.