my most recent of travel adventures took me north. this is indeed a verk compelled travel, look you see, and indeed usually i would be sent on a southern direction. in this instance, all the way up to Scotland, no less, which was an unexpected change.
should you have been expecting (reasonably) or hoping (blindly) that i took several images of the beautiful, quite breathtaking landscape up there, well, no. fear not, though, for as them nice people what put me up in a hotel made it available on the tele, i have some images off of the cricket.
yes, all of this is presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. well, the picture bits are. sadly i have no idea how to change the font to that quite class (and large) Commodore 64 one, which of course i would use all the time. also, indeed Scotland isn't what one would consider a natural locale to watch cricket, but here we are.
there was a really, really smart cricket game on the Commodore 64. here for us in England it was branded as Graham Gooch Cricket. not 100% certain (or sure), but i suspect (think) the release of the game in Australia was branded as Alan Border Cricket. rather a good idea, that change, for it would be likely to sell far more copies with such a name change. as smart as that game was, i believe the best ever cricket game on a computer or what have you was Brian Lara Cricket on the Sega Megadrive. loads of fun that was, but moving on.
images and animated things here are all off of the afternoon session of the 1st day of the 4th Test of the 2023 Ashes series, which of course is (as always) England vs Australia. ever since they moved it on to a pay channel i haven't really seen much of it. there's no way i am forking out the fortune they want, and simply cannot be bothered to "pirate" it, no matter how many friends and colleagues offer to set me up with such. a few things seem to have changed since i last saw it (cricket) on the tele. like, for instance or example, why (exactly) do players in a Test match - especially as one as important as the Ashes - now have squad (or shirt) numbers? it's ridiculous, they should be in traditional whites.
one oddity of sorts of me writing this now is that the Test is still in play, yet will be published at a time when the result is consigned to history. perhaps i shall update or edit it with the eventual result, but this is unlikely. at time of writing England looked on course for a convincing win, which would level the series ahead of the 5th Test, which would become a "decider". unless the rain persists and there's not enough time available to play to a result.
what's my feelings on the current Ashes series? a good deal more better than the previous, during which i could not understand why there was a lack of arrests on the grounds of treason. things have changed, and those selected to play for England are actually putting some effort in. but, let's not get carried away. should England manage to turn being 2-0 down into a 3-2 win, then they shall deserve some applause and a few calls of bravo. if they fail, perhaps one or two (key) arrests would stress the importance of winning to all future players.
now that i mention the importance of winning, that incident, which i believe was in the 2nd Test. you know, the one where the Australian wicket keeper elected to do the cricketing equivalent of shooting someone in the back with that stumping. indeed, yes, it was "legal" and silly billy English cricketer, but still. the batsman had faced the delivery, survived, and was not seeking to take a run or gain any advantage at all. if win at all costs, rather than being the superior team, is what modern day Australian cricket is about, what a shame. then again, sandpaper. from what i remember, a not too different thing happened with South Africa, when they dismissed the great Brian Lara in a similar "rules of the game" thing. i seem to recall the umpire asking if they were absolutely sure they, the South Africans, really wished to have their name and reputation tarnished with such an unsporting (yet legit) dismissal, and of course they said yes.
up until this brief chance to watch some on the tele, it has been so that for about ten (10) or so years i have relied on the radio to bring me cricket coverage. the BBC, no less. previously this was of course the bastion, the highest standards possible. no more. one has to deal with, or listen to, the terrible, awful, appears not to understand the game based on his "commentary" Jonathan Agnew. i and many others appreciate that the BBC now have to do things "on the cheap" but surely it doesn't have to be this cheap. some of the comments he makes to female commentators are borderline sexist, especially his expectation that they will "cook him a meal", which makes it baffling as to understand why he is still on the air. credit very much due where it is due; who(m)ever is doing the cricket coverage on a paid for basis is doing a most excellent, notably Agnew free, job.
did i have many conversations with people in Scotland about the cricket? no. it's not really what i was sent up there to do. to the best of my knowledge, or as far as i am aware, there's a pretty healthy interest in the great sport in the country, but it would be far from the most popular sporting activity. other than the general, worldwide interest in the Ashes, i am not sure many cricket loving Scottish people would be all that bothered about what's essentially a game between England and Australia.
this is not likely to be of all that much interest to many, but no, this brief exposure to the wonders of cricket coverage on a paid for service has not inspired me to pay for it. it's simply too much cash they want, and i wouldn't be around to get the benefit of it. from what i recall the ECB deeply regret taking money from pay channels, as the game being off free tele has seen considerably less exposure, and so there's less ("fewer") children being inspired to take up cricket. the depth of regret would appear to stop somewhere short of renewing said broadcast contracts, mind.
anyway, time for me to get on with things of stuff. perhaps i shall get the chance, in another hotel somewhere, to see more. maybe (probably) not. but, let's hope for a splendid English win.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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