Yes Twenty20 has its place in cricket - but as this article from the BBC notes, it was introduced to fill a specific need, namely addressing the issue of flagging (or non-existent) attendances at domestic cricket. Here in Enzed it has shown that it can bump the numbers up, at least for the next few years, but if it becomes a staple of international cricket then people will just say: “Bugger the domestic game, let’s swagger along to the international ones instead”. Then it will be back to square one. A take the piss tour opener and a 4-yearly festival tournament is enough for us…
Taki Anaru is one of the earliest Beige Brigade supporters, all the way from his wonderful Pacific Island home in the Cook Islands. Here he is in an old school Auckland Shell Cup kit:
Still here in the Cooks - opening the innings for Titikaveka. Got down to the West Indies’ first test but very few Beige in attendance [very few anyone in attendance!] Hope to see you on the TV soon.
Hard on the heels of Richie & SP Fleming taking the piss (apparently), comes this cracking effort from an Ausisie bloke reworking the ‘Where the Bloody Hell Are You?’ tv ad…click here to view. He has already been in trouble for it with the lawyers and so on, so it must be good! By the way, Lara Bingle, girl in the real ad is the new ‘hot chick’ of the day, with the bog standard topless photos from before she was famous surfacing in Zoo Weekly. The SMH reports on that here.
[26 March 2006 ] By EMMA PAGE
The Police Association wants more public debate about the use of security staff at cricket matches as issues of crowd control continue to simmer. Security guards have to be licensed and pass a police check, but security industry insiders say the laws need to be tighter to ensure workers are suitably trained.
Police Association president Greg O’Connor said the use of force by security guards was a grey area. “In the past, police officers have done that work. Now, without any real policy decision, police have basically stopped doing that because generally they haven’t had the staff available.”
Security guards are entitled to ask people who are not complying with entry conditions to leave. If they refuse, security staff are entitled to use reasonable force to remove them. Police are present at cricket games, but O’Connor said disruptive fans were often apprehended before police became involved.
Security Association chairman Scott Carter said laws did not adequately cover security guards, and many were untrained. “It would be desirable to have the duties and responsibilities of security officers more clearly spelt out.”
The security industry is regulated by the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act 1974. Security Officers Association spokesman Darryn Loveridge agreed all security workers should receive training. He said sports game security personnel would be respected more by the public if they were expected to conform to the same legislative standards as professional security officers.
“Adherence to such standards would eliminate the unsuitable or untrained element seen at recent venues that has given crowd controllers a bad name,” he said.
New Zealand Cricket marketing manager Peter Dawn said he had been told security personnel used at cricket matches had been trained. He said security played a complementary role to police.
Alcohol is widely blamed as a major factor in crowd behaviour problems, and there has been debate about whether light beer should be introduced during games - similar to the policy at many Australian sports grounds.
Paul Ford, co-founder of the cricket supporters club Beige Brigade, wanted more understanding from security staff. “It should be about the fans having a good experience. It seems everyone is paranoid about one or two idiots getting drunk and running on to the field.” Former Black Caps player and coach Warren Lees, now a radio commentator, said people were being turned off going to the cricket because of heavy-handed security techniques.
He said security staff should be aware of the crowd they were dealing with and not assume all crowds would be rowdy. “The security at Eden Park, where there are streakers and people throwing cans, and students out of control, is not the same security you need on the grass bank at Napier or the grass terrace at Queenstown.”
Got this note below through from JR. Presumably he and countless others won’t have TankVac (the annoying sponsor of Radio Sport’s cricket coverage) on his shopping list. If the ads mean you miss the coverage of the game, then what is the point of the ads? And what is the point of ’sponsoring’ the ads? Surely you want your audience and potential buyers to be happy and enjoy the coverage, not bug the hell out of them and play a major role in them missing the important bits?:
“Fair enough it’s got to run commercials to make some money but can the chumps at Radio Sport have a bit of a think about the timing of their incessisantly repetitive and moronic ad-breaks. Painting the house yesterday, I gave up on listening to the Test when I missed the Lara dismissal. Here was Lara batting in NZ for the last time, in form, at last playing outrageous shots & throwing down the gauntlet to the Kiwi bowlers. Great listening. But “while we were away” we missed his dismissal, not to mention the ongoing game analysis & banter between overs by Waddle and co (Wads and Blainy by the way are great and in MHO are way better than the Sky commentary team). Nice one.”
A typically savage view of the Australian cricket commentators from an old school New Zealand journalist. We LOVE Bill Lawry, bit lukewarm on Tony Greig admittedly, but he does good job. Gavin Larsen anyone? Nah, not really. The Aussie blokes are institutions, part of the cricketing fabric of growing up watching cricket in New Zealand…
From Daz - a long-serving beige lieutenant (it’s 100% true as well):
G’day chaps. Been waiting for an opportunity to air out the rug and the nut huggers in Japan and could not think of a better occasion than the Inuyama Penis Festival. Basicaly a lot of free sake and a parade involving many large wooden cocks. Ran into a strange bloke who was clearly intrigued by the beige kit, his hobby seems to be wandering around random places and getting photographs of him grabbing people’s crotches, although I got a little more than i bargained for. After posing for the photos he showed me his “collection” of photos including him grabbing a few policemen and some Japanese celebrities. He was a strange bloke. Fuck all cricket here!
Goodness gracious - wish we’d stumbled across this before Christopher pulled up stumps. Click here to go to the page where you can hear the music of “The Chris Cairns Band”…
Bugger! Another record’s about to get swiped from a Kiwi. The SMH reports that Gilchrist, he of the wide head and plummeting batting average, is about to overtake Cairns as the hitter of the most sixes in Test cricket. The most out of place on the list is surely Carl Hooper, more renowned as a partnership builder and run collector than a tonker. Flintoff is a chance to catch Gilly one day, but you’d think Lara and Chef Hayden will be racing Gilchrist to get to the retirement couch.
The most sixes, as of March 15
C Cairns (NZ) 87×6/ 62 Tests
A Gilchrist (Aus) 87/80
V Richards (WI) 84/121
B Lara (WI) 78/122
M Hayden (Aus) 74/79
C Lloyd (WI) 70/110
A Flintoff (Eng) 68/58
I Botham (Eng) 67/102
G Greenidge (WI) 67/108
C Hooper (WI) 63/102
One of the most prized records in cricket has been held by a New Zealander for over two decades - but the record changed hands last night. Australian bowler Mick “I look like I’ve just stepped out of the pub” Lewis had his bowling crucified primarily by Herschelle Gibbs overnight as the Aussies were destroyed by Sth Africa in the final ODI. Lewis conceded 113 runs off his 10 overs - God only knows why Ponting brought him back after his 8 overs went for about 80-odd - and Martin Snedden was bumped to the silver medal position.
Was this a piss-take for The Cricket Company - or an “I thought we weren’t recording” outburst from Skipper Fleming…
To: letters @nzherald.co.nz
We write in response to Martin Fitting’s letter on page A10 of today’s NZ Herald, where he laments the lack of Stubbies in the Land of the Long White Cloud. We can confirm that brown Stubbies are well and truly back and are selling second only to beige cricket shirts on the Beige Brigade website (www.beigebrigade.co.nz). If Martin contacts us we would happily reacquaint him with a pair of Stubbies, made the traditional way and still as appalling as ever.
Yours sincerely
Paul Ford & Mike Lane
Beige Brigade HQ
