Updates from the 'Thinking bunker' or 'Toolshed'
An unexpected hiatus has given rise to many new projects here at SpeakingNick. I thought it was time to share a few below:
Seasonal changes in sport can lead to new perspectives and renewed optimism. On any sporting calendar, April evokes only one thought (well, maybe two) - The Masters. And, a cold, wet start to the English county cricket season.
The Masters - unfortunately, the mullet (Cameron Smith) for Australian readers, couldn’t maintain his stellar form down the stretch. While Smith enjoyed another profitable Masters, the mullet and green jacket will have to wait for now. Jim Nantz will breathe a sigh of relief.
BTW, for those interested in perfectly balanced golf commentary, look no further than Geoff Shackleford’s substack The Quadrilateral - we are followers at SpeakingNick.
So, to the cold, wet county cricket season. It appears that the sun is shining prematurely in the northern hemisphere. English domestic cricket is flourishing, runs are flowing freely, and spectators are enjoying uninterrupted cricket. Well, not exactly.
Enter the ECB (English & Wales Cricket Board) - I can hear, where did the Welsh bit go? Answer: Robert Croft (Glamorgan and England) was such a colloquial numpty, the one-eyed old Etonians decided to omit the Wales appendix in a fit of monarchistic petulance!
Dis-functional organisations are likely to treat their constituents disparagingly. Quote, and un-quote.
Cricket Australia, the ECB's counterpart, was described by a 2018 Ethics centre review as transactional, unsupportive, and arrogant. When there's smoke, there's fire - English cricket has always followed the lead of Australia blindly.
April sunshine in no way should shadow the issues that face the gate-keepers of English cricket. So, the notion that English cricket is flourishing, is of course, a SpeakingNick furphy!
For those interested; openings exist in the following roles:
Head Coach - Male - White Ball Team
National Head Selector - Male
Selection panel - Male (multiple jobs)
England Test Captain (yes, at number four)
Head Coach - Male - Red Ball Team (yes, at number five)
And, if you can wait a while, there is likely to be an opening for: CEO - Male - Cricket. The hammer must surely come down on the elusive Tom Harrison!
Please forward CV’s and cover letters to this email - robkeywillfixeverything@ecb.co.uk
Sincerely, and with equal earnestness, all of us here at SpeakingNick propose that we think, and write further about the England cricket team, and of course, the faltering English domestic game.
To start, I’m going with a section titled ‘In the shires and sexes’ (you can suggest alternatives in the comments if you think this is too risky)
Our initial focus will be on Middlesex and Nottinghamshire, which covers both divisions, and ticks both shire and sex boxes! And there is more; we have ‘insiders’ on both teams.
For the England team - we will monitor the work of Rob Key (Director of men’s cricket) over the next few weeks. The former Kent captain, turned broadcaster, has plenty on his proverbial plate. His administrative experience appears as thin as the candidate pool he rose from.
However, at a time when corporate speak abounds in English cricket, Key’s apparent aversion to it is a welcome start. Let’s wait and see?
As for the international summer of cricket in England, we will be able to pour over an unprecedented seven test series. Three with New Zealand, three with South Africa, and a single test against India in July.
And then closer to home; we will be watching Australia’s extended tour of Sri-Lanka with interest.
Next on the list of updates is a section titled ‘The streetwise cricket dictionary’
With cricket on the rise in North America, and with a significant tribe of subscribers from that continent, I thought it would be beneficial to demystify some of the archaic language around the venerable game. So … ‘The streetwise cricket dictionary’ idea was born.
Eventually, I hope to produce a publication from the collaborative research and writing on this topic.
In alphabetical order, we will explore true and tested cricket terms. Furthermore, we will explore an emerging vernacular that has appeared and continues to influence 21st century cricket speak. I hope anecdotes and a coloured narrative will add some mirth to the myriad challenges that talking cricket presents.
This dictionary will no doubt look, and read, differently than the norm. Here is a taster:
~ approach (noun) - 1. a bowler’s journey to the crease prior to delivering a ball. aka as run-up. 2. a parcel of ground where the bowler accesses the bowling crease “both approaches were soaking wet after overnight rain”
Not to be confused with approach - meaning situational strategy and technique when dealing with an opponent, or team.
I would focus on the bowler’s run-up, and take note of the ground area the bowler uses prior to delivery
Confused? Yes, the venerable game is challenging when it comes to conversing.
~ access (noun) - 1. a batsman’s ability to position himself in a way to easily hit, make contact, with the ball. “with a closed stance, Hameed had issues accessing straight balls, resulting in a LBW tendencies”
Suitably confused? That’s OK - we will decode together.
Finally, I would like to explore a series of editorials on people who have dedicated the majority of their adult lives to cricket - wether they are players, coaches, administrators, or both. It will be titled: cricket’s LIFERS
Opening the batting will be the late Rod Marsh. I hope it's going to be an excellent starting point.
Australian cricket’s royalty gathered at the Adelaide oval to say farewell to the former wicketkeeper and selector who died in March, aged 74. Marsh played 96 Tests for Australia between 1970 and 1984, claiming 355 dismissals behind the stumps.
95 of those 355 dismissals involved his great mate - Dennis Lillee - “caught Marsh, bowled Lillee” will continue to be an enduring legend. More on Bacchus soon.
So, that’s it for now from the toolshed.
I heard a yarn about a distinguished U.S. fiction writer who spoke of his writing shed in NYC. Apparently, his wife converted the old shed from a once beloved toolshed, transporting it to a spic and span writing shed. His daughters remind him often “he is now the only tool in the shed” - I liked it!
Thank you, as always, for taking the time to be here at SpeakingNick
