gemmerbal

The problem that i foresee is this: if theres not enough money to keep the strength in 6 franchises, how does CSA expect to do it for 15? Yes, Kolpak will no longer be a factor in terms of losing our players from the local circuit, but where will the money come from to support 205 odd contracted players? With match attendances non-existent and the lack of broadcasting exposure for potential sponsors, i just dont know the answer to that question. Yes we have seen a dedicated channel on the DSTV platform providing some broadcasting, but i dont think thats enough to pull sponsors. And let me not comment on the quality of cricket on show, again, that is based on the current 6 franchise system. My logic tells me that you do not create quality by dilution. The county system on which CSA is basing their decision has one big advantage: they have plenty of overseas talent bolstering their setup (Kolpak, naturalised expats etc etc). And of course salaries are paid in pounds. And then, whats to stop players ditching a div2 side to go play in div1? This debate has been going on for a while, i believe it was Corrie van Zyl who first pushed for the 2 division system with promotion/relegation. But i honestly feel that all that will be achieved is that we will have more players playing on a further weakened circuit. Again, it is my view that this is no recipe for creating quality. Since we are talking money: operating 15 stadia on a full time basis is about 2,5 times more expensive than operating 6...

Working my way through the Seinfeld series while working. Kramer absolutely cracks me up!

On the pink ball cricket: Im a bit undecided on that one. In the one hand it's making the longer format a bit more interesting and probably drawing in a younger crowd. On the other hand, is a pink ball test in Perth really the same as a red ball test at Newlands? I dont know... I do know that the advent of white ball cricket was supposed to attract younger crowds/money. So I guess that kind of answers it for me.

Ja finished my level 2 for both coaching and umpiring, but I never really gave it any thought other than coaching/playing abroad. umpiring at club level and being threatened with knives/guns is not really what I would like to be doing on a saturday - it is a reality in the WC. As an opening bowler I soon learnt to pitch the ball up, those wickets were/are really sticky and you have some guys just parking off on the backfoot as soon as they hear you are a Saffa (because naturally we are used to a different length back here) and then you are chasing leather. I'll tell you this though, when you get that length right and you hit the seam, I got a little wet spot in my jockstrap hahaha... interestingly, I also prepared our home wicket... haha Jeez that was fun times. I recall one afternoon, parking off on the Bomag rolling the wicket, listening to some tunes on my discman, and even above the rumble and vibration of the Bomag, I heard NEXT level rumbling... took off my headphones and 2 Chinooks were low level flying through the valley... OMG that was insane! We also had midweek cricket, basically it was like pub cricket mostly. We tied the final on the last ball and won the replay, against a side with 4 windies and a couple of aussies. fun times This was pre-social media, sadly the memories are only in my head, and from a couple of newspaper clippings.

as an ex player, i never enjoyed the mik en moer cricket. so i tend to be biased on that basis unfortunately. cricket in my view is played with a red ball, not a white one - i know... what about the pink one EDIT: ex premier league, not first class. it was a close as I was ever going to get sadly. so it probably disqualifies my view around playing for money although I did enjoy a couple of seasons of semi pro status in the UK back in the day.

You are preaching to the choir my friend! Cannot agree more!

You and me both dude. I hate the freeking Indian Parkie League because of exactly that reason!

He was released for the ODI’s as far as I know.

He is back on the move!!!

I elaborated on why i lost my passion for the sport (on the appropriate forum i might add) and then it gets snapped off as some playground drivel, without giving some proper insights. And you want to call me a dewis? I stand by my views. Plain and simple. And just for the record, at no point did i become personal buddy, so please....

Because he is n dewis. Thanks for your insightful contribution ????

I agree with pretty much everything you said there, however Dewis will get the most of my anger because of who he is and his hypocritical nature - this whole BLM thing and how he grew up wanting when in fact that is not the case. His upbringing was much better than most (based on some reading I did a while ago, cannot recall where, purportedly a family friend or something...). And then his hypocritical antics when things dont go his way, but when he dishes some out, there seems to be no problem... But yes, I can like to take a dump and say the same things I did about Nico'tjie Rosberg. Wins one title then runs off like a woos. What kind of sportsman is that? Verstappen, he thinks he is far better than he actually is, and a real crash test dummy just like his old toppie. But... at least he is trying to take the fight to Dewis (did I just say that?) Hey, its sad when you have your romantic dreams spoiled like that. I mean, who wouldnt want to work in F1??? (until you get there???) I dont know what to say about professionalism. In this time where everyone is so self righteous and cannot take ownership of their life decisions, why must advertisers worry about what their sponsored athletes get up to? I mean if Marlboro want to sponsor James Hunt a carton a day, why not? People can still make up their own minds if they want to smoke Marlboro or not? Why must our "heroes" always be clean cut? Like him for his talent, if you dont want to smoke, dont - just a random example to try and illustrate a point... It's the characters that make us follow a sport - at least that how I feel. Without them, the sport is generic, and who wants that? I don't know, for me, Alonso and Kimi are the last REAL characters of F1. Bottas seems to have a bit of flair about him but he will never succeed (nor will anyone else for that matter) in the same team as the prodigal son. How lekker is it to watch MotoGP this year, i mean, just wow!!! And for all the right reasons! EDIT: I left out the Ferraris because they have disappointed me SOOO much I cannot anymore... Seb, the previous golden child, turned into a golden turd. And the Froggie, well he reminds me too much of Alain Prost, and in our house Prost was the antichrist, we were a Senna household growing up.

I may or may not agree with what you have said, but the fact remains that I for one have lost all interest in the sport, viewer numbers are down and globally the sport is nowhere near as appealing compared to the time when racers were men who went wheel to wheel, drank, used drugs, had unprotected sex and partied all night, got up the next morning and drove the living daylights out of their sometimes underperforming cars. That is an undeniable fact as far as I am concerned. We all wanted to be them, or be seen with them; and all women wanted to have them. They were rock stars/gods. Who the f... wants to be like Dewis Hamilton??? or be seen with him??? Brazil had a national period of mourning (3 days) the day Ayrton Senna was buried. Can we honestly say Britain will come to a standstill when LH44 crosses over to the other side? And we want to compare him with that? I dont think so... (I am most certainly not trying to pick a fight with you good sir, just stating my reasons for opining the way I do)

One can only hope. I cannot remember a time when i was this disinterested in F1...

much like cyclists? I am a former cricketer, now cyclist, so i guess im f....ed then...

Sho, thats somewhat uncalled for, coming from a guy who never really lived up to his potential. I reckon that makes him quite a p$&s ... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-8888779/West-Indies-Marlon-Samuels-boasts-f-ing-superior-skin-tone-racist-attack-Ben-Stokes.html

I have rottweilers, always had. They sleep inside for many reasons but the main one is: if you are cold, they are cold. Also, a dog inside the house is much better than a gun in a safe... Much love all you fur-parents! ❤️ Edit: by the time you wake up to get your shooter ready, the dog has long done its job. Just saying...

Rapide hubs and freebodies are by far the most affordable the last time i checked, but i stand to be corrected. And they now have a microspline option too. The hub is around 1800 and the freebody (xd or microspline) is around 900 randelas. Im loving my slx 10-51 ???? https://www.rapide.co.za/

The longest/steepest/meanest hill i ever rode is Jonaskop just outside Worcester. 3hrs to get up the 14kms and 1200m odd elevation, 25mins to get down... ???? It was absolute torture ???? That being said, for the purpose of a hillclimb event, climbing up to Saaltjie (Jonkershoek) from the wrong side could be more suited: 900m long and 130m elev. Edit: Jonaskop is the reason i ditched my 34x11/46 10spd cassette and upgraded to the new SLX (34x10/51)

Sidenote: Michael Schumacher came into a struggling Ferarri team and built a super team. He was dominant once everything came together, and some might say it was as boring as watching the Cornrow win every week. But i dont agree. Schummi was obnoxious and he made no bones about it. He would do anything to win and he made it known. And the point is HE built that Ferarri team up to be what it was. And to be honest, even the times he won his titles it wasnt as one-sided as it has been for the recent past. And he didnt pretend to be PC in the public eye whilst being a crybaby behind the garage door. I dont like Hamilton. I dont care for the records he breaks because he is up against a very week grid and he gets away with too much because “BLM” and god help us if he gets a wrap on the fingers. Not to mention the very one-sided Sky commentary team. Lord when that pretty boy Rosberg comes on I almost feel like taking a dump on my tv screen...

Its difficult for me, as im sure there are others who feel the same, to get excited about f1 the last couple of years. Having grown up with Senna (a god in our household), Prost, Mansell, Berger and then later on Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Villeneuve, Hakkinen, Alonso etc. These guys fought tooth and nail and the championships were never as boring as it has been for the last 3-5 years. Yes at 41 im probably sounding like an old fart. I dont consider everything new to be “not like it was in the old days”, take MotoGP for example, that sport currently is in a magnificent space. But f1 has turned into a circus, its written about all over. Maybe they need Bernie back, i dont know. Anyways, no punches thrown. Just me sharing my view. Just like y’all ????????

Yes, i know, hence i dont like him (the frog) Time will tell whether he is overrated or not. I dont follow the f2 scene very closely. I like him because he has the correct surname ????

I liked your post up to the point where you included Aquafresh Max in your dream team. His father was a crash bandicoot and so is he. The frog also dont excite me, tbh all these snowflake youngsters get on my piston. My heart is with the red team. Pity they dont have drivers or a car this year. Putting all my hope on Schummi junior. Other than that, i cant get myself to watch this season. Luckily there’s a cycling race on. This: https://youtu.be/QdalHDSQRDk