Ngolunye usuku Ndaba uyolo emfutshane ukubukela Bangladesh ithelekiswa Sri Lanka kwi ibhokisi goggle. Kwaqhubeka malunga neyure njengoko amanye amalungu entsapho laphumelela prizing le kude kude kum kamsinya nje ibityekile umva wam.
Kodwa uvavanyo cricket kwi okusemandleni alo. Kwakungekho soqobo iiwikethi yaye kuphela ezimbalwa imitsi kodwa ngokwembono komdlalo oko wayengenakuba ebaluleke ngakumbi.
Umyalelo eliphakathi batsman eyoyikekayo asemaphakadeni eluhlaza Kumar Sangakkara ukuba idlela elinye ngenkulungwane ocoliweyo, njengoko wayekhangele kugaya umsila ukuze ufumane kwamangeno yokuqala lebyi kukhokelela phezu onke. Sri Lanka waba esisisikhokelo ngeenxa 40 iyachiza iiwikethi ezine kuphela ngesandla. Emnandi test lomdlalo weqakamba njengoko umdlalo igwebu ahamba njengokwangaphambili.
Into ebuhlungu ke isihlwele - okanye ukunqongophala. Ndibe ndingekho khona no kubona kuphela oko wayevuya umva umabonakude. Kodwa into ndandibona ukuba ngathi ukubukela umdlalo XI yesibini ngokwemiqathango ng izihlalo. It was the proverbial ‘one man and his dog’ stuff.
Le ehlazekile. I am an unapologetic fan of test match cricket. Kuba Kum ke yeyona owona mdlalo intle kwihlabathi. One day cricket is fun and helps to generate decent sums of money but nothing beats a closely fought five day match. In England attendances seem to be fairly stable but if the Bangladesh v Sri Lanka attendance is anything to go by (hardly a scientific test, Ndiyazi) Ndiya ndingamoyiki kwixesha elizayo.
And I wish I knew the answer to get attendances back up. Do ticket prices play a part? Is too much cricket (kuzo zonke iintlobo) wadlala? Are the pitches too helpful to batsmen so teams rack up 500+ amanqaku kwi kumangeno nganye?
My opinion? As always it’s probably a mixture of the various issues. Test match cricket is a pricey business in the UK but there still seems to be enough people willing to part with their hard-earned cash to fill grounds. But in other countries the question needs to be asked if that is the case? If money is a barrier then get prices down. Sharpish. Fumana amatakane simahla. Too much cricket is also played across the globe and too many modern day batsmen are growing over-inflated averages they don’t merit because of batting friendly surfaces (these are debates for another day).
If you have some thoughts then please contribute to the discussion.
“Ibhola epinki ibonakala ingwevu / luhlaza ngombala obomvu / oluhlaza, kuxhomekeke kubukhali bayo. Ndenze ulinganiso ngobumfama bombala…”