Village cricket will not survive the Boriswave. Played against a team of 11 freshies today who:
• Refused to give very obvious wickets (no neutral umpires in Div 9)
• Wouldn’t signal their boundaries (one side of the ground on a slope so unable to see the rope)
• Constantly, relentlessly, endlessly appealed for decisions that couldn’t possibly be out
This might all sound trivial but village cricket is built on trust; the trust that you will have to give your team mates out, the understanding that people will play hard but fair. That If the umpire can’t see something you assist him honestly. This is how the game has been played for 300 years, maybe longer, and now it’s going to be ruined by squealing, selfish man-children who don’t speak enough English to engage in banter, don’t play fairly and don’t stay behind to put even a tenner behind the bar.