its just not cricket

People often say sport and politics dont mix but I am going to attempt to do so. As you will probably know I have been out of work for over 18 months. While I would much rather be in work it does give me time to indulge in my passion for watching cricket and this is what I want to write about.

Yesterday an icon of English sport and cricket retired from the 1 day and twenty20 form of the game. Kevin Pieterson will still play test matches for England. This is a very strange turn of events because many people retire from tests to play more of the short version of the game. He has retired so he can play in the lucrative IPL where he is paid millons of dollars for 6 weeks work.

Let me explain what this has to do with politics. it is linked with politics because I think that the 24hr news cycle has made politics and politicians a twenty20 style sport. this is the case because twenty20 cricket is over in a matter of hours where as test matches take days. so players have a short time to make an impact and so cricketers now are hitting the ball further and scoring more in a limited amount of time 24hr news has put politicians in a similar mindset with them keen to make a good impression or say the right sound bite because it can work in their favour. Just look at what the TV debates did for Nick Clegg

I have a strategic brain and like to see how things unfold. That is why i prefer Test matches because it can take a few days to see how the game takes shape. while twenty20 is a crowd pleaser. The two games need each other but i fear that twenty20 will reduce the skill level in the longer form of the game. In my views its the same with politics. Debating things in parliament is like a test match it takes time and there is an art form to it. I fear that this will be lost as the media generation of MPs comes in because they will know short snappy sounds bites rather than longer debates so i fear the art form of debating will be lost.