[Tubby Isaacs]

The LIV tour looks like the bastard son of Kerry Packer and South African Rebel Tours.

The purpose, I assume, is the same as Packer- put pressure on the PGA Tour to improve prize money and be more commercially run. But golf now isn't anything like cricket in 1977. Cricket was run by a bunch of cosy suits who had to be shocked into paying players properly. The PGA Tour was run from 1974 by Deane Beman, an ex-player good enough to have come 2nd in the US Open, and he was already modernizing. Top players don't need a pay rise, and mostly they get how bad it looks to be asking for one.

South African rebels tours were more "one last pay day" for old pros. That's how the fields for these events look.

[The Weeping Angel]

Lord Botham of Valencia.

Why is known as that does he have a timeshare in Valencia?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Lord Botham of Valencia.

Why is known as that does he have a timeshare in Valencia?

Why is he known as that? Does he have a timeshare in Valencia?

FTFY

[The Weeping Angel]

Thanks Mr Armsteen.

[mattomac]

The LIV tour looks like the bastard son of Kerry Packer and South African Rebel Tours.

The purpose, I assume, is the same as Packer- put pressure on the PGA Tour to improve prize money and be more commercially run. But golf now isn't anything like cricket in 1977. Cricket was run by a bunch of cosy suits who had to be shocked into paying players properly. The PGA Tour was run from 1974 by Deane Beman, an ex-player good enough to have come 2nd in the US Open, and he was already modernizing. Top players don't need a pay rise, and mostly they get how bad it looks to be asking for one.

South African rebels tours were more "one last pay day" for old pros. That's how the fields for these events look.

Yeah the fields are exactly like that, sad thing is it’s a cosy locked in group, I bet no one goes from LIV to winning a major in a few years the competitive edge will be so off.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Thanks Mr Armsteen.

I think to answer your question sensibly he has, or had, a foothold in the Brexiter's Paradise. Which given his braindead Briton approach to politics had the piss roundly taken, hence the sarky nomen.

And it's not bollocks, it's punctuation. You should try it.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

It's still not bollocks...

[Tubby Isaacs]

One thing that might freshen it up is if they're successful in signing very good college players, as they've apparently been trying to do. It'll be a lot of money for any of them to turn down.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Bit of a tangent, but on the subject of cricketers not being paid well in the past, this is what they were prepared to do for extra money in 1982. Gooch, Knott, Underwood, Tavare, Lever are among the participants. Any boost to the game from Botham's Ashes doesn't seem to have trickled down. Surprised nobody was injured diving around on the hard floor.

Watching this, it's not surprising indoor cricket never caught on. John Lever's asked what the secret of the game is and he says he has no idea. Rules are bizarre, with the main shot apparently a dab into the back corner. There's a hole in one wall. If you hit the ball through it, you win a mini metro which is "suspended from the roof".

[davidjay]

The LIV tour is about rich, comparatively young men making serious amounts of money. In 1977 even established England internationals had to have second/off season jobs; there was a test series a couple of years earlier when the BBC paid £4,000 for radio rights.

[mattomac]

It’s mostly past it and never where players.

[Nigredo]

Bit of a tangent, but on the subject of cricketers not being paid well in the past, this is what they were prepared to do for extra money in 1982. Gooch, Knott, Underwood, Tavare, Lever are among the participants. Any boost to the game from Botham's Ashes doesn't seem to have trickled down. Surprised nobody was injured diving around on the hard floor.

Watching this, it's not surprising indoor cricket never caught on. John Lever's asked what the secret of the game is and he says he has no idea. Rules are bizarre, with the main shot apparently a dab into the back corner. There's a hole in one wall. If you hit the ball through it, you win a mini metro which is "suspended from the roof".

I'd played indoor cricket a few times as a youngster but that was solely to get a fix of the sport during the winter months. I'd never even known professionals to play it until watching this video. It's as barmy and unworkable as you see here.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The TCCB sanctioned this tournament, so presumably this format was one of the more credible ones around. Not really surprising that people tended to stick to net practice in winter.

[davidjay]

I remember playing indoor cricket when it was briefly popular round about 1988.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I expect you've still got the bruises, judging by that video upthread. Surprised it wasn't on Jackass.

[davidjay]

I expect you've still got the bruises, judging by that video upthread. Surprised it wasn't on Jackass.

It was completely different. Six a side, in nets. Everyone had to bat and bowl for two overs and it was very popular for a while.

[Tubby Isaacs]

How did they score runs?

[davidjay]

By running them. The ball is never dead so you could run at any time but you could be caught out off the nets - from memory the courts (for want of a better word) were bigger than an ordinary practice net so placing ground shots was possible. I think you got two points for every run and five deducted for a wicket. Actually I think it was eight a side, everyone bowled two overs and each pair of batmen batted for four overs regardess of how many times you were out.

[Bones McCoy]

I expect you've still got the bruises, judging by that video upthread. Surprised it wasn't on Jackass.

It was completely different. Six a side, in nets. Everyone had to bat and bowl for two overs and it was very popular for a while.

I remember we broke form net practice one evening when 12 people turned up.
Only time we played as there were a few squashed fingers and battered elbows attempting to stop the ball on a hard gym floor.

I recall the best scoring stroke was a short push into the side well (just ahead of square to leg or off) which scored two runs.
Efforts to hit the back wall for 4 or 6 led to a lot of catches.

It wasn't a bad training format, as it brought most of the game's skills into play.
A bit like 11 Vs 5 a side football, the shorter form left a bit to be desired as a spectacle.