Flashy, cash-rich football driving cricket out
Writing for The Guardian Jonathan Freedland talks about how the big money and clout of football is driving people's interests away from cricket
08-Aug-2015
In his column for The Guardian Jonathan Freedland writes about how the big money and clout of football in England is hogging cricket's much deserved airtime with the masses. He feels the ongoing Ashes will soon lose a large part of its audience to the English Premier League which is set to begin August 8.
What could be better, on a warm summer's day, than to see England uncurl those Australian fingers from the urn and win back cricket's most fabled prize?
Except, what's this? In a few hours' time the attention of the nation's sports lovers will swing away from cricket towards football. Yes, even though August is in its infancy and the days are still long, we shall tomorrow hear the whistle of the ref, the outraged howl of crowds baying for a penalty and the protestations of innocence from players who've dived as extravagantly as if they'd leapt from Tom Daley's highest board.
A quirk of the diary it might be, but it feels like an offence against nature all the same. For the football season to begin now, as the Ashes reaches its climax, is all wrong.