Censorship in English Cricket

There was a time not long ago where you could turn on Sky Sports or Read The Guardian for Critical Analysis about English Cricket. Unfortunately for Cricket Fans and Observers, the era of Critical Analysis is over and it’s been replaced by the Justification Era. In this Era, Cricket Journalists and Pundits are incentivized to Protect Friendships and Maintain Access. What was once the Best Duo in Cricket Commentary and Journalism, now offers very little on the Sky Broadcast. It’s a stark contrast to Sky’s Football Coverage, where Pundits often go into the Battle as if they were Gladiators in Ancient Rome. This is one of my All-Time Favorites. Oddly enough I agree with both Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher. I also feel for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

This isn’t to say we should go back to the Era of Bob Willis. Willis was seemingly annoyed and critical even when England were playing well which in my opinion was a bit too harsh. That said, at least Critical Thinking was involved. The Only Outlier seems to be Mark Butcher, who isn’t afraid to call it like it is. For me this culture is detrimental to English Cricket and its progress. It also makes the consumption of Cricket Content untenable.

This speaks to a wider Cricket Conversation. As a Cricket Fan and Observer, where can I go for High Quality Cricket Content and Debate. Does it Exist? Indian Cricket as we know is largely censored. We lost one of Cricket’s Greatest and Most Powerful Voices for a few years when Harsha Bhogle decided to give an honest opinion. Today Bhogle is a shell of his former self. Sunil Gavaskar takes his talking points from the 4th Floor on ‘D’ Road, while the rest are eager to do the same. But I’m not naive. I get it. There’s a lot of money at stake, I suspect I would shut up if I was getting a piece of the action.

That begs the question. Can we achieve some semblance of balance? Is there a world where we can have honest conversations and honest debates, without being toxic? As an Aspiring Entrepreneur, I believe there’s a huge gap in the Cricket Media Market. Finally, for those who may accidentally read this Newsletter, please share a Book, Podcast, a Column, a YouTube Channel, or Other Media Source that provides Critical Analysis about our Beautiful but Sub-Optimal Sport.