Sharp-eyed cricket fans will have observed that fast bowler Jofra Archer is not exactly flavour of the month with the suits who run the game. Archer decided to ignore the ‘bio-secure protocols’, by which players, officials and even journalists all live in a hotel before and during a test match. Archer chose to return home. Chief suit Ashley Giles said it could have been a ‘disaster’. Strong words indeed. Imagine the possibility of accidentally spreading COVID-19 around the dressing rooms and potentially killing people. Oh, wait. ‘The ripple effect it could have had could have cost us tens of millions of pounds,’ added Giles. Now we know why the test series went ahead.
Let’s not just blame cricket for putting money ahead of people’s health in the grand scheme of things. They’re all at it. Don’t kid yourself that the Premier League has been wheeled out for any other reason than to collect some money from Sky. Sky (and BT and, to a far lesser extent the BBC and Talk Sport) provides the money to make the Premier League what it is today, a bloated, overrated, over-priced product for the masses to consume from the comfort of their armchairs. How on earth could, say, Arsenal afford to pay Mesut Ozil circa £400k a week for twiddling his thumbs in the bio-secure stands?
The strange prioritisation of money above all else is hardly new. Think of how many managers and club owners have complained at a dodgy referring decision that has ‘cost the club millions’. I never quite thought of sport in that way, but then I am a bit old fashioned and still put sport well ahead of the money. Silly me.
Barring the games in which Liverpool have played, I have not watched another game in its entirety since the Premier League season resumed. The total lack of atmosphere at the grounds – to be fair, you’d have never noticed the difference at the Etihad or the Emirates – ruins it for me, not that I am desperately interested at the overwhelming majority of matches which hold no interest at all. The football channels have done their best but even they must have realised you can’t polish a turd.
It’s the same with the cricket, too, although, as with Arsenal and Manchester City, West Indian players are well used to silent stadia because almost no one goes to their home games anymore. However you dress it all up, it feels everyone is simply going through the motions.
Doubtless the suits at football and cricket HQ will be rubbing their hands with glee as they count their money. The people’s winter sport and the people’s summer sport without people. Can anyone tell me the point of all that?
