England tour of India

[Durhamfootman]

One thing I didnt know is NZ cricket have just sold all their rights to Amazon Prime from later this year.

maybe the reason Bezos stepped down is so he can concentrate on becoming CEO of NZC

[Dr Cricket]

Nah channel 4 paid 7 millions for the rights the only reason it was announced last minute. Was because ecb and bcci were blackmailing sky and bt sports.

Basically this is what happened star originally wanted to only show the cricket on hotstar the streaming service for star. This annoyed bcci and ecb and they both forced star to show this big series on tv, in return star then said fine we want 20 million for the right then, but sky and bt didn’t want to pay in the last few years sky and bt have started to be tight and pay less which is bad news for ecb but actually good news’s for fta more likely they steal sports rights like 4 did here.

Anyway I read reports bt and sky actually bidded more than 4 but less than 20 million that star wanted and the reason for the last minute announcement was their were waiting to see if they will show desperation and pay for it. Star and bcci took the old formula 1 rule in that the cheaper 4 bid would outweigh the extra sponsership that can be seen on the telly. Plus bcci and star don’t need the money as well.


Still mad how 4 got the rights for peanuts and ecb and bcci were the sole reasons for it.

Just brings memories to 03 and 05, skipped 04 lol think West Indies were too *modded* for me to waste my summer holidays on them.
This will be special though never saw an india test on 4.

[Dr Cricket]

Anyway good news for me I really didn’t want sky to win it not sure I like the pandemic coverage they would give. Really don’t like off tube comms and they really unable to get a indian representive and outside Hussain and atherton the rest and ok and average.
Bt sports I cancelled last week so I do not want to pay 45-50 pounds for it so it worked out well in the end. We get host feed on 4 plus the normal pundits on 4.

Not sure sky would have been able to give good coverage for it probably explains why they didn’t bid for it much, since they be forced to do off tube comms and give *modded* coverage that people don’t expect from sky cricket.

[Dr Cricket]

of course Channel 4 might bring back the oleaginous Mark Nicholas

They tried to but mark nicholas signed for talkSPORT, they tried Vaughn and Pietersen and were both busy as well so we have cook and Strauss instead.

Rishi persad presenting
Strauss and cook pundits and one other not announced yet.
Comms are the host feed which includes mark butcher, nick knight.

[Durhamfootman]

Cook and Strauss sounds rather dull, DC

well..... as long as no-one mentions KP to Strauss, that is. Mention KP and Strauss suddenly becomes outrageously animated.

It's hard to tell, but I think they might have issues

[Arthur Crabtree]

Strauss and cook pundits and one other not announced yet.

There'll always be some bad news if you keep looking.

[sussexpob]

Strauss and Cook in the box at the same time has the potential to kill more people through boredom than covid's managed.

Might be watching this in total silence

[Durhamfootman]

it seems we are all in agreement, then

Cook and Strauss is a poor choice

then again, when the alternative could be a combination of Boycs, Aggers, Blowers and Nicholas, maybe this is a winner?


or maybe not

[meninblue]

It does leave you wondering what the future has in store either way. Sky not paying the price is interesting for a marquee team like India, especially when Amazon Prime have been clear that they want to compete to show the Ashes next year. Maybe its the end of Sky dominating coverage, and I wonder how many subscribers pay the frankly ridiculous monthly charges as the big streamers strip content from them, then front up massive entertainment catalogues for a fraction of the price.

I mean if this was on Disney Plus this time round, I could sign up for a month at 6 Euros, then cancel it after the series.... and with that I would get a huge library of series and films to watch too.

What does sky cost? 100 quid a month with all the sports? No contest.

Hotstar costs INR 299 for full year. It shows IPL, Matches played by Indian team in India, Two matches per day when Ranji trophy is played, Syed Mustaq Ali T20 tournament, some may he's played by India A team, hihlights of best bowling and best innings . Of that is not enough for INR 299, one can watch movies as well. I doubt there is another better product considering that price point. Given the number of viewers even if they make few rupees profit, the population of India will give them a huge profit. One everyone gets used to streaming content over mobiles, they can then raise tarriffs for yearly package.But mass Indian market is cost conscious. So the price hike will work only if it is acceptable to spenders.

[meninblue]

Cook and Strauss sounds rather dull, DC

well..... as long as no-one mentions KP to Strauss, that is. Mention KP and Strauss suddenly becomes outrageously animated.

It's hard to tell, but I think they might have issues

Durham, how about energetic Danny Morrisson who will make faces, use different type of voice tones

[meninblue]

England opt to bat first. No surpise there.

Three spinners for India. Two for England.

[Dr Cricket]

Boom nice start always love India bowling first in India.
Make the win more sweeter kills the toss argument.

Really don’t understand how the toss make a huge difference In a test match. The whole point of test cricket is that in reality no luck or small variables should make a difference and certainly the small advantage of winning toss should cancel out during the game .

[meninblue]

Not watching this, but still Chennai wicket so I expect lot of favor for spinners. More slow wickets than other wickets in India. Unless the groundsman beats the nature and manages to surprise everyone.

Axar injured.

Jaddu will be missed. He has been brilliant in tests in last two years, with bat as well as with ball. Still Ashwin, Shahbaz and Sundar can run through the England batting.

Virat should let Ashwin and Shahbaz bowl more overs in tandem. Sundar will also be handful at Chennai.

[Dr Cricket]

Cook and Strauss sounds rather dull, DC

well..... as long as no-one mentions KP to Strauss, that is. Mention KP and Strauss suddenly becomes outrageously animated.

It's hard to tell, but I think they might have issues

Well they only gonna be speaking or seen during the breaks.

Anyways seen graves yet man said test cricket will never go fta and if it did test cricket bankrupt.
Man the biggest idiot in world cricket.

[Red Devil]

Boom nice start always love India bowling first in India.
Make the win more sweeter kills the toss argument.

Really don’t understand how the toss make a huge difference In a test match. The whole point of test cricket is that in reality no luck or small variables should make a difference and certainly the small advantage of winning toss should cancel out during the game .

If the pitch is flat but then deteriorates then winning the toss gives you the chance to bat for 2 days while the pitch is flat and then bowl when it's turning. Obviously you still have to bat and bowl well but the toss should be an advantage

When was the last time India won a toss though - that's at least 5 tosses in a row that Ind have lost