RH likes quoting from articles in the Telegraph. Strangely he hasn't
quoted from Scyld Berry's article in last Sunday's edition, which
included the extract below in a long piece about the MCC and how until
recent decades it has often acted against the best interests of the
game. In discussing the stifling effect that coaches strictly adhering
to the "MCC Cricket Coaching Manual" had, Berry says:

"England’s scoring-rates in Tests from the 1950s tell the dismal tale.
This moribundity also permeated county cricket where scoring-rates and
attendances slumped towards crisis-point. The domestic game was saved by
the invention of limited-overs county cricket in 1962. It was the
brain-child of Michael Turner, the secretary of cash-strapped
Leicestershire, nothing to do with MCC."
--
John Hall
"Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

On Friday, August 19, 2022 at 6:28:38 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> RH likes quoting from articles in the Telegraph. Strangely he hasn't
> quoted from Scyld Berry's article in last Sunday's edition, which
> included the extract below in a long piece about the MCC and how until
> recent decades it has often acted against the best interests of the
> game. In discussing the stifling effect that coaches strictly adhering
> to the "MCC Cricket Coaching Manual" had, Berry says:
>
> "England’s scoring-rates in Tests from the 1950s tell the dismal tale.
> This moribundity also permeated county cricket where scoring-rates and
> attendances slumped towards crisis-point. The domestic game was saved by
> the invention of limited-overs county cricket in 1962. It was the
> brain-child of Michael Turner, the secretary of cash-strapped
> Leicestershire, nothing to do with MCC."
> --
> John Hall
> "Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
> But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
> Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

This was just propaganda. There were some slow games but the vast majority were not.. Moreover, the over rate was much higher. Below are all the innings scores in the 1953 Ashes

Does anyone want to say they were boring game:. Certainly no one at the time did.

Ashes 1953

Test 1
Oz 249 and 123
England 144 and 120 1

1 day lost to rain

Test 2

Oz 346 and 348
England 373 and 282 -7

Test 3
Oz 318 and 38-8
Last day lost to rain

Test 4
England 167 and 278
Oz 266 and 147

Test 5
Oz 275 and 162
England 306 and 132 -2

RH

On Fri, 19 Aug 2022 18:25:54 +0100, John Hall
<john_nospam@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>RH likes quoting from articles in the Telegraph. Strangely he hasn't
>quoted from Scyld Berry's article in last Sunday's edition, which
>included the extract below in a long piece about the MCC and how until
>recent decades it has often acted against the best interests of the
>game. In discussing the stifling effect that coaches strictly adhering
>to the "MCC Cricket Coaching Manual" had, Berry says:
>
>"England’s scoring-rates in Tests from the 1950s tell the dismal tale.
>This moribundity also permeated county cricket where scoring-rates and
>attendances slumped towards crisis-point. The domestic game was saved by
>the invention of limited-overs county cricket in 1962. It was the
>brain-child of Michael Turner, the secretary of cash-strapped
>Leicestershire, nothing to do with MCC."

The Cricketer
April 28th 1951

"The four matches played in New Zealand by the 1950-51 MCC team were
most satisfactory from the results point of view, but the brief tour
was on the whole disappointing for the public. Not very much bright
cricket was seen - "

That's the first few lines from the very first page and there is a
similar theme throughout. The letters to the editor and book reviews
suggest that the cricket of the time was dull, even adverts point to
the same idea.

"Every cricket lover will want to read

English Cricket -
What's wrong with it and why.
By Herbert Sutcliffe

one shilling".

max.it

On Friday, August 19, 2022 at 6:28:38 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> RH likes quoting from articles in the Telegraph. Strangely he hasn't
> quoted from Scyld Berry's article in last Sunday's edition, which
> included the extract below in a long piece about the MCC and how until
> recent decades it has often acted against the best interests of the
> game. In discussing the stifling effect that coaches strictly adhering
> to the "MCC Cricket Coaching Manual" had, Berry says:
>
> "England’s scoring-rates in Tests from the 1950s tell the dismal tale.
> This moribundity also permeated county cricket where scoring-rates and
> attendances slumped towards crisis-point. The domestic game was saved by
> the invention of limited-overs county cricket in 1962. It was the
> brain-child of Michael Turner, the secretary of cash-strapped
> Leicestershire, nothing to do with MCC."
> --
> John Hall
> "Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
> But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
> Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

This was just propaganda. There were some slow games but the vast majority were not.. Moreover, the over rate was much higher. Below are all the innings scores in the 1953 Ashes

Does anyone want to say they were playing a boring game?. Certainly no one at the time did.

Ashes 1953

Test 1
Oz 249 and 123
England 144 and 120-1

1 day lost to rain

Test 2
Oz 346 and 348
England 373 and 282 -7

Test 3
Oz 318 and 38-8
England 276

Last day lost to rain

Test 4
England 167 and 278
Oz 266 and 147-4

Test 5
Oz 275 and 162
England 306 and 132 -2

RH