Vile
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
Fine weather. Set fair. Interesting day in prospect.
Yesterday's play was hard-fought, fluctuating, entertaining and enjoyed by the spectators but also stirred into the pot was a little pinch of vile.
Rikki Clarke bowled less-than-accurately again and there were one or two grumbles and even ribald shouts from the crowd. Fair enough - that's professional sport. But then somebody took it upon himself to bellow out a really nasty piece of personal abuse. Nothing to do with sporting prowess, just a crass outpouring of bile.
I'm sure Clarke didn't hear it - he was 100 yards away - and, even if he did, I expect he would have just dismissed it as, sadly, part of the job. But what is it about a minority of sport spectators that think they can behave that way? I'm sure they wouldn't go up to a bloke, face-to-face, and yell vitriolic personal abuse. Yet there, in the distance and the anonymity of a crowd, they feel they can stoop as low as they like?
It's crap and it's horrible and it's sad and then you switch on the goggle-box and see freak shows like 'The Apprentice' and people being encouraged to be as nasty and aggressive as possible (even more 'entertaining' if it's behind the victim's back) and you think well maybe that's the direction in which we are all being led. And that IS sad.
Older/Newer
« All square | Mike and Bob »
7 Comments
Profile
Brian Halford - Brian Halford’s look at Edgbaston.
Terribly serious for a sunny Thursday morning ahead of a lazy day's cricket, Brian.
But, sadly, I wholeheartedly agree with you. This greed, this self-centred-ness, this celebrity seeking society .... I used to put it down to Thatcher .. then Blair ... who can we blame now!
Ah well, I'll sit in my little cocoon today, hopefully in the sun, just soaking up the radiance of a long, relaxing, enjoyable day watching 13 men in white dashing round an emerald green park, and reflect how lucky I am to be alive after all....
True, bozza bear, we are all lucky. Sometimes, though, I do feel that hermits had the right idea!
I always thought even booing was somewhat unnecessary - players know when they aren't performing, and are undoubtedly more disappointed than you are as a fan.
Thanks for the blog as usual, nice to be able to get bits of reports through the day when I've missed stuff on the commentary! Nice report in the Post today - and if George Dobell is in the box, it was nice to have his piece on Cricinfo to have two reports like last year!
Good for you Brian.
At the Scotland match, when Rikki comes out to bat, we should all stand and applaud him like a hero in recompence. Seriously
Abuse is wrong and whoever stoops to this should be ashamed. Rikki isn't rubbish he is just on terrible form and probably low confidence. Hey that can be the slogan of the "big up RC" campaign:
RIKKI ISN'T RUBBISH!
It does sound pretty disgraceful. Clarke clearly isn't playing well but no-one deserves that. Poor old Alex Loudon copped some fearful abuse a couple of years ago and look what happened to him...
Thank you Emma, by the way.
Due to an injury crisis in the press box, I am reporting today's play for the Post, the Mail and P.A. (The blog entries might get a bit sparse later!)
Think I'll make Warwickshire ascendant in the Post and Hampshire on top in the Mail. On P.A. it will be even steven.