A Whiter Shade of Perl
The Times - Silly kit off
Bring back the old cricket sweater and whites
It was once the case that everything in the world was subject to change, except cricket. No more. The new Indian Premier League promises to bring all the subtlety associated with American football to this once venerated sport, while the appeal of the Twenty20 version of the game is such that it cannot be long before the Test match is abandoned in favour of one slog each at a single bowled ball. That ball, incidently, might be pink, as MCC is testing whether this colour assists visibility.
Even the kit is no longer deemed sacred. Since the dawn of time, cricketers have been decked in a uniform that, while called “whites”, was slightly off-white or cream. This noble attire was supplemented by the beloved cable-knitted sweater. Yet the latest England “strip”, unveiled at Lord’s yesterday, represents a wholesale surrender to fashion. The shirt and trousers are so brilliant white that they could come accompanied by the Dulux dog, while the jumper has been jettisoned for a tight-fitting top that leaches the sweat off the body in the style of Tour de France cyclists. …
Cricketers and their sweaters used to be akin to knights and shining armour. England’s cricketers have set off on a few hapless campaigns in the past few years. This is one that can surely be won: bring back the cable-knit.
Yeah!
Honestly, don’t turn it into yet another thing of Britain’s heritage that exists only in Ralph Lauren’s mid-range sportswear collections.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
promises to bring all the subtlety associated with American football
NASCAR~ The end of the world as Boston wants it.
/I just finded the tilde
April 18th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Ick - just say NO to spandex. At least they aren’t covered with Nike logos, and carrying gigantic titanium-hybrid cricket bats like those to which golf has succumbed. As a kid overseas I was better at cricket than basketball.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
As the British ex-pat writer Alistair Cooke (”Letter from America”) noted, there is quite a bit of subtlety in American Football - it’s like a big game of chess. He said the disdain shown it by his compatriots is quite misplaced.
I don’t see much evidence of subtlety in the 20-20 form of cricket, with or without flashy uniforms. I will always prefer the epic novel of the full game (which, for American readers, lasts up to five days), and not just because of the traditional “whites” - although that is a part of it.
Just say No to Spandex, indeed. There is more than enough Spandex for all eternity in the Tour de France.
April 18th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Tour de France, hah. Try Foothill Expressway. DirtCrashr will know what I’m talking about. One summer’s roadtrip we crossed the border, immediately spied a man on a bike in jeans and a flannel shirt, and mom started in on how we must be in Canada since people were bicycling in normal clothes and not a bunch of spandex. I always wondered how all these bikers all got such sweet endorsement deals, Powerbars, Powerade, etc. Then one day I found myself in a bike shop and realized they actually pay money for endorsed spandex bicycling outfits. What utter absurdity.
April 18th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Yes, they’re knockoffs of the pro team shirts - complete with the advertising. Of course the non-shaven legs are a give away.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:22 am
One of my major regrets (I has dem) is discovering bike racing so late in life. I could have been The Jan of my time.
April 19th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Dis Jan…. der Kaiser: http://www.myspace.com/kaiserjan