GLAMMY

[blue lewj]

Regarding City, you look back beyond the last decade and there’s always been a Welsh nucleus (often a large one) in the team. City’s first team may not have a Welsh identity these days (maybe that’s why I don’t feel as close a connection to the club now), but it’s had one for the huge majority of its existence. Same with Glamorgan, the number of Welsh players may have dropped, but they’re still there and they are definitely a Welsh team.

What is The Welsh Fire meant to be? A side representing Wales of just a franchise? The make up of the team currently suggests the latter and, if that’s the case, they may as well rebrand the team as South West Fire and start alternating home games with Bristol ( a large potential audience is being ignored there) and Taunton - after all, Gloucestershire and Somerset at least have some representation in the team.

I agree about the T20 Blast which the marketing and media people at the ECB seem to have grown tired of and thrown away like a discarded toy. You only need to look at other parts of the world to see how popular it is and yet the money men and women prefer a new competition which offers a little more than three overs a side less and a few gimmicks thrown in - give it a couple of years and they’ll be agitating for something else (the One maybe) and the Hundred will be seen as old hat.

We're talking modern day though. I'm not sure the modern sports fan cares too much where the players are from. Obviously nice if they're local products and you have that connection but the requirement for many is if they are any good. Many will take performance over shoe-horning Welsh lads in for the sake of it. Do Man City fans care they have very few Mancunians in the team while winning the Premier League? I very much doubt it.

What is any new team meant to be really other than have a name representing the place it is from and actually playing there? All of the things you accuse the Welsh Fire of could be aimed at say Cardiff Devils. Most teams have to start somewhere. Again, it is a game where a glut of Welsh talent isn't at its disposal, at least if they have any aim to be competitive.

I think that the ECB could have saved money by not starting from scratch and keeping all the counties happy. They haven't though and whether we like it or not people seem to like it in record figures. Crowds drop off at City if we are playing rubbish as they do at virtually every sports team regardless of history. They could potentially go higher if Welsh Fire produce a successful team too. It isn't unique to the Hundred.

I enjoy watching it but have tried to take it on face value rather than get caught up in where the players are from etc.
Some of the performances have been shocking though. Yesterday, having been in some kind of control, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.