Like many others ‘Talking Bails’ was excited that the ICC World Cup was coming to the UK and greatly looking forward to attending as many matches as the budget would allow. Not many would be the answer as it turns out.

That didn’t reckon with the excruciating and interminable system of buying a ticket via the web site. It’s not just buying them in this country, friends in Australia and elsewhere planning to come over have found the same problems.

Log on, user name, password, re-log on and repeat, onto web site, look at matches, apply to buy and then………….1hour, 2 hours, 3 hours and after 4 hours and a whole morning of my life that won’t return; finally give in.

But that’s not the end, in an effort to make keyboard warriors of us all or alternately increase sales of laptops etc as we throw the at the wall, comes the message;

‘Thank you, we hope you enjoyed your queueing experience’

Really ICC, go on, have a guess at my enjoyment level on a scale of one to ten and also include the figure nought or even better minus.

That’s not the end of the insult as ‘Talking Bails’ switched on the television and saw what looked like rows of empty seats which is because that is exactly what they were, seats with no occupier.

It seems to ‘Talking Bails’ that in an effort to sell cricket to a wider community, the ICC have forgotten that witnessing a game live is the best way to sell any sport and its players, teams, merchandise etc; cricket needs to make itself available, affordable and accessible.

Happy watching, from wherever you may be.

Time to go local on Saturday and switch off with a beer

Available, affordable and accessible……….and always enjoyable