Murray out of touch with fans

Being a cricket-loving 30-something (sadly, not my batting average), I can sympathise a little with Iain Murray’s traditional cricketing stance, but agree wholeheartedly with John Read’s desire to make a change at the pavilion end.

Surely it is better to encourage a wider audience to the game? After all, the nature of the game itself is not being subjected to any changes.

As the father of three typical teenage boys, I can bear witness to the fact that Channel 4 is making the game more attractive to both occasional viewers and cricket lovers – and that includes all the fringe aspects of its coverage.

That is surely the point. Murray might well prefer the quiet, cosy atmosphere that MCC membership provides, but that privilege (and that’s often what it is) is not the atmosphere in which the vast majority of cricket lovers will ever watch the game.

And while the lucky few crave silence in the comfort of their exclusive privacy, one cannot resist asking the question: what contribution are they making to the long-term benefit of the game?

I applaud the marketing initiatives from ECB and Channel 4 and hope they can attract a swell of new young talent, more interested in stopping the rot – not the music.

Martin Henson

Marketing director

Maple Works

Hove

East Sussex