Its decision to sign a six-year deal with Spark Sport alienated many fans, who suddenly needed two subscriptions to follow the Black Caps and White Ferns.
It turned a lot of people off cricket — a lot.
Barely a week went by without someone having a grumble about it to me.
Some of those people might have even been under the grand delusion that Notes from Slip could talk some sense into them. Ha! But all is well that ends well, kind of.
Spark Sport was not able to deliver to a large enough audience to make it pay and offloaded the deal to TVNZ. That means free-to-air cricket from mid-2023 until the end of the 2025-26 season.
That is a big win for the public. And TVNZ and NZC now have a short window to rebuild the audience base before cricket disappears behind a paywall again.
Crease bound
If Tim Southee (347 wickets) can keep going for another three or so years, he will overtake Richard Hadlee’s record 431 wickets for New Zealand.
Perish the thought. He needs another 15 to overhaul Daniel Vettori (361 wickets) and move into second — that we can live with.
Clubbing it
Club cricket is all done for the year.
But last week Notes from Slip met up with three Albion stalwarts — Jamie Glenn, Josh Cuttance and Tim Ford — with nearly 800 games between them.
Something Jamie said got me thinking. He mentioned he had been lucky enough to play with the likes of Jonathan Trott, Brendon McCullum and Neil Wagner.
Next season will be my 20th summer covering cricket for the ODT.
To mark the milestone I’d like to name the best composite Dunedin club team since 2004.
People like Jamie, Josh and Tim, who gave it their all for their club but did not necessarily have further success, would be at the top of my list for a ‘‘grassroots’’ team.
I’m starting the list but I’ll need your help. Chew it over and flick me your suggestions.
The declaration
Forty years ago, all I wanted for Christmas was an Excalibur. But when Santa gives you a budget brand instead, remember it is nothing a coping saw and sandpaper won’t fix.
Merry Christmas and may all your shoulders be rounded off.
