#Franchise Cricket

[livewellnews]

Clive Madande: Franchise Cricket Can Bring New Talent to Zimbabwe

Wicketkeeper Clive Madande hopes his team can put up a strong performance against India in the upcoming five-match T20 series starting Saturday. He believes that greater participation in franchise cricket could attract more young talent to the sport in Zimbabwe.

The Day Cricket Became a Passion

Clive Madande’s love for cricket began as a 12-year-old when his father took him to watch a Test match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club in 2014. Zimbabwe’s victory by 24 runs left a lasting impression on him. “It was one of the greatest days in Zimbabwean cricket. We beat Pakistan, and I thought, well, I should play this game,” Madande recalls. Now, a decade later, he is a key figure in reviving Zimbabwe’s cricketing legacy.

The Struggles of Zimbabwean Cricket

Despite that memorable victory, Zimbabwe’s cricket has faced numerous challenges over the past decade. Administrative issues, lack of infrastructure, government interference, salary cuts, and a talent shortage have hindered progress. While there have been occasional upsets, such as beating Australia in an ODI in Townsville and Pakistan in the 2022 World Cup, the golden era of players like the Flower brothers, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin, and Heath Streak is a distant memory.

Seeking Guidance from Legends

Madande often seeks advice and motivation from Zimbabwean cricket legends like Dave Houghton and Tatenda Taibu. “Guys like Houghton and Taibu, I speak to them regularly for advice, motivation, and tips. Whenever I feel like struggling, I go back to them,” he says.

Upcoming Challenges and Opportunities

Zimbabwe has a busy schedule ahead, starting with the India T20I series. They will host all top nations except Australia and tour countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and England. Madande sees these matches as a big motivation to play harder and smarter. “Like we showed in the series against Bangladesh, we have talent. We played good cricket there, just that we couldn’t get the results we wanted,” he explains.

Experience and Talent in the Squad

Led by the seasoned Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe’s team includes experienced players like all-rounders Luke Jongwe and Wessly Madhevere, fast bowlers Tendai Chatara and Blessing Muzarabani. Playing in front of home crowds is a huge advantage. “We would be playing in our backyard; there will be a lot of people cheering for us. It’s still the most popular sport in the country, and a lot of youngsters and schoolboys play this game,” Madande says.

Learning from the Best

Madande acknowledges the strength of the Indian team, even though it is an in-transition squad. He admires players like Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, and Jitesh Sharma. The 24-year-old knows that strong performances could attract the attention of IPL scouts. “If more of us get to play cricket in franchises, the game would draw more young talent to it, which would be good for the game overall in the country,” he says.

Building a Bright Future

Zimbabwe Cricket is planning to establish a national cricket academy, refurbish the domestic league, and install indoor training facilities at all five domestic centers. Madande is optimistic that these efforts will help Zimbabwe rediscover its giant-slaying mojo and inspire more youngsters to fall in love with the game, just as he did a decade ago.

[lambjurk]

they flirt kinda weird…

[bibi-likes-to-draw]

Tilly and Cricket as County Trolls!

Reblogs greatly appreciated!

Closeups under the cut!

[vendriin]

Scared Shrekless (2010)

[24bughours]

Transgender bug FACT: the rendition of Jiminy Cricket in the Shrek Halloween Special, "Scared Shrekless", that appears during Pinocchio's story "The Shreksorcist" has an ovipositor, rendering him a trans male canonically

[maretriarch]

we really need a pixie hollow reboot and by we I mean me and my like dementia baby doll brain.

[3eyezmug]

I finaly saw the new movie and it was super good deffinetly recomend

[stokesy55]

@idk-im-weird Beth should always wear a mic 😂

[dukeofriven]

The Mandlorian decided that droids needed a bar, because every Star Wars writer has made the moral black pit of droid sentience and servitude ever more incoherent, absurd, and irreconcilable. (The short version is that droids in Star Wars can fundamentally not be sentient for the ironclad non-diegetic reason in that its moral framework cannot handle the weight that every organic character in Star Wars is at-best totally indifferent to slavery and has casually and comfortably bought slaves, sold slaves, murdered slaves, ripped bits out of some slaves to improve other slaves, left slaves to die, ordered slaves to their death to save their own skins, and watched other people murder slaves without any reaction either personally or within any kind of larger narrative awareness. Stupid writers keep dancing towards the issue because they think it adds 'depth' or some kind of 'edginess' but no, it just breaks Star Wars. Seriously, if droids are fully people Star Wars just... breaks. In a way that's really obnoxious, too, like that one asshole who corners you at a party to tell you that the Jedi are the REAL villains if you think about it. No, dipshit, they're not: even Andor understands that the moral line in Star Wars is really obvious and solid. Star Wars morality can encompass people doing bad things in pursuit of a noble goal, but it never goes 'fascists and anti-fascists are a mirror image' because that's authoritarian-friendly centrist bullshit.

[sidebar: Andor understands that's there's nuance to freedom fighting, that terror can be a tool to fight oppression but, equally, that an anti-fascist who turns to fascism to fight fascism is just a fascist. The tension in Andor is not that fighting fascism will turn you fascist, but that the choices you make might free others but leave you forever chained. You might bring your people to the promised land, but there's no guarantee you'll be able to join them because a moral person who holds themselves to their own moral standard values himself too much to live comfortably with what he's done. Luthen Rael doesn't think the things he are does are justified because of the greater good: he thinks that he couldn't see a better option and he will live every day until he dies questioning, re-litigating, and self-flagellating himself that he wasn't good enough to figure that better option out, and nothing or no-one will ever free him from that guilt and shame. A fascist and an anti-fascist can both do terrible things but its the fascist who can sleep well at night, and that's all the difference in the world. Andor's a pretty good show, y'all.] Thus, as the Empire is explicitly pro-slavery, you can't have the Good Guys also be pro-[droid] slavery as some kind of 'both sides' tu quoque rhetorical flourish. It doesn't work—not in Star Wars. Not even in mildly more amture, grown-up Star Wars/ Droids cannot be sentient in Star Wars because literally the entire moral underpinning that is the narrative raison d'etre of the entire series falls completely apart. (This is, incidentally, the non-mechanical reason I don't like droid PCs in my SW campaigns.) And yes, this is the short version of this argument. The long version involves me whacking you with a pool noodle while reading long passages of Uberto Eco and CLR James until you stop trying to make Star Wars 'edgy' like someone writing an 'evil Santa' movie.)

[softichill]

Sometimes I think about an article I read years ago that called loz 'niche'

[menstitsillness]

bro??? the u.s. is getting its own version of ipl??????

[deliciouspirateangel]

Those fans: idk i just always like the killers more like they’re so much more fun than the heroes idk i guess i just love all the messy complex characters 🤪🤪

also Those fans:

likeee are you sure you’re obsessed with All the killers or are there just two big reasons you’re obsessed with the driest one this go round???

[a2zsportsnews]

Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza hails impact of franchise cricket on lower-ranked nations

Players from lower-ranked nations have limited opportunities to learn from competing with top-tier teams but franchise cricket has helped them develop their skills by rubbing shoulders with elite cricketers, Zimbabwe’s T20 skipper Sikandar Raza has said. Zimbabwe received full ICC membership in 1992 but Ireland and Afghanistan, who joined the fold in 2017, have surged ahead in the white ball…

[college-buz]

Inside IPL Ticket Pricing: From Rs 52,938 to Rs 499 - Here's Why

Ever wondered how much an Indian Premier League (IPL) ticket could cost you? Brace yourself for surprises ranging from Rs 52,938 for prime seats at a Royal Challengers Bangalore game to a mere Rs 499 for an early bird ticket to catch the action with Lucknow Super Giants. The staggering difference reflects the dynamic strategies adopted by IPL franchises to optimize their gate collections in the face of high demand.

With the Indian cricket board granting franchises autonomy over ticket pricing and stands consistently packed with enthusiastic fans, franchise owners are capitalizing on the fervor surrounding marquee matchups. From surge pricing to dynamic rates, teams are leaving no stone unturned to make the most of every seat in the house.

Take Royal Challengers Bangalore, for instance. Despite a lackluster season, their loyal fanbase ensures high demand for tickets, allowing the franchise to command top rupee for entry. While the cheapest ticket in Bengaluru comes at a hefty Rs 2,300, premium seats witness even steeper spikes in rates closer to matchday.

Franchise executives justify these pricing strategies, citing market demand and the need to curb black market resale. In Chennai, for example, ticket prices range from Rs 1,700 to Rs 6,000, with adjustments made based on venue, timing, and the allure of star players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, or Rohit Sharma.

Former BCCI GM Amrit Mathur sheds light on the market-driven nature of ticket pricing, drawing parallels with dynamic pricing models employed in other industries like airlines. He emphasizes that while gate revenue is significant, it's just one piece of the financial puzzle for IPL franchises, with broadcast deals and sponsorships also contributing substantially.

Indeed, the pricing of IPL tickets is a complex interplay of factors, including venue location, fan demographics, and the star power of players involved. As fans eagerly flock to stadiums to witness cricketing extravaganzas, IPL franchises continue to refine their ticketing strategies, ensuring that every seat is filled and every rupee counts in the pursuit of sporting glory.

[cherrycreamsicle]

The fact that rise was so high on that poll is so funny to me. The surge in popularity of rise in 2022 was a revitalization of the tmnt community never before seen