The sad passing of Classical Chess and Five Day Cricket

Send us Fan MailOn 2 September a mock obituary appeared in The Sporting Times. It read:In Affectionate RemembranceofENGLISH CRICKET,which died at the Ovalon29 August 1882,Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowingfriends and acquaintancesR.I.P.N.B.—The body will be cremated and theashes taken to Australia.I mused about this today as I searched for the results of cricket’s county championship, realising it if not dead, is terminally Ill, largely surviving as a relic from a golden age.  A new ‘modern’ game is emerging. This is at present labelled as the one day game, as opposed to the classical version. A brief comparison with chess shows how  the classical game is differentiated from a developing set of related games in which speed is one variable, fast chess from rapid, to blitz to bullet time limits.My suspicion is both chess and cricket will re-stabilise with a ‘classical’ structure, perhaps with a sense of history and high status, and numerous variants of low status but attracting large numbers of enthusiasts and promotional money.Stay up-to-date with all of Tudor's podcasts, blogs and current affairs commentary by signing up to our newsletter! Email [email protected] to sign up!Follow Tudor on Twitter @TudortweetFollow Tudor's blogs:everydaycreativity.ukleaderswedeserve.wordpress.com