No I am not a Tory - of all the things you have ever said that's the most offensive
bayernoatcake !
I run one of said junior cricket teams down at Knype, we have a large and successful kids section, not half as successful as places like Hem Heath and Moddershall mind but there are lots of leagues and lots of kids playing multi times every week
Drop off nowadays is 16-18 when the kids find 'other' things to do, or are already playing 1st and 2nds if good enough.
Cricket was underfunded for decades with poor TV coverage and deals, its no coincidence that the teams ascent up the rankings, professionalism and exposure increased tenfold with Sky.
Think Sky could do themselves a favour and put SSN back on Freeview, or even the Sky Sports Mix channel where the odd Grand Prix, Cricket and Football game are shown for free
For those regaling the olden days, if you were lucky you may have got 'The Big Match' on a Sunday afternoon showing a game every few weeks, there has always been MoTD on late on Sat, so not sure why its different now - there used to be about 15-20 games a season shown live on BBC/ITV at most - even in the 90s it was mainly Championship games not the Prem.
There are also a shitload of sports that wouldn't get a look in on the old guard - Netball, Basketball, fuck me even 10 pin bowling and pool are shown on Sky!
I enjoy my Sunday night US golf, the European tour gets unrivalled coverage, Speedway et all are shown
The only thing BBC and ITV really want to show are Golf Majors, Prem games (usually Man Utd or Liverpool!), World Cups/Euros and the Olympics - they have no interest in the week to week competition which is where Sky wins out giving these sports airtime
Sorry if you disagree, I begrudge paying for it so much, but I love sport (at all levels) so I do.
We all saw the mess ITV made (and some clubs felt for years!) with their effort at a dedicated sports channel!