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THE CLOCKS go forward soon and not long after we will start to hear the sound of leather on willow as the domestic cricket season begins.
But when it comes to the longer form of the game, at both domestic and international level, time appears to be going backwards. You will be able to hear bat hitting ball up and down the country, because most county grounds will be close to empty.
We all know the stereotypes. One man and his dog sat behind a picket fence, freezing cold, while tumbleweed blows across the pitch as players stand shivering in the outfield, wearing two jumpers and with their hands in their pockets.
The impending death of county cricket has become an annual debate because attendances continue to fall.
Only the most ardent lover of the game is interested in going to watch a championship match these days, and I dread to think what the average age of this person might be.
But even those a bit long in the tooth must appreciate how utterly ridiculous it is that two sides can play each other for days at a time and still not generate a winner and loser.
Yet the public are not to blame for the apathy that is killing this form of cricket, because if the superstars of the sport themselves can’t be bothered with it, then why should supporters be?
Change is to blame. Cricket is undergoing a revolution and, just like football, greed, hard cash and player-power are at the heart of it all.
Not too long ago lucrative T20 competitions around the world were nothing more than a chance for players past their prime to top up their pension