The Future of Cricket?
Yeah I know, more cricket ramblings...
So I've just listened to this interesting discussion on Twenty20 cricket and its possible impact on the future of the game.
Twenty20 (or T20) was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) back in 2003. Some nations (Australia in particular) scoffed, regarding it as some sort of playtime version of the game. They're taking it more seriously now.
This form of the game has been hugely successful domestically, playing to sell-out crowds across England and Wales - unheard of for the counties. The inaugural World Twenty20 went down a storm in South Africa last year, and now the Indians have taken the lead. Firstly, the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) was set up promising big bucks to those who would brave international bans (ICL was not sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), cricket's governing body). Then the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Indian equivalent of the ECB, set up its own Indian Premier League (IPL) in an incredibly short space of time and is due to start its 6 week run in April. The sums of money are vast, with some players making over £0.5m and if the success of the ICL is anything to go by, the grounds will be packed solid.
The ECB response? Well, I'm sure you can guess... veiled threats that players will lose their England place if they chose to play in the IPL (it will mean they miss part of both the English domestic season and New Zealand visit) and no real clue how to deal with it. Instead of being clever and working with the IPL/BCCI and using their success to advance the game in England, they've gone all negative. And where are the ICC in all of this? Well, nowhere by the looks of it. Thank god for forward thinkers like the CEO of Surrey CCC who has very good ideas for pushing Twenty20 in England.
You see, this form is fun, exciting, quick. All the things that the watching public want these days. Yet the ECB seem reluctant to even push the start of domestic T20 games back 30 mins or so to give people a chance to get to the ground after work. Come on guys, think of the punters. This is a great thing for cricket: new bums on seats; cash in the county coffers; possibly, in the longer term, new converts for test cricket.
And it is to test I must turn. My favourite form of the game. I can quite happily sit a listen to TMS all day, but I certainly can't afford to go and watch a 5 day game - either in terms of £40+ per day, or in holiday: I have to work for a living. It's even worse for the County Championship, they often play to almost empty grounds. 4 and 5 day games are difficult for spectators, no matter how much you love the game. Even at the international level, attendances are falling outside of England (which always seems to sell out international test matches).
The ECB must look at new ways to promote the long form at domestic and international levels, but they won't manage that by sticking their head in the sand, ignoring the Indian developments and well, getting all English about things. This is a great opportunity for the future of the game and we need dynamic, forward-thinking people in charge to make the most of it.
Personally, I'd at least ditch the Pro40 games, and maybe look at shortening county games to 3 days or introduce 3 leagues of 6 instead of 2 leagues of 9, so there are fewer long games played. This of course must be balanced against harming the international test side but the Australians seem to manage without playing so much 4-day cricket. The 50 overs Friends Provident Trophy has already had some changes for this season, so lets see how they work. But hopefully we should now have a bit of space for more Twenty20, and a bit of scope to shuffle the internationals around so players can play in India, and indeed overseas players can come and play in the English competition.
If they could organise it so that the English T20 competition ran between the departure of the first tourists of the summer and the arrival of the second (currently the gap is only about 2 weeks), you could have a real winner. A cricket competition, comprising international stars, that literally thousands of people would be happy to watch - in the grounds, not just on the telly.
Blimey, another long one.
So I've just listened to this interesting discussion on Twenty20 cricket and its possible impact on the future of the game.
Twenty20 (or T20) was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) back in 2003. Some nations (Australia in particular) scoffed, regarding it as some sort of playtime version of the game. They're taking it more seriously now.
This form of the game has been hugely successful domestically, playing to sell-out crowds across England and Wales - unheard of for the counties. The inaugural World Twenty20 went down a storm in South Africa last year, and now the Indians have taken the lead. Firstly, the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) was set up promising big bucks to those who would brave international bans (ICL was not sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), cricket's governing body). Then the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Indian equivalent of the ECB, set up its own Indian Premier League (IPL) in an incredibly short space of time and is due to start its 6 week run in April. The sums of money are vast, with some players making over £0.5m and if the success of the ICL is anything to go by, the grounds will be packed solid.
The ECB response? Well, I'm sure you can guess... veiled threats that players will lose their England place if they chose to play in the IPL (it will mean they miss part of both the English domestic season and New Zealand visit) and no real clue how to deal with it. Instead of being clever and working with the IPL/BCCI and using their success to advance the game in England, they've gone all negative. And where are the ICC in all of this? Well, nowhere by the looks of it. Thank god for forward thinkers like the CEO of Surrey CCC who has very good ideas for pushing Twenty20 in England.
You see, this form is fun, exciting, quick. All the things that the watching public want these days. Yet the ECB seem reluctant to even push the start of domestic T20 games back 30 mins or so to give people a chance to get to the ground after work. Come on guys, think of the punters. This is a great thing for cricket: new bums on seats; cash in the county coffers; possibly, in the longer term, new converts for test cricket.
And it is to test I must turn. My favourite form of the game. I can quite happily sit a listen to TMS all day, but I certainly can't afford to go and watch a 5 day game - either in terms of £40+ per day, or in holiday: I have to work for a living. It's even worse for the County Championship, they often play to almost empty grounds. 4 and 5 day games are difficult for spectators, no matter how much you love the game. Even at the international level, attendances are falling outside of England (which always seems to sell out international test matches).
The ECB must look at new ways to promote the long form at domestic and international levels, but they won't manage that by sticking their head in the sand, ignoring the Indian developments and well, getting all English about things. This is a great opportunity for the future of the game and we need dynamic, forward-thinking people in charge to make the most of it.
Personally, I'd at least ditch the Pro40 games, and maybe look at shortening county games to 3 days or introduce 3 leagues of 6 instead of 2 leagues of 9, so there are fewer long games played. This of course must be balanced against harming the international test side but the Australians seem to manage without playing so much 4-day cricket. The 50 overs Friends Provident Trophy has already had some changes for this season, so lets see how they work. But hopefully we should now have a bit of space for more Twenty20, and a bit of scope to shuffle the internationals around so players can play in India, and indeed overseas players can come and play in the English competition.
If they could organise it so that the English T20 competition ran between the departure of the first tourists of the summer and the arrival of the second (currently the gap is only about 2 weeks), you could have a real winner. A cricket competition, comprising international stars, that literally thousands of people would be happy to watch - in the grounds, not just on the telly.
Blimey, another long one.
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