Who else is concerned about the future of cricket?
Roar Guru By Vinay Verma, 18 May 2010 Vinay Verma is a Roar Guru
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- Cricket, Cricket Australia, Haroon Lorgat, ICC, IPL, Twenty20
India's Gautam Gambhir, center, is congratulated by Australian Brett Lee as Indian V.V.S. Laxman, right, looks on as they return after end of play on the first day of their third cricket test match in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008. Gambhir scored his second hundred in consecutive matches with an unbeaten 149 Wednesday. AP Photo/Gurinder Osan
The ICC should be disbanded and the respective cricket boards go their own ways. They can then all live and die by the “market forces” they are so quick to turn to in defense of the indefensible.
The ICC has Haroon Lorgat as the front man. He is hamstrung by a committee that gives him power only to sneeze. Everything else is determined by a vote.
And no board votes against the BCCI (Indian Cricket Board), except perhaps the ECB (England and Wales). But when the majority is with India, then it is irrelevant if there are dissenters.
Just think for a moment that New Zealand, Bangladesh, the West Indies and Zimbabwe are so cash-strapped that they cannot afford to go against India’s dictates.
Sri Lanka are effectively second and third mortgaged to the BCCI. Their only administrator of substance, Arjuna Ranatunga, lost his job because he called the IPL “instant noodles”.
It is prudent to review who is sleeping with whom.
Australia, India and South Africa are the “owners” of the Champions League, the annual tournament that was won by Simon Katich’s Blues last October in India. The Indian Board (BCCI) is the majority shareholder and the boards of Australia (CA) and South Africa (CSA) have a minority stake.
The TV rights for the Champions League are in excess of a billion dollars for ten years. The three boards share roughly $100 million dollars a year.
The rest of the teams, and their boards, play only for the prize money.
The BCCI continues to make decisions more associated with a drunken sailor than an institution, arguably, holding the future of cricket in its compromised hands.
It has lurched from having only two Tests scheduled in 2010 to suddenly having another eight before the end of the year.
In 2008 the BCCI and CA signed a MOU that agreed to seven one day matches in India every year. This was, ostensibly, to maximize the earning potential that their cricket teams’ represented in the immediate short term.
Australia has been a willing partner in this exercise and, as a consequence, has exposed their players to premature burnout. The players are not beasts of burden.
Earlier this year the BCCI asked South Africa to play two unscheduled Tests. This was done so they could protect their number one status.
The BCCI has now asked Australia to play two Test Matches in October this year. This is welcome news for cricket lovers. But it does not remove the perception that the BCCI is doing this for ulterior reasons.
Brand India needs to be protected so that broadcasters continue to throw mega dollars at the BCCI.
The BCCI also realizes that it has dined out on the illustrious careers of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman for the better part of two decades. This trilogy only has a few encores left and the BCCI wants to exploit this to the maximum.
Another compelling reason for this rescheduling is that the conversation will change from the IPL debacle to more cricket centric matters. Nothing has changed in the BCCI. Srinivasan, the secretary still owns an IPL team. He does not believe there is a conflict of interest because the BCCI ratified this ownership. This rationale suggests that anything the BCCI ratifies is to be accepted as sacrosanct.
The fans in India have been cheated by administrators more interested in running the red light than the safety of other road users. Their sin may be one of omission and this may in the long term be forgivable. But if the sins are of commission then their behavior is unconscionable. The sad part is that we may never know.
Cricket Australia will, in all probability, agree to the BCCI’s request for the unscheduled Tests. The low and slow pitches may not be ideal preparation for the Ashes to follow.
Cricket Australia has been pragmatic in its’ relationship with the BCCI as it realizes that the majority of cricket’s income lies with India. However, CA needs to prioritise its objectives and the recent talk in making more room for the KFC Big bash at the expense of the Sheffield Shield is going the excessive ways of the IPL.
The fans in Australia will not put up with second rate opponents like we had last summer. The Sheffield Shield struggles for crowds because the stars like Ponting and Johnson have to rest after their exertions on the International front. How can our young players like Smith and Ferguson progress if they are denied the opportunity to play with and against the established stars?
If we can find a window for the IPL then why not for the Sheffield Shield? How much money does a board really need to run cricket? Have we come so far that the end game is the bottom line and not the game?
I have been energized by the number of Roarers who have expressed their concern for the future of cricket. I urge them to speak out. In the end we will get the game we deserve.
Ask yourself: are you being served?
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May 18th 2010 @ 1:29pm
Rickety Knees said | May 18th 2010 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
At the risk of over simplyfing this matter – I AM OVER MEANINGLESS ONE DAY CRICKET – I can never remember who played in the last series and indeed who won, actually who cares – ceratinly I don’t.
Test cricket is a wonderful game that can be likened to Chess – the rest has the appeal of Chinese Checkers.
Great article Vinay and I totally agree!
May 18th 2010 @ 2:36pm
Phil said | May 18th 2010 @ 2:36pm | Report comment
Funny how I was blasted around here a few years ago for suggesting cricket was in deep trouble (while suggesting baseball would only get bigger) only to be shot down due to the size of the Indian market.
May 18th 2010 @ 2:55pm
Nicholas R.W. Henning said | May 18th 2010 @ 2:55pm | Report comment
Phil mate, I’m pleased to find another baseball fan.
Do you mean baseball will be bigger on a global stage or in Australia? I am assuming a global stage?
Cricket is well represented in terms of a worldwide playing population. However, baseball is played to a high standard in more countries around the world. Baseball high performers are Japan, Cuba, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, USA, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
Europe is an emerging baseball market, and other parts of Asia and even New Zealand and South Africa have their share of professional players in the US.
But with a billion people in India alone, cricket has higher numbers within individual countries, but the distribution of competitive countries is weaker than global baseball. In Olympic Baseball Cuba has won two gold medals, South Korea one gold, Japan one gold, and team USA one gold. And in other international baseball competitions Australia has even picked up a gold medal like the 1999 Intercontinental Cup. Great Britain won the first baseball World Cup in the 1930s. Baseball has decent international credentials, but its tradition has been built on famous clubs like the New York Yankees, where cricket has always had a stronger emphasis on international competition.
It is important to note that baseball has a place in cricket, as many teams around the world hire baseball players as fielding coaches, and players like to do their warm up throwing with baseball gloves.
With the right effort and investment, international baseball has huge potential!
May 18th 2010 @ 5:32pm
sheek said | May 18th 2010 @ 5:32pm | Report comment
Nicholas/Rickety/Phil,
One of the problems with OD cricket is that there was too much meaningless cricket tournaments orgainsed with no other intention than to fill the coffers of the controlling bodies & their mates in associated industries.
While I can never condone what Hansie Cronje did, I can understand some of his frustration. He must have thought, “everyone is on the take &/or raking in money from these endless OD tournaments, I might as well grab a slice of the pie myself. Most of these comps are meaningless so no-one is going to be hurt”. Or thoughts similar.
BTW, I quite enjoy baseball myself. For a long time, from about the 20s through to the 70s, when the Sheffield Shield (cricket) was played in summer & Claxton Shield (baseball) played in winter, many cricketers also shined at baseball, & said it helped their fielding skills especially.
For example, Ian Chappell & his grandfather Vic Richardson, both excelled at baseball as well as cricket.
May 18th 2010 @ 3:38pm
True Tah said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:38pm | Report comment
If Howard is appointed to head the ICC, then maybe he will put a stop to the Indians ruling world cricket.
May 18th 2010 @ 3:46pm
Vinay Verma said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:46pm | Report comment
Tru Tah, Not unless he first learns to say SORRY!
May 18th 2010 @ 3:45pm
Vinay Verma said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:45pm | Report comment
Hi Rickety,how are the fish biting on the Coast? Doug Walters has a message on his voice mail which says “Gone Fishing” We don’t get characters like him and max Walker any more. I once saw Doug W sitting outside the CNSW box having a beer and a pie and asked him why he wasn’t inside with the chardonay Brigade and he replied..”You got to Wear a Tie”
RK,the only proviso I would make to your comment is that Good test cricket is like good chess. For a long time in the 50′s and 60′s cricket was stodgy and boring..unless ofcourse you were interested in the aesthetics,which many of us were and are.
May 19th 2010 @ 2:14pm
Rickety Knees said | May 19th 2010 @ 2:14pm | Report comment
Thanks Vinay – I have to give credit where it is due. Test Cricket has become much more exciting since the advent of the pyjama stuff. Batting is far more agressive especially as players are not nearly so intimidated by run chases and the quantum leap in the standard of fielding has been astonishing. But as we all agree – OD Cricket has been done to death and has become meaningless. 20/20 has captured the excitement that OD’s once had.
May 18th 2010 @ 7:36pm
tommy l said | May 18th 2010 @ 7:36pm | Report comment
what cricket needs is set windows for certain competitions. Yearly there needs to be three windows for domestic t20 competitions, at least 1 being for the IPL which would last 3 or 4 weeks instead of the full 6. The other two could consist of a Southern window where AUS/NZ/SA play their domestic comp with visiting players from overseas, and then Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and Paksitan (possibly play theirs. These two windows could last two to two and a half weeks each. This leaves 2 months a year for domestic t20.
Onto 50 over matches: I beleive they are still an important part of the game and can still produce great matches, but apart from the world cup and massive tours, India and England, i just can’t get excited about watching one. I agree with rickety knees about there being too many matches and that most are meaninsless.
Test cricket needs a facelift: The actual cricket played is absolute quality, but these days it has been rather dull because of so many centuries being scored and draws played out on flat pitches. Firstly the idea of night cricket is interesting, but the new balls could ruin the art of swing bowling vital in the excitement and tradition the game provides. What test cricket needs is a test world cup and or a test world championship. The test world championship is the most important in putting emphaisis on each game and roviding something for each player to play for other than rankings.
A points system could be created to encourage aggressive play and a world series final could be played yearly or every second year to decide the winner. Each team could play each other 5 times over the course of two years, or something like that, to create a competitive world championship.
t20 internationals should reamain abouth the same, in quantity yearly, because i think domestic t20 is a real step into expanding the game. Just my 2c anyone got any feedback on my ideas, loved the article, thinks its about time we stood together for the benefit of cricket.
May 18th 2010 @ 7:55pm
Vinay Verma said | May 18th 2010 @ 7:55pm | Report comment
Tommy I, I agree that pitches need to be sporting. Actually,the last series against South Africa was about right. All three Tests had a result and Sydney was exciting. Graem Smith coming out to bat with a broken hand was good theatre. The SCG Test against Pak was good for bowling and batting. The first day saw Australia rolled and Pakistan played well for 3 and a half days.
I absolutelly agree that a Test Championship is a must. I personally favour an end of year comp where the top four ranked play off. Just three tests as I have suggested in my reply to Chris above.I am not so sure that we need gimmicks to promote Test Cricket like bonus points or such like. Also the concept of Night Cricket is OK in countries like India but I feel the very nature of Tests is compromised by using a different coloured ball. But it is worth a try. England with its extended daylight may not need Night Tests. Also night tests will limit the number of youngsters who attend and really the future is our children.
As far as windows are concerned it is OK for SAF,AUStralia,NZ and the subcontinental teams because their seasons are the same. The problem arises with England and the West Indies. In a year preceeding the 50 overs World Cup the number of internationals has been increasing since the first one in 1975. I expect the same will happen this year.
May 18th 2010 @ 8:15pm
tommy l said | May 18th 2010 @ 8:15pm | Report comment
So an increase in t20 is on the cards? I don’t want to see t20 lose is novlety due to too many matches like one dayers. I still beleive the windows are important in stopping free agent players and allowing countries with low amounts of money like west indies from being totally ignored. The Stanford t20 was important for westindies, but they now need an alternative in raising money with their current resources.
Instead of promoting the game in other areas more focus should be put on helping the current competition. I am looking forward to what happens with the test championship and i was just giving some ideas. Don’t mind how its run but it is an important idea for ICC to acknowledge.
What are your thoughts on Eoin Morgan, should he be allowed to swap countries, fair enough with Dirk Nannes as Australian born and bred, but how are developing countries supposed to get better if their players are just getting pilfered.
May 18th 2010 @ 8:39pm
Vinay Verma said | May 18th 2010 @ 8:39pm | Report comment
Tommy, I was talking about the 50 over game . As you know the next World Cup is in India in 2011 and most countries are wanting to get practice in for that. Australia will be aiming for a fourth consecutive world cup and that I feel will be one of Ricky Ponting’s legacies.
With regard to Morgan he really had no choice if he wanted to play more International Cricket . Also ireland is some way away from being a Test Nation. Half the Ireland team plays in the county championship so I really have no problem with someone like Morgan swapping. Ireland could have been more competitive with Morgan but they could not offer him the cricket he deserves. Ireland needs to develop its 50 over game and then gradually ease into the longer format. It may take another 10 years but there is no doubting they can make it. Bangladesh are starting to show improvement and it has taken them a long time. The ICC could look at making bigger grants to countries like Ireland so they can keep their promising cricketers. The top 8 are still not taking Ireland too seriously but they are definitely not treating them like a joke.
May 18th 2010 @ 11:10pm
Brian said | May 18th 2010 @ 11:10pm | Report comment
Personally watching cricket these days is like following the ATP tour. The same names go round every week playing for some different prize and the two weeks its in your neck of the woods your supposed to pay attention.
Much of what you write is correct but the BCCI and their supporters rightly point out that when the ECB & CA ruled the game they too looked after themselves. Go back only 9 years to 2001 and Australia threatened to pull out of a Indian tour if they were not given two warm up games to adjust to the conditions. Since then the trends have been set and all boards try and make as much money as possible.
Ultimately though it is we the fans who dictated this. Fans in Australia, England & India accepted that their boards concerns were more important than intrinsic fairness. We accepted that World Cups and South African series can’t conflict with the Australian summer. We accepted that a CA academy player gets more money than International Sri Lankan or West Indian players with greater talents. We accepted that the Ashes was the greatest prize even when England were drawing with Zimbabwe in the mid 90′s.
Having an International calender whilst boards unilaterally decide what series suits them was always going to end like this. Actually its kinda like countries sharing a central bank but having 16 fiscal budgets but that’s a topic for other blogs.
Like that one, capitalism got cricket into this mess and so it will get it out. Either the boards will unite and the IRB model will emerge with greater consensus or the BCCI will have its way, the IPL will be the Champions League and the boards will live of their stars generosity when they play a World Cup every 4 year
May 18th 2010 @ 11:46pm
Vinay Verma said | May 18th 2010 @ 11:46pm | Report comment
Brian,this response is an article itself and I am afraid I will run out of bytes. But here goes. Yes,much like the ATP tour with the occasional tanking and the presence of the odd “recreational” drugs. However I tend to follow the main events like the Masters series and the Slams. The rivalry between Nadal and Federer is engrossing and these two are far and away the best on show.
Yes the ECB and CA,aided and abetted by the old South Africa were no better than the BCCI. But that is no excuse for the BCCI to behave accordingly. I believe the BCCI ,because of its wealth,can actually do good for the World game. But their dallying over WADA beggars belief. Running the IPL2 without the Anti Corruption unit was questionable. I see too many lawyers,accountants and politicians in positions of power.There are different levels of justice for the less priviliged.
I beg to differ on the subject of fans. Fans were presented with a decision they had no say in. World Cups since 1996 have been run and dictated to by the broadcasters. The billions in the game now largely come from TV rights revenue. If you take the devil’s money you have to pay a price and this seems to be reduced quality until you get down to the business end. Much like the Slams. The first week is a warm up for the marquee match ups that follow.
Maybe the ICC should be more like the EU. The current bailout of Greece could be a lesson for the various cricket boards. Perhaps the rich cricket boards should all pool some percentage into a kind of IMF for use to help struggling constituencies. If this had been available then maybe the West indies would not be struggling. India has propped up Sri lankan cricket for some years now and have disbursed a low interest loan. But the unspoken caveat is that Sri lanka are financially compromised.
I would hope that the ICC is given more powers and the duopoly of Sharad Pawar and John Howard are held accountable. The fans in India shrug their shoulders and say “whats new”
We,as fans,do have a say and that was the point of the article. We should make better use of the voice we have.
May 19th 2010 @ 1:35pm
Brian said | May 19th 2010 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
Vinay Thanks for the response. The problem is the BCCI is unlikely to change due to fans requests. Money talks and us fans have been too lax. Each has focused on its national teams rather than the game. When the ICC decided to play the Champions Trophy, or play the 1991 World Cup in 1992 where was the outrage. How would FIFA go playing the next one in 2013? When NZ lost their best bowler to the ICL did anyone care. How many millions would the NRL or AFL spend to get their sports the level of interest cricket already has in NZ??? For way too long the interest of national boards has been put ahead of the game. This does come back to fans attitudes.
The AFL are strategically expanding into NSW, FIFA strategically gave World Cups to Asia & Africa losing millions in revenue compared to European World Cups. Both have bundled their TV rights into these strategies to achieve their outcomes whilst respecting their fans (AFL Finals in September and World Cups every 4 years).
Cricket has no strategy other than to sell itself to the highest bidder. For this to change the ICC needs control but how and why should the BCCI do it? Well there needs to be compromise, the IPL needs a window in exchange for greater ICC power but none of that can happen until people accept there is a problem. Leadership is needed and is in short supply.
As fans we can only tune out of the meaningless contests and embrace those we want to keep. That is how the tri-series in Australia finally died. Eventually I think this is how ODI cricket will go. Eventually someone will see the IPL potential and turn it into an NBA style competition and want at least 6 months to play it in. This will bring cricket back – already I suspect Pollard is a millionaire.
May 19th 2010 @ 2:20pm
Vinay Verma said | May 19th 2010 @ 2:20pm | Report comment
Brian,you underestimate the power of the fans. We are past the stage of polite requests. We have to go in boots and all. We should all start with our respective boards. Should not the Spirit of the game apply to them. These boards are all,ostensibly,non-profit organisations. They pride themselves in saying they are mere custodians. Well it is time they became custodians for the greater good than just parochial interests. They all talk global but think local.
Cricket has been very quick to sell to the highest bidder. There is no Free to air TV of Test matches in England. This must erode the fan base. The commitment of broadcasters is not necessarily to the sport. They take their pound of flesh first. Voiceovers and super-impositions during overs is a bane and does not enhance the viewing pleasure. The ABC and SBS should be entitled to show International cricket involving Australia.
The IPL has a virtual natural window in March and April. It does not need any more concessions. It is also dependent on the largesse of other boards making their overseas players available. Australia and South Africa have not tested the IPL’s resolve. They have just gone for the money. If Australian and South African players had a common front and said they will not go the IPL will cave in. The IPL without the overseas component becomes just another domestic and vastly inferior product. Their boards and players have been willing accomplices.
The Stars may not bring thousand in to the Sheffield Shield but if they played at suburban grounds like North Sydney or Drumoyune or Bankstown and marketed it with all the stars then you would get 5000 plus.The will is simply not there. With Howard and Pawar at the helm I only expect more meetings and political horsetrading.
May 19th 2010 @ 1:10am
Akazie said | May 19th 2010 @ 1:10am | Report comment
Don’t take much interest in cricket these days, there’s just too much of it on TV I think, it started happening with me in the late 90′s when I got Pay TV.
Before then, I’d look forward to the upcoming cricket season after the footy, but these dyas with it being played for 12 months of the year and being available to watch whenever you like, it’s just too much.
May 19th 2010 @ 12:54pm
Eamonn Flanagan said | May 19th 2010 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
Vinay, I grew up watching the Windies belt the English in my school holidays and loved the one day tournaments. Arrived in Australia in 1990′s to find I’d only turn the 50 over game on with an hour to go, and now I never do, ever.
They are just like the Bledisloe, played too much who can remember one game from the next.
Cricket is being overplayed in it’s many forms. There wasn’t that much interest, in my view, re:20/20 World Cup Final, given it was against England and a World Cup Final.
As for Test Matches, nice around Xmas but do fans, apart from those really obsessed with the game, and there are many but not enough to sustain an increase in Test matches, really want more and more Tests across the calender, I think not.
Apart from the die-hards can anyone remember details of Australia playing a Test in any country other than England.
Simply too much sport, too much cricket and of course the 20/20 domestic boom is not yet near it’s peak and that could decline in years to come as well once the novelty wears off….and what impact will that have on the five day game!
It could well go the way of one day cricket at domestic level. Certainly the purists seem to think so.
The Sheffield Shield gets amazing media coverage consider nobody ever goes. For a so called National Sport the domestic league and weekend attendances are pretty pathetic. And I don’t think even Ricky and his mates would get thousands rolling in.
Football has it’s difficulties in Australia, Rugby Union also. Too much Bledisloe, too much A-League, and too much cricket in a crowded sports market. More games in more forms may suit TV but we don’t have enough of a population to fill all the grounds yet. But if we get to the predicted 50 million all sports in all forms could survive!!
Great article Vinay; interesting times for cricket in Australia and indeed for many sports as “seasonal” boundaries have moved beyond AFL in winter, cricket in Summer. What about the fan!
May 19th 2010 @ 2:37pm
Vinay Verma said | May 19th 2010 @ 2:37pm | Report comment
Eamonn, the common theme with most administrators and broadcasters is to milk the last dollar they can. Sport in its purest form as no money. When you mix commerce and cricket you sacrifice the purity for the profit. But you can only do it so much. There is ultimately what we call the law of diminishing returns.
I am reasonably happy where cricket as a spectacle sits at the moment. There are three distinct forms and I believe in time these will be three distinct markets. Administrators have to be careful they do not try to intermarry. That would be the cricketing equivalent of incest. If all our elite cricketers still mouth the platitudes of Test Cricket and consider this the ultimate Test then they have to endorse it and people like Tendulkar and Ricky can influence public sentiment. The Boards should have these two players as the figureheads and the face of Test Cricket. Across newspapers,magazines,tv and internet. Brand Test Cricket can be revived and enhanced with a clear marketing strategy. When was the last time WeetBix put out a Ricky ponting figurine? The quirky Commonwealth Bank adds can be replaced with Ponting as the theme. Forget the Swisse cheese ,Ricky. You are the ambassador for Test Cricket.
See the post above re energising the Sheffield Shield. Eamonn,if Ponting and Clarke and Johnson played Sheffield AND if each state was allowed a guest player like Tendulkar or Dravid or kallis and Pietersen would not you and I go and see them play. And if they played at North Sydney Oval I would be surprised if you did not get more than 5000. A lot better than the 50 we get.
I don’t have all the answers but my passion is undiminished. The fan craves context and a contest.