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Cricket Australia must be careful not to kill the BBL goose

27th January, 2016
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Cricket Australia have the golden goose, let's just hope they don't stress it out. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Expert
27th January, 2016
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2135 Reads

Another Big Bash done and dusted and it’s not pushing the hyperbole to say the 2015-16 edition was a tremendous success.

Attendances were strong, TV viewing figures the same, and the overall impression created is one that can only be looked at in a favourable light.

From a distance – and nothing I have read or heard contradicts this view – Cricket Australia, when developing the competition, went all-in prior to the hand being drawn and then received a royal flush.

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Anything that jumps away from tradition has to be seen as a punt in the world of cricket, which is still largely conservative in nature, and if satisfied, smug grins are doing the rounds at Cricket Australia headquarters then no one can really criticise.

In the aftermath of any successful event or tournament, and before the cold light of day has once again come into being, those involved will inevitably talk of expansion, be it in the number of teams or fixtures, of new markets to be conquered and of lengthening the revolution’s lifespan.

All this is admirable, after all, why wouldn’t you want to strike while the iron is smoking hot? But personal experience would encourage a ‘not too hasty’ approach from those doing the administrating.

When the Twenty20 Cup was first introduced into the county game – three groups of six teams playing five games apiece – it was surprising how well it gained traction with the public.

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Fifteen thousand at Old Trafford for Lancashire versus Yorkshire, full houses at Leicestershire where two men and a dog was considered a bumper attendance, and sellouts at Worcestershire and Bristol.

Wherever it was played, it did well.

Bums on seats meant cash in the bank and once the counties had the former they wanted more of the latter.

The six games of the first two seasons became eight from 2005-2007, ten in 2008 and 2009, 16 in 2010 and 2011, back to ten for 2012 and 2013 and, with the competition switching to a once a week format, 14 for the past two seasons.

If you ever studied economics at school, and paid attention, the law of diminishing returns may ring a bell somewhere in your subconscious.

“If one input in the production of a commodity is increased while all other inputs are held fixed, a point will eventually be reached at which additions of the input yield progressively smaller, or diminishing, increases in output” is the wordy definition.

In this instance it can be reduced down to ‘more games equals reduced attendances’.

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The England and Wales Cricket Board, via the counties themselves, decided that if they could sell out eight games then it stands to reason that, as such a foolproof strategy, by doubling the number they would be laughing.

I’m sure you know exactly where this is heading, but by turning a novelty into a run-of-the-mill occurrence, the goose that laid the golden egg was put into a pen, only venturing outside for the odd fixture.

Only in the last couple of years or so has a recovery of sorts taken place, but the days of plentiful full houses are no more.

A winning formula had been found and while saying it was wasted might be a bit on the harsh side – myriad factors contribute to any alteration in any competition – avarice got the better of those in control.

And so back to the Big Bash. Careful consideration should be given to any proposed expansion, whether this is going into other countries or forming franchises in different cities.

There are positive factors that could arise from manufactured growth, i.e. more people given the chance to watch live cricket, but there is a very real risk of giving the public too much of what you think they want.

CA have hit upon the perfect storm with the scheduling, marketing and broadcasting of their tournament, and to see 50,000 at the Adelaide Oval or 80,000 at the MCG for a domestic encounter is all the evidence that should be necessary.

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Just remember that the extra beer at the end of the night isn’t always the tastiest.

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