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The Roar

Russell Jackson

Roar Guru

Joined December 2011

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Erm, I think we’re getting off track. I think I did say that continuous growth was “not sustainable”, Rellum. Cricket administrators need to get realistic about the potential for growth in the sport, even given the massive popularity of the game in India (who by the way, will gather even more financial clout as the years go on).

I think T20 cricket on other planets would greatly appeal to the CA marketing department. They wouldn’t even have to drain massive marketing budgets coming up with stupid team names, because people would not need prodding to go see a World XI take on an Aliens XI. And with the teeth and the new face he’s rocking these days, Warney could get away with playing for either side.

How we saw Round 1 of the Big Bash League

On your last point Chris, I agree that a big part of the debate regards where the money comes from the subsidise and protect test cricket. We’re all burying our heads in the sand if we think it can exist as the be-all and end-all like in 1971. There needs to be a balance though. If we stand back and look, a lot of the over-saturation actually comes from domestic and privately owned leagues, rather than international fixtures. Do we take a hard-line approach on these guys to protect the long-term health of the game? Or do we pander to them and take the quick buck with no view to the future? Pretty sure Rahul Dravid covered this off quite well in his Bradman oration.

Administrators, and by virtue players, are 99% of the problem, not fans, and we should all remember that. They can’t expect year-on-end growth of popularity and revenue from cricket. It’s not sustainable. At the end of the day cricket is a business to most of the people making these decisions, and businesses are driven by growth. I just wish they had the foresight to see that this growth needs to be gradual and sustainable, and it’s unrealistic to think it will be exponential and continuous. I think that was the main lesson of the recent NBA lockout; sports administrators and players need to get real about how much their sport is actually growing (and what they’re worth), and adjust their expectations of what their revenue/wages should be.

How we saw Round 1 of the Big Bash League

Sheek, test cricket has survived for 140+ years and through 2 world wars, I think we’ll pull through a GFC and a generation or two with low attention spans, right?

Agree that the same energy should be put into the promotion of test cricket, but I think coloured clothes would do more harm than good. Some merit in the day/night discussion though.

How about CA and the ICC start recognising and celebrating the nuances and beauty of the test match, rather than apologising for what it’s supposedly not, to people who don’t care anyway?

How we saw Round 1 of the Big Bash League

My “favourite” moments of the BBL so far (because whinge as we might, we’re all still loving watching it):

1. Seeing two teams wearing green in the same match (my girlfriend was ashamed that no-one rung around to make sure they didn’t wear the same thing. Like, soooo embarrassing).
2. Batsmen not being able to see the ball at the start and resumption of play due to the smoke generated by fireworks (nothing says “we’re hip, young and fresh” like pyrotechnics that you could have seen at a carnival in 1957).
3. Cameron White having to tell the Brisbane Heat mascot to stop doing backflips in front of the sight screen long enough for him to be able to bat properly. In fairness to the mascot, like most BBL employees, he probably didn’t know the rules of the game nor have any interest in understanding it.

How we saw Round 1 of the Big Bash League

To hear that CA have a long term strategy to “attract kids and females to the game” is slightly at odds with the “family focus” mantra being spouted previously in the media. Assuming that CA are trying to attract kids, females and families to the game, surely what we are saying is that they are all demographics that are too time-poor (or not in possession of a high enough attention span) to attend tests and ODI’s. Working on this assumption (which I think is fair and reasonable), how exactly does a 4 hour T20 game, which potentially involves a one hour commute either way for lots of families (so 6 hours minimum total time commitment) qualify as a dynamic entertainment experience you can slide into your day?

T20 is still just as significant a time commitment as any other cricket option. And an expensive one at that when you consider the cost of tickets, transport and food at the ground. An average family would be lucky to get change out of $220 for the experience. Does anyone at CA realise how big a commitment of discretionary funds that is for the average Australian family? Was that part of their “forecasting”, or did we all just go on a “marketing camp” and come up with this league over a few too many beers? Excessive consumption of alcohol could be the only explanation for a lot of the marketing guff on TV and the internet. I say this without even getting started on how ridiculous it is to expect anyone to form an allegiance to one of these “franchises” full of players whose main consideration in choosing a side was the size of the cheque they were handed. CA are now putting most of their eggs in one basket with a frightening lack of foresight.

Final three observations:
1. If you’re a marketing professional who is doing their job, how the hell do you get “caught up in the hype” about potential attendence? This “hype” about the league was generated exclusively by the BBL marketing team to start with, and I can’t believe someone in Mike McKenna’s position would try and convince anyone otherwise. Ask any proper cricket journo whether they were wetting themselves to write the article about the potential BBL crowds. I know what the answer would be; they want to write about real cricket stories, not regurgitate press releases and hyped up puff pieces from the offices of CA.

2. What is frustrating about this competition for what I will term “real cricket fans” is not the concept of T20 cricket itself, nor the “quality of the product”, it is the way the game as a whole has been hijacked and handed over to Marketing “Gurus” like Mike McKenna, who then focus so hard on attracting the attention of people who never have, and never will care about cricket, that they forget about considering or catering for the fans that have always been there, and always will be. Loyalty and a love for this great game cannot be bought.

3. T20 is not as “exciting and new” as it’s continually made out to be by these used car salesmen. The IPL is four seasons deep. They don’t have “first-mover advantage” and seeing CA throwing all of this cash at it now is like watching your parents invest their life savings in Myspace shares. Sad thing is, anyone with a loose interest in cricket would know not to expect any better from an organisation that’s spent its last 10 years being driven into the ground by James Sutherland.

How we saw Round 1 of the Big Bash League

No I wouldn’t see that opinion as being over-the-top. Put it this way, the AFL reaps huge financial benefit from both betting agencies and the liquor industry at a time when gambling and alcohol addiction are among the most destructive social issues in this country. They always seek to position themselves as leaders in the community, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too, surely? Given the enviable position of wealth and support that the AFL finds itself in, I don’t think anyone could make the argument that they wouldn’t find those advertising dollars elsewhere.

Is it hypocritical for the AFL to publicly moralise Brendan Fevola for his drinking problems when receiving huge sponsorship bucks from CUB? Yep. Is it hypocritical to turn Heath Shaw, Nick Maxwell and Bock into pariahs for these infringements while lining their pockets with gambling industry dollars? I think so. And stepping into different territory altogether, is it offensive to put Dane Swan forward as a spokesman for an anti-violence campaign with the Vic Dep’t of Justice despite his criminal history? To many victims of crime (including the one he committed) I’d say so. The AFL clearly doesn’t realise how transparent some of their PR activity is. All of this information is in the public domain but a lot of fans (and media sadly) take these “stances” at face value. Bock said he applauded the AFL’s “stance on gambling.” What is that stance exactly?

I agree with Cattery’s point (re: working with legitimate betting firms) to a degree, but it is one thing to control the way that AFL football is bet on, and another thing entirely to actively promote and strategically align your brand with that of betting agencies.

Dont bet on the AFL to stop Bock

It remains very hard for fans to take the AFL seriously on this issue while they continue to rake in vast sums of advertising dollars from betting agencies. Demetriou and Anderson continue to apply the philosophy of “all care and no responsibility” on the gambling issue, and it’s hard for them to deny the hypocritical position they are taking.

Are sponsorship and advertising dollars so highly prized in the current economic climate that the AFL sanctions force-fed gambling ads and constantly appearing odds from a number of betting agencies during games? In what other sports can players actually look up on the scoreboard during a game they are playing in and see their odds of winning the game? The AFL are always keen to promote the “integrity” of the brand, but like their “respect for women” mantra, it’s becoming a harder pill for the public to swallow when these indiscretions keep stacking up. Are they in or out on gambling?

Dont bet on the AFL to stop Bock

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