While Tasmania held off Queensland in the inaugural split innings one day match fixture on Wednesday, the real winner was Fox Sports. But will Cricket Australia have the last laugh?
Judging by James Sutherland’s comments, the move towards split innings has largely been a financial one, aimed at improving the game dynamics found desirable to supporters.
This, however, has come with potentially dangerous outcomes for player development. The increase in the amount of overs allowable per bowler to twelve coupled with the reduction in total overs to 45 means that only 4 bowlers are required per team.
This is an obvious attempt by Cricket Australia to enhance the entertainment value of the format by allowing for an extra batsman at the expense of a bowler, theoretically allowing for games to be higher scoring.
What is worrisome is that while this change has dramatic ramifications on player and game development, according to recent articles there has been little player input into discussions.
As noted by Fox Sports commentators during the inaugural match, there is a risk that the value of spin bowlers will be even further undermined by the format, if not all bowlers.
One has to wonder; if the purpose of the change in format was a commercial decision, then rather than meddle with the nature of the underperforming format (50 over cricket), why not simply provide more content from the over performing format (Twenty20)?.
Since the introduction of the Twenty20 in season 2005/2006, the amount of Shield and One Day matches has stayed constant at 10 matches per team in each format. In that time, the KFC Big Bash has gradually gone from 2 qualifying matches to 6 matches per team in the upcoming season.
While it is too early to gauge public response to the new split innings, if Wednesday’s crowd was a barometer of interest, there was no discernible difference to the old format. In contrast, the Twenty20 format has proven itself to be a ratings and attendance success.
Additionally, given the financial rewards available now for winning the KFC Big Bash, it is a matter of fairness that each team should play each other on a home/away basis similar to the other formats to ensure no team has an advantage or disadvantage from scheduling in qualifying for the multimillion dollar Champions League.
The revenue gains to be made from expanding the KFC Big Bash is perfectly illustrated by the fact that NSW will not be hosting Victoria this season due to the makeup of the draw, a game that could easily draw in excess of 25,000 people.
The revenue gains from adding this match alone in Twenty20 format would far outweigh any extra attendance or ratings money that could be garnered from the continued tinkering with the 50 over format.
Cricket Australia has been largely criticised for abandoning the 50 over format, partly given that we are less than a year away from the 2011 World Cup, to be played in the 50 over format.
With an increasingly barren trophy cabinet one suspects that failure to retain the trophy will only further fuel criticism towards CA for the introduction of its new format. Will Cricket Australia have the last laugh?
The decision is split for me.
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