In the aftermath of ‘Howzat’, there’s much to reflect upon. A lot will centre on the historical position Kerry Packer holds and the influence the venture had on Australian and world sport.
In a cricket sense I’m sure there would be some heads in Jolimont who wished that Channel Nine had held on to the series a little longer and run it through October to generate excitement about the upcoming season.
While that may have been a perfect scenario, the TV series – and most likely the subsequent reading or re-reading of Gideon Haigh’s definitive account by any administrator worth their salt – upon deeper analysis will prove instructive for a number of reasons in the context of today.
Necessity, as the mother of invention, gave rise to World Series Cricket’s most heralded innovations (night cricket, colour clothing) as well as some of its lesser known triumphs.
The Country Cup for example, was effectively a competition to keep players outside the main XI’s cricket-ready. The Cup was born out of the banning of players from first-class cricket and the best metro facilities falling under state board controls, who were unwilling to allow their grounds for use, so they played matches in the bush.
The accidental affect was that country kids, starved of big time sport, became lifetime cricket fans as no other major sport had ever taken its product to the bush in this manner.
The hard-sell of WSC and ability to use players on contracts for any purpose meant that promotional activities became part of the circuit, hence this brilliant spinoff that all of cricket benefitted from – a generation of more players, more fans, more TV ratings, more attendees. Like any simple marketing plan, the product was actually being taken to the consumer.
The sports landscape has changed over the last 35 years but, with a few exceptions, no sport has taken its product to the bush in a meaningful manner. And quite rightly so, given the simple economics. How could you take events to places where there are less people and therefore less money? Well… what if nobody goes to these events anyway, what if they already lose money?
So using the past as our template, let’s think of some cricket matches that need to be run to service the top tier, but ones that don’t attract any spectators and may well lose money – yep, that’s right, all of state cricket.
So let’s just float into this scenario, two or three Sheffield Shield games in each state were thrown open to interested regional centres starved of sport. Some quite simple criteria would be used as the sell on local governments (along with the Liberal-National Party state governments that reside in four of the six states).
Firstly, meet a designated cost figure for Cricket Australia (for argument sake, let’s say a conservative $75,000 per match).
Secondly, upgrade local facilities to reach first-class standard.
Would that pique a regional centre’s interest? Absolutely.
The local government would get the gate and all concession sales, local cricket in the entire region would get the weekend off and at $10 entry per adult, I think you could pass the $75,000 in revenue comfortably over a Friday-Monday or Thursday-Sunday.
Over the life of the deal, the facility upgrade would mean it could act as a high performance centre for the region. Throw in staging of a state youth championships each year and the funding is being turned into usage and tourism.
Oh and almost forgot to mention the fact that cricket people in the bush are inherently more passionate about state cricket than their city counterparts. Why? Well, what other national competition in a profile sport actually represents them? It’s the whole state those teams are representing, so if nobody cares in the city, the bush deserve it.
On top of the cost-saving for cricket, cricket will also gain a promotional foothold in the bush ahead of all other sports, garner facility upgrades, while giving some new life to an almost forgotten competition.
Yes there would be many hurdles, but the ones about players playing in the best possible conditions is a contradictory one, given the varying standard of facilities across the world and the upgrades.
Games in front of a crowd that want to see them, as opposed to empty stands at the major grounds – for a player I think the former would excite more. Players are training day-to-day in the supposed elite environments so they are being exposed to that in a sufficient manner.
There’s no television coverage of Sheffield Shield matches as it is, so no effect there – but with simultaneous regional matches going on, would there not be opportunities for regional affiliate news to put together clip packages? They may even get a half hour round-up clips show shown through regions each week.
As for the One Day matches backed on to Shield matches and broadcast by Fox, there would be no change to those, the teams would simply return to the capital city on the night of day four of the Shield contest and play the typically Wednesday match (or vice versa prior to the Shield match).
Which then makes you ponder the interstate One Day competition and its context. While it remains a staple of summer pay-T V broadcasts, the downturn in One Day International popularity gives it lesser meaning. Given the last few years of very late and/or short term commercial naming rights deals, it seems the commercial world, despite the potential high brand exposure, is also not sure of its place in hearts and minds.
So while we make some changes, albeit ones that point towards a sense of tradition in the bush, let’s shake things up a bit.
Do we think our developing players should be equipped with the skills to play One Day and Test cricket? Given the advent of Twenty20 cricket, the skills of One Day and Test cricket are more attuned than ever before.
Is it healthy in a financial and development sense that we would have state teams picking markedly different four day and one day teams? Now that Twenty20 is in a franchise model, could the states’ development model be much more streamlined if four day and one day cricket were not treated separately?
Now look at every level below interstate cricket, club level, where cricket’s rank and file play or support and are passionate and engaged. These competitions consist of a mixture of one and two day cricket, nobody splits the competitions as it would cheapen the club premiership.
The sum of its parts at club level equals a much greater whole than if you split the formats. So would we care more about state cricket if there was only one undisputed title winner? I say yes. It’s the Australian sporting culture that there is only one winner.
When we turn on Fox Sports on a Wednesday night, would cricket people care more if the match we were watching had a bearing on who took the Sheffield Shield, the last bastion of anything symbolic in state cricket? I say yes.
But what about traditionalists, when awarding the Sheffield Shield for a completion that includes one day cricket?
Oh, that’s right, we didn’t even bother with the Shield for the best part of ten years, so no issues there.
So, just like the system every park cricketer plays under (and realistically, the ones that could care about state cricket), let’s have one winner with a fixture of four and one day games.
Commercially it of course reduces one property to two however, using the sum of its parts theory, it has the potential to have much more longevity and potency in a new format.
From the international team perspective, there would more continuity in playing the same group of developing players in both forms at state level and, combined with the BBL changes, there would be quality over quantity in a contracting sense.
I for one would like to care about state cricket again, so why don’t we go back to the future, learn from WSC and show some creativity.
TheSportsFreak
Roar Guru
Send them to Bunbury. They've just upgraded the facilities in the last 6-12 months and has top-quality floodlights too. So if they want to play day-night Shield games, I and the rest of the town would welcome them with open arms. They've played One Day games here for WA already, so CA... make it so.
cwrigh13
Guest
this is a great article. well done to the writer.
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
I'm going to CA's head office tomorrow with your bush first-class cricket proposal (I'm selling it as my own idea). Couldn't agree with you more. If only the people in power were brave enough to implement such a plan.
Shannon Gill
Roar Rookie
Johnno - the match you are thinking of was an Ashes Legends match played in Sunbury, Victoria commemorating the 'birthplace of the Ashes' near to 100 years before. The story goes that the women who burned the bails that became the Ashes were from Sunbury and presented them to the English captain here. The match was televised on ABC TV, around this time the celebrity/legends matches were quite popular but the novelty soon wore off. A replay randomly showed up on Fox Sports last cricket season. Certainly not a first-class match, and certainly not in Port Arthur.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Johnno, Its fine. You've admitted you made it up about Port Arthur. Its who you are, its what you do - you make stuff up, you post here and you hope people make the mistake of believing you. Click the link I gave you and the entire tour itenary for England in Australia in 1994-5 is there. You can look at the scorecard of the Bowral game that was played a couple of thousand km and some water away from Port Arthur. Similarly, Burnie's ground is not, and has never been, First Class. Devonport has been though. And when you saay 'Beaconsfield', are you sure you dont mean Launceston ?
Johnno
Guest
No there was that ABC televised some sort of legends match and it was season 1994/5 it was an ODI match on ABC. Jim maxwell and some other well kowns commentators did it. And Mike Gatting played and he was still in the england team the touring side that year. It was some sort of memorial ODI match to commerate 100 years or something like that and it was an unofficial match and i think it was at Bowral or Port Arthur.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
No Johnno, there wasnt a match in Port Arthur in the 1994-5 England tour. You were simply making stuff up again. Oddly, there was a match at Bowral, which CricInfo lists. You do know that Wisden sold CricInfo to ESPN, right ? Are you sure you havent gone off half-cocked on something half-rememberd, and then insisted it's true ?
Johnno
Guest
No Ian your wrong there was a port Arthur match I remember it Mike Gatting played in it. It was some charity game and a few of the other english players did Phil Tufnell too. I will find the link and challenge ESPN, what would they know they are not based in OZ they probably miss local aussy matches. Maybe the match could of been in Ballarat but it could of been Port Arthur or Bowral.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Johnno's making stuff up again. Heres the England itinerary for 1994-5. No Port Arthur, funnily enough http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/series/61706.html?template=fixtures
Johnno
Guest
Timmuh Tassie also hosted games at the now famous beaconsfield, Burnie, and Port Arhtur. -England cricket team in 1994/5 played a match at Port Arthur, and there has been a few one days matches at Port Arthur too in the 90/s. -It's a shame Timmuh they don't play matches at Port Arthur anymore, and Beaconsfield and Burnie.
Vic
Guest
Geelong should be included also. Massive cricket region, superb facilities and you will get support. Always thought it was ludicrous of the VCA/Cricket Victoria to play at the near empty MCG when they could play in places like Geelong, Sale, Wodonga, Benalla, Ballarat, Bendigo, Warnambool or Mildura and you would get loads of interest. They should take two games out to the regions every year. Also play a lot of those one dayers out there too as they don't really matter.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Oh, and one more thing, games in regional centres should (as much as possible) be on days when there is no international cricket on TV. So often when a ListA game is in a regional city ots on the same day as a limited overs game is on TV. If the TV gameis Sunday, play the local game Saturday. A lot of bush leagues can organise a bye weekend to allow their players to go to the game. Its one game a year, its not that hard ot avoid the clash - especialy once the limited overs part of the international summer has started.
Malibu77
Guest
In English county cricket, most of the teams play first class games away from their main home ground. The so-called "festival" games are held in such places as Bath, Liverpool, Guildford, Ilford and Scarborough. There is no reason (apart from cost) that the same couldn't happen here. NSW used to regularly play a Shield game in Newcastle during January which would draw a good crowd (school holidays etc). Lets throw Alice Springs, Townsville and Bunbury into the mix.
Don Corleone
Guest
A couple more suggestions:- I’d like to see the idea of mid-winter international cricket revisited in Darwin, Cairns and Townsville, not tests which weren’t successful, but an ODI or T20 for each city perhaps. The Sheffield Shield commences in August/September and the first couple of games are played out of Darwin, Cairns and Townsville before the wet season kicks-in. Darwin and Cairns have hosted tests and Townsville hosted a very successful U19s World Cup recently. I have lived in the Top End and the area is often neglected cricket-wise due to the seasonal issues. A week prior to the Big Bash I’d like to see friendlies played in regional areas against a local representative side…Bush Bash? Paddock Bash? For instance:- Brisbane Heat v Toowoomba, Sydney Thunder v Tamworth, Sydney Sixers v Wagga, Adelaide Strikers v Mt Gambier, Melbourne Renegades v Geelong, Perth Scorchers v Albany, Hobart Hurricanes v Launceston…etc. In my small town, I have seen the success that an AFL pre-season game can have in promoting the sport and for the local economy.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Its still worth doing though. I'd do the same thing with tour games, especially A-tours. For example, I wouldnt care if my Tigers were playing in Wangaratta, Newcastle, Cairns and Devonport ... just as long as they got five or six good first-class games against State or A-sides. That will do far more for a cricket team that needs practice at four day games than a number of fly-in, fly-out tours.
Brian
Guest
Great idea but 20 years too late. I dont think shield would get much of a crowd anywhere these days. Cant see it competing with the afl or nrl pre season practice games
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Brutas, you're certainly not alone in thinking that state games should be played away from the main venues more often. Being originally from Launceston I fond it ridiculous that Australia's first First Class venue hasn't fosted a Fotst Class match since the mid 90s, and doesn't even get a ListA game any more. Games in Launceston and Devonport used to draw more to the Shield than games in Hobart, but after the centralisation that was based around the short lived C7 broadcasting of the Shield, Tasmania (the most decentralised state in the country and the one needing more than any other promote the game beyond the capital) has retained everything in Hobart. My ideal would be that two Shield games be played away from the state cpitals each summer. This would allow any player who plays two full seasons of Shield cricket to have played on all the Test venues, at a time when if their performance warrants they may start being looked at for national honours. There is also no need to have the Shield final at the premier venue, if memory serves Queensland hosted a final at Allan Border field while the Gabba was being revamped. As for combining the four day and 50 over games into one competition, I would tend to disagree. Yes, I am open about being a traditionalist in some ways, and particularly so with cricket. I would argue that there are only two trophies again for the state sides, as the BBL having gone to a city based franchise system. While two trophies among six teams may seem a lot, I like the split. In my view the Shield is the real trophy, the cup a consolation prize. The two forms of the game are quite different and recognising them differently is a goof thing in my view. The prarllel with club cricket doesn't hold that much water for mine. States have a much broader player base to draw from and are more likely to be able to pick specialists for a format, whilke a club's first eleven is likely to be very close to its best eleven regardless of format.
Todd Johnson
Guest
Send that to Cricket Australia mate - that is one of the best suggestions that I've seen for a revamp of State cricket. I'm one of the only ones it seems who doesn't think there are that many things wrong with domestic cricket, except for the lack of genuine performers playing in it (unlike say 15 yrs ago). The crowds don't worry me and I actually enjoy watching the 50 over domestic games on fox thru summer. But with BBL taking up so much of the CA budget I can see them pulling apart the SS and ODD comps and really stuffing things up. So the suggestions you've noted above make a lot of sense as a way of reinvigorating the interest in the comps
Jason Cave
Guest
Some of the country centres that could be used for the state teams are these (with the exception of Tasmania): VIC: Bendigo, Ballarat, Echuca NSW: Lavington, Albury, Wagga Wagga, Broken Hill QLD: Cairns, Port Douglas, Townsville WA: Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, Albany SA: Woomera, Port Augusta