English cricket is not short of problems. Sure the team’s performances were dire at the World Cup and disappointing in the Caribbean, however 10 years on from the thrilling 2005 Ashes series, cricket has all but lost the mainstream interest it has enjoyed since WG Grace came to prominence in the 1860s.
From my experience over the past five years within the UK, cricket is increasingly becoming a niche sport.
A work colleague recounted enthusiastically to me in some detail how he had once watched Devon Malcolm demolish South Africa but admitted he would struggle to name a single current-day English player aside from Kevin Pietersen.
It is a very common scenario, with live international cricket invisible in the UK since 2005 except to those with a Sky Sports package or a £60-plus ticket to the game. Casual fans who may have watched or even attended the odd game have moved on.
Cricket has already been largely hidden from a generation of youngsters who may have become lifelong fans. At the grassroots level I know first-hand how hard it is trying to find willing participants. In England and Wales there was a decrease of seven per cent in the number of people playing cricket in 2014 alone.
Unfortunately the ECB continue to alienate themselves from the public. Former chairman Giles Clarke’s comments that well-to-do captain Alastair Cook “and his family are very much the sort of people we want the England captain and his family to be”, reinforced a widely held view in England of cricket being an elitist game.
Similarly Andrew Strauss’ decision to continue the exile of Kevin Pietersen, the last remaining mass-market draw card, regardless of on-field form or merit could not have come at a worse time.
The suppression continues with the ECB paying the much smaller Cricket Ireland not to schedule internationals that conflict with England fixtures and promising them just one measly match against England every two years.
A solution for many of these issues could be re-vamping the Blast T20 competition which kicked off last week. This tournament featuring the counties was undoubtedly ground-breaking in 2003, launching the Twenty20 format and gaining impressive public attention. Having attended a few matches, I am aware it is still an enjoyable tournament, however it is hampered by not being accessible on free-to-air television and by being restricted to England teams only (plus Glamorgan).
Times have changed. Ireland and Scotland both competed in the most recent World Cup, with Ireland outperforming England. The Netherlands have twice beaten England in World T20 tournaments.
I envisage a city-based European T20 league incorporating teams based in these countries as well as England.
Something like the following:
London
Manchester
Birmingham
Leeds
Liverpool
Newcastle
Bristol
Cardiff
Glasgow / Edinburgh
Dublin
Amsterdam
Southampton
At present there is a reasonable amount of interest in cricket in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands but no regular, high-profile matches being played there to capitalise. Such a competition would also need to find willing live free-to-air television partners in the competing nations. Netherland’s previously vibrant cricket community stemmed in part from being able to receive coverage of matches on the BBC but has withered since they lost the television rights.
It is not unprecedented for teams from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands to compete in English domestic cricket but this has mostly been as an afterthought and only after their best players have already been taken by counties. Now these countries have growing infrastructure and internationally experienced, professional players.
This can be a legitimate, multi-national competition. And being a city-based franchise, players can also be sourced globally or from within England. Imagine Eoin Morgan back playing for Dublin. Or KP proving a cricketing sensation in Amsterdam.
Whatever happens there is an urgent need to engage and reconnect with cricket fans in the UK and Europe. Making the game more accessible would be a good start.
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