Over the Christmas season the Big Bash League will be back, showcasing the best Twenty20 cricketers from home and abroad.
During this time, the regular domestic season comes to a halt, as the BBL brings in more viewers in one game than every domestic one day and first-class match does in a whole season, combined.
While avid followers of the game might have tuned in to the Matador Cup in October, or made the effort to attend a Sheffield Shield game, many cricket fans don’t even know that these competitions still exist.
The truth is that suburban and country cricket is followed more passionately than domestic cricket, despite the obvious gulf in quality between the two.
As more money is invested in local cricket, it wouldn’t surprise me if some players choose to take on roles a captain/coach at the club down the road, rather than training for hours to play a Sheffield Shield game in an empty stadium.
Why not save your body and prolong your career by playing in a lower grade, where the fans are more passionate and the salaries are becoming more competitive?
The Big Bash hasn’t killed domestic cricket, it’s just walked over the remains of what used to be.
Having a one-day competition that ends before the summer starts and a first-class competition that takes a two-month mid-season hiatus is a key reason why so many quality players are choosing T20 careers over the prestige that used to come with representing their state.
So long domestic cricket. You won’t be missed.
Don Freo
Guest
You're not watching them are you? I watch them every Saturday morning...some great techniques at work. These guys are proper cricketers. You will find anyone trying to be a Big Bash super hero will be pulled into line. Just as an aside, Big Bash has some good effects. Kids do work to bowl tightly according to plans and the fielding is greatly valued. You should see the team camaraderie when a kid makes a great save or runs down a ball before the boundary and pings in a throw...or two of them work a relay throw. It's great to see. These kids love playing proper cricket and they love wearing white. Go and have a look.
anon
Guest
"and why are the crowds numbers a problem now. where were you 30 years ago when the crowds were the same?" 30 years ago you weren't getting 15k people to an MCG one dayer. More like 60k. Test cricket is now getting in the way of a proper BBL expansion.
anon
Guest
I'm sure a lot of kids do play, Donny. And they all want to hit the ball like their Big Bash League heroes. They all ask their dads to take them to Big Bash games, not pink ball Shield games.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Dan Christian wasn't stating he didn't want to play Shield cricket, but that CA keep stuffing around with it and stuffing it up. Its still got a lot of value for players, and as a base for the national team. You are right though that there are players who find a career in T20 more lucrative than a cricketing career. Glenn Maxwell would be worth very little, if not for his IPL pay cheque. And in some cases they regularly make themselves unavailable for internationals in favour of T20. Chris Gayle being the highest profile, and it is a problem that hits smaller nations more than Australia.
Don Freo
Guest
Anon, if you go to any cricket club in summer you'll see thriving junior cricket. Don't confuse your lack of interest with that of Aussie kids.
Michael Blumel
Roar Pro
I'm sad to see it go but at the same time it has been dead for years, so I'm glad that the BBL is around to generate some interest in a love game that I love. I also feel bad for guys who work their backsides off each week to play in front of a crowd of 15 people. That's why so many are taking the money to play T20 overseas or just giving up on domestic cricket and getting paid to play local cricket. Cricket Australia stuffed things up a long time ago and only now are people starting to realise the impact. The Test team will continue to perform well, but that's only because of a few talented individuals who are just too skilled and determined to let a flawed infrastructure stop them.
Michael Blumel
Roar Pro
I am a huge cricket fan, have played suburban cricket for many years and have seen the impact first hand with the juniors that are coming through our club. There was a time when Shield cricket was the pinnacle of Australian domestic cricket, but now some of the best players don't even want to play. The standard has dropped dramatically and it will continue to get worse. The infrastructure around the competition is obviously broken. Victorian player Dan Christian even made a public statement about it a few weeks ago, and he's one of the blokes getting paid to play in it - http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/dan-christian-slams-sheffield-shield-for-treating-players-as-guinea-pigs/news-story/c50de3c1be63031b0c8a4428f3617a51
peeeko
Roar Guru
and why are the crowds numbers a problem now. where were you 30 years ago when the crowds were the same?
peeeko
Roar Guru
the shield hasnt had crowds for decades and it hasnt made a difference
Dexter The Hamster
Guest
Matador cup window?? Matador cup a pathway to Big Bash?? I'm speechless and fear for cricket. I really do
Dexter The Hamster
Guest
But you also said good riddance to it, meaning you are happy for it to disappear.
anon
Guest
I agree and I'm probably even more extreme in my belief about the future of first class cricket. Kids just don't care about first class (or even ODI) cricket no matter how many dads drag their kids along to a dull day's play. Actually, most adults don't care about first class (or even ODI) cricket no matter what they say. Sure they'll follow the scores at work, watch it when they get home (not a lot else on FTA in summer months), but they don't really care. It's like a bad habit more than anything. They don't care enough to show up even with discounted tickets like this year. Look at first class cricket. 15 people turn up to watch a day's play in a Shield match. Maybe 25 people turn up for a pink ball Shield match. Test attendances have been dismal. In an attempt to shore up attendances they've introduced pink ball cricket (which is a good thing), but ultimately it's just a gimmick. It's at a friendlier hour for sure, and ratings and attendances will be higher on account of that, but crowds will begin to dwindle with each pink ball test. It's still in the novelty stage. 25 people turn up for a pink ball Shield match. It might be 100 or 200 people. They number doesn't matter. 80,000 turned up for a single BBL game last season. Clearly the public are far more enthusiastic about domestic T20 than domestic first class cricket and nothing will ever change that. You're never going to convert anyone to first class cricket, so just give up now. I would look at rolling back the test summer to 3 tests. Melbourne can keep the Boxing Day test, let the rest be rotated between the other cities. Eventually roll it back to a solitary one single test each summer. Have it for nostalgia sake. Let all the players dress up in white for five days and play a really boring style of cricket. It will be like one of those Civil War reenactments they have in America where they all dress up and glorify the past. ODI is dead in the water too. Must have been 15-20k turn up at the MCG for the one dayer last weekend. Crowds are abysmal. No-one is interested. Dedicating 8 hours of your precious weekend to an ultimately meaningless one day match is too much when the weather is nice outside. There wasn't Netflix in the World Series days. This is a different era. I'd scale back the one day season. Just a couple of matches against each touring side. Instead of a measly three T20 internationals, I'd turn it into a tri-series with each team playing 8 matches. Stagger it by starting it towards the end of the BBL season (when they home and away rounds end). I'd expand the BBL season as well. Keep tickets cheap don't get greedy. It's a great way to spend a night in the middle of summer.
Don Freo
Guest
Not a cricket fan, Michael? For a cricket lover like me, Sheffield Shield is my favourite form of cricket...more so than Test cricket. It has the best cricketers because it has 22 Australians. I get the confusion of those that only watch it on TV but have never played or followed cricket passionately...but thankfully, their opinions never count because they are a glaring minority.
Working Class Rugger
Guest
The Matador Cup has its place in Australian Cricket particularly as a pathway for players to the BBL. What it suffers from at present is a lack of marketing and importantly star power. It's not coincidence that the 2015 edition actually saw increased interest when the Australian team members actually turned out for their states. That is how it needs to be. No Tests or meaningless ODI series during the Matador Cup window. More application of the lessons learned in the BBL in terms of promotion, experience and marketinf. It likely won't quite reach BBL levels but it will grow to something worthwhile.
Joe B
Guest
I am a big fan of the BBL, and am also a big fan of the Ashes series... but generally I can't bring myself to watch tests - one dayers are dead to me now. There was a time that I would like watching cricket, one dayers and tests, but the past decade, or more, cricket has become a year round non-event. BBL has reacquainted us with tribal cricket played one season a year.... at a very economical cost of time and money. Who has the attention span to follow a team for 12 months a year? Who cares about the AFL's pre season comp? No one, we just want the premiership season to run from autumn to spring and that is it. In regards to Sheffield Shield cricket, CA has to either keep running it as is, or, perhaps dedicate those resources to raise the profile/status of each states A Grade leagues and hope that will produce long form talent... second thoughts, the selection politics for national duties would become nightmarish.
Michael Blumel
Roar Pro
I'm definitely not saying that the Big Bash is a breeding ground for long form players. But I do think that more young players are choosing to focus on T20 due to the larger crowds and salaries that are available. There was a time when Sheffield Shield players would average 45-50 runs and struggle to get a game for the Test side (eg. Stuart Law). Now guys like Maddinson are getting selected based more off their T20 form than anything else (He average 37 for NSW). The pool of players that actually want to play Test cricket is shrinking every year because the domestic competition is dead. No wonder the new crop of state players are less consistent in long form cricket. They play 3 games in November and then have two months off to either watch or play T20. That's why more guys are taking the cash and playing local cricket, particularly if they're not sloggers who thrive in the shorter format.
Dexter The Hamster
Guest
Can't work out if this is tongue in cheek or not. If not, its bollocks. Good luck picking a test team from the big bash.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Domestic cricket has an important role, even if only two men and a dog turn up to watch. It's important to have a competition that simulates Test conditions - several days in a row on Test- type pitches. Where potential Test players can play, learn the conditions, and press their claims for selection. Cricket Australia will keep running the Sheffield Shield, even though it loses money; because of its development value. But commercially, the Big Bash's ability to draw crowds and TV ratings mean it will be in the prime spot in the calendar. Other forms of domestic cricket have to fit in around that.