Amidst a swathe of bucket-clad heads, bright lights and a cacophony of the current top songs around the world the cricket out in the middle can lose its relevance.
The Big Bash League has been a success by almost every measure. With the men’s competition now in its seventh and largest iteration and the women’s gaining traction in its third, Cricket Australia and Network Ten have combined to make cricket ‘summer’s best value entertainment’.
With finals still to come, the BBL has already attracted the better part of one million fans. TV coverage proudly shows shots of the crowd – of young boys and girls and their families all together enjoying the cricket. There are advertisements all around to sign up for your local Milo T20 Blast program. Interest in cricket seems to be at an all-time high.
But is it the cricket the crowds are coming to see?
I have been to two Big Bash games since the competition’s inception and have found both games incredibly difficult to follow. Last season I sat on the boundary edge at the Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers last-ball thriller yet had no idea Ashton Agar’s six had won the game for his side.
Being in the crowd is more about ‘cooee-ing’ in time with the PA system and banging your buckets to win prizes. The cricket is almost inconsequential.
(AAP Image/David Mariuz)
Greg Baum wrote astutely on the matter and addressed the fact that in the current sporting climate the way we attract new fans young and old is not one that places a high enough value on the sport. Instead we give preference to noise and action inside the ground and to activities outside it.
Perhaps it’s because cricket is seen as boring. Cricket is the game that takes too long and doesn’t make any sense. Maybe we are embarrassed that the cricket alone isn’t enough to gather any kind of genuine interest. If that is the case, then a sport with a 200-year global history and a legacy that speaks for itself is ceding to those who don’t understand its beauty, complexity and nuance.
Indeed cricket is in a period of transition and has been for a number of years. It has been well documented that the management of this period will be crucial in ensuring the game’s longevity.
[latest_videos_strip category=”cricket” name=”Cricket”]
The powers that be see it as paramount that we look for alternate avenues to attract the next generation, luring them in with entertainment as opposed to cricket.
The distraction and diversion tactic has come to characterise cricket in Australia. Test matches are now ‘hosted’ by James Sherry, whose comments and video clips fill up every break in play, and because one-day cricket is losing its attraction it is now almost compulsory to attend in fancy dress.
I am all for making the game more accessible and attractive to the next generation and I certainly see the Big Bash as a viable if not crucial avenue in doing so. Watching on television is fantastic – insights from the likes of Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum are invaluable and heed Richie Benaud’s adage of ‘not speaking unless one can add to the picture’. Additionally, the changes in junior formatting to reflect the shorter form have already been effective.
The importance of T20 cricket, especially in Australia, cannot be overstated, so it is important that the millions of cricket-loving kids – all potential cricket tragics – are falling in love with the game for the right reasons: for the contest, for the competition and for the cricket.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
Nathan Lyon's spell with English county Lancashire has been halved as Cricket Australia looks to protect the fitness of the star spinner. The Australian,…
Cricket Australia insists Optus Stadium can replace the Gabba as the men's Test team's new fortress after handing Perth the first match against India.…
It's no longer about how many runs score individually - it is about the team's ability to win Test in pressure moments.
