Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon
It's a good idea in theory but there are lots of things to consider, such as the games are locked in as 100 over matches and you wouldn't generally know that it would become a 40 over game till about 2 days before, this is a problem given that tv schedules are locked in, catering staff, ground security staff etc... are all rosted on and paid to work what is effectively a 8-10 hour day. You can't be stuffing around that many people just because a game is essentially worthless.
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You can handle them the same way One dayers that are washed out or end early.
As for TV - Channel 9 took an absolute beating in the ratings during the ODI series. Channel 9 apologised to sponsors and gave them free spots to make up for the pathetic ratings. Sponsors would have been overjoyed if the ads they had booked for games 4 and 5 were turned into a Twenty20 since crowd and TV audiences were much higher even though people knew they were going to be a slaughter. People can stomach a quick, clean and precise kill in 40 overs rather than a long, drawn out, messy 100 over massacre.
Catering staff et cetera are all done by contractors, in Australia at least. And for the ridiculous prices they charge for the crappy food, I dont think people would be crying in the streets if catering contractors had to deal with having to do a slight re-schedule . If they dont like it someone else can do the contract. Same with security. As for police at matches, its not like the police are an 9-5 (or 2pm-10pm) business.
Ground staff, well they would have to deal with it. Since its in the financial interest of the game to keep it popular a slight inconvenience is a small price to pay.
Dont forget for over 25 years Australia had a
best of three final series. Quite often it didnt go to a 3rd game. How do you think catering, ground staff, security etc dealt with that?
Its easier to go from 8hours of play to 3-3.5 than go from 3 hours to 8 anyway. So a few people get a couple afternoons off.
It was only the second season of having 5 match series in Australia and not the tri-angular series. Last year there was only 1 dead match, that being the 5th match against S.Af so it wasn't an issue, and in some years its not going to be. But there has been immense harm to cricket this year because of terrible, lop sided series. Since cricket is not a franchise sport there is no way to prop up under performing teams like Pakistan and West Indies. If cricket was a franchise sport the Pakistan and West Indian cricket boards and franchise would have been destroyed decades ago due to poor administration. Or, if it was a promotion/relegation system, Pakistan and West Indies would be in League Two facing relegation to Conference.
There has to be some solution to dead matches.