Introducing cricket to a new country and audience

[LeScotsman]

Hey, I'm Mr Bell who went to Slog the Slavs, Magyars, Finno-Ugrics, Bulgars, et al. This is great news about cricket in Romania. You might be interested to hear there is now a team in Bucharest, and a ton of cricket-loving volunteers at the orphanages in Brasov. I played with some Romany street kids, and there was definitely potential. A cricket league has just launched in neighbouring Hungary, and Zrenjanin, northern Serbia has a team. Ukraine has cricket teams in almost every city, and your closest rivals are Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea.

There used to be cricket leagues between Odesa, Constaninople, and Bucharest from the 1890s, but two world wars and Stalinism put an end to that.

I would suggest you:
a) contact the European Cricket Council. Once the sport is officially registered in a country, they can supply kit and coaching material. They have just launched online cricket TV, which will be available across Europe. Write an article for their newsletter and get the word around.

b) contact ICC Cricket World Show. This is a half-hour weekly round-up of cricket. It is broadcast in several European countries, including Norway.

c) get in touch with the British, Australian, and other Commonwealth Embassies in Romania to help out. They will have someone who is cricket mad on their staff and will likely get on board. They can also provide fixtures.

d) get in touch with the neighbouring European teams I mentioned above. I've posted links to their websites on mine at www.angusjjbell.com.

If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. Thanks, Angus.

 

[cover drive man]

It's good to see you have took an intrest in the game I would suggest.

1) Like you said try getting cricket on tv.

2) Try to start a cricket practise club if you have the time.

 

[atisha_ro]

@Angus: I won't be able to get involved in cricket administration or something, as you seem to suppose - I've got a motrical disability from birth and can't travel alone. The TV thing I'd like to try, though.
Anyone knows who is the TV rights holder in Europe for the Twenty20 World Championship? Or should I ask the ICC directly?

 

[Burgey]

well he just waits for a good bash in september - the NZ vs. Romania game is anyway last in group and starts very early in the day.
more of an exhibition really.

Hope that they meet again in the semis - Romania will walk it in

Well done on trying to bring cricket to a new country. Good luck with it.

Actually, if you need a co-commentator, I'd be happy to have you fly me over for the duration of the 20-20 WC and do some commentary. Is there an allowance for airfares & accommodation?

 

[atisha_ro]

do you speak Romanian?

i wrote a proposal to the main TV sports station, waiting for a reply.

 

[Burgey]

I can do a crash course!

 

[atisha_ro]

I'm a bit disheartened, as the foremost sports station turned down the idea.
I guess it would take a smaller one - these guys are just too comercial to risk their ass with such an "alien" sport.
I begin to wonder if it's worth it anyway.

 

[Laurrz]

great stuff to here that our game is getting recongised

 

[atisha_ro]

ironic how your reply fell now.

 

[Shaggy Alfresco]

I'm a bit disheartened, as the foremost sports station turned down the idea.
I guess it would take a smaller one - these guys are just too comercial to risk their ass with such an "alien" sport.
I begin to wonder if it's worth it anyway.

Start your own TV channel by selling all your worldly possessions and going to live in a monastery (free accommodation). With the money you have gathered, buy AK-47's and execute a daring robbery of a local TV station's equipment, flee into the middle of the Black Sea (you did buy a boat with your money, right?) and broadcast from there. Foolproof.

 

[atisha_ro]

i'm not THAT desperate

i'm contacting other sports broadcasters, let's see what comes out of it.

 

[Perm]

Keep fighting the good fight mate, they'll come around to your way of thinking eventually.

 

[Smudge]

i'm not THAT desperate

i'm contacting other sports broadcasters, let's see what comes out of it.

Start smaller, by offering to do small voiceovers etc for either international coverage, or a local piece on the local clubs - which I know isn't quite what you want, but you need to convince the executives that there will be some interest in them covering it.

 

[atisha_ro]

the fact is - there are no organised clubs of cricket here and nobody broadcasted a game ever. virgin teritory. there are some groups who play backyard-style but nothing like a regulamentar ground. so the game has to get some exposure at international level to make people think about it - and the Twenty20 World Championship just seems to be the perfect time to start.

tbf the Bob Woolmer issue had some press coverage, but the slim attempts to explain the game itself were pathetic.

 

[Fiery]

Start smaller, by offering to do small voiceovers etc for either international coverage, or a local piece on the local clubs - which I know isn't quite what you want, but you need to convince the executives that there will be some interest in them covering it.

First advice and no offence but make sure you know a bit about the game before trying to commentate on it. Nothing worse, Glad to hear you love the game tho

Having said that, any Romanian cricket commentary is better than none so

 

[sohummisra]

Any luck yet? I think if you can find an official ICC website for the Twenty20 World Cup, you will also find the list of official broadcasters. I'll hunt around right now.

 

[kof98]

Isn't there a copy of this thread?

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24505

 

[PhoenixFire]

Isn't there a copy of this thread?

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24505

Nah, they're pretty different as far as content is concerned.

 

[atisha_ro]

the icc page on the twenty20 world cup is poor at the moment. i just wrote in the "contact icc" page, asking about tv rights in europe and possible discounts for new countries.

 

[atisha_ro]

Total failure, no-one seems interested, not even the ICC (meh, not surprisingly ).
idea halted, not abandoned yet. guess it's just the wrong time.
(or maybe place).