Future for international cricket as we know it?

[Matt79]

Will say at the outset that this is not intended to be another thread that either a) aims to sledge the BCCI, or any national board in particular, or b) wants to propose a new format to tests, test championships or some form of hybrid between tests/odis or odis/t20. I want to talk about the broader issue of why those sorts of questions are becoming increasing common. Nor is it meant to be doom-mongering - change is inevitable and always has been a part of the game. The game will persist, but it seems that we're reaching a point where some significant change is occurring and is probably going to continue for a while before a new 'situation normal' is established.

Gideon Haigh made the point of Australian tv yesterday that a lot of the issues causing angst or division at the moment in international cricket are symptomatic of a deeper issue - which is the current system of international cricket is archaic, that financial realities have passed the national boards and the ICC by, and that many recent issues have come up as actors in the space start to realise this has happened and act on it.

Haigh, especially on tv, likes to make a bold statement to introduce a discussion, and he's certainly been dramatic there, but do people think he's right, and if so, is that necessary something to be mourned?

I think he has mentioned some pretty valid points now. Perhaps unlike anytime for much of the last century, the national boards know that they potentially cannot demand or enforce the loyalty of their troops. The IPL was brilliantly effective in killing off the ICL as a challenger, but has probably perversely made the problem worse in the long term - we're seeing some players now saying that they'd prefer to make a living going to the IPL and similar tournaments rather than the grind of international touring and/or towing the line of following their board's directions. Players have a sense of how much they're potentially worth in a global tv market, and the opportunity to compare that to what their boards can offer them.

I find looking at the situation today a bit like looking at the impact of revolutionary France on Europe - suddenly all the places that were still clinging to the ancien regime look unsustainable and vulnerable to those using the new model.

The potential downside is that corporate entertainment entities focused solely on extracting maximum profit from the spectacle might not be willing to match the efforts of the current regimes in maintaining the roots of the game, upon which its long term health relies. Another downside, for those of us who like test cricket, is that it is a profoundly unattractive format for those keen on maximising bang for buck.

Anyway, a bit of a ramble, but interested in peoples' thoughts.

 

[silentstriker]

There is really no solution to the root cause - if people like the IPL product better, than that's the way it will go in the future and there's little people can do about it. You can try to make Tests appeal to more so that it is sustainable in its own right, but in the end, sports are an entertainment product - if you don't have the eyeballs, you don't have a product.

We've already waited way too long for simple things like referrals, day night cricket, uniforms that have players name on the back, etc. All things that are designed to get people to watch the game without really changing the game itself.

As for the administrative realities of the ICC, there really is no solution. If you have 80% of the market in one place, that's just going to be the de-facto ruler of the sport. BCCI actually has less power than it ought to command by its level of income and number of fans - thankfully so, but that's just a fact. If I am in an organization making 80% of money and someone who brings in 1% and demands equal voting rights - I might be a little miffed.

 

[Matt79]

Agreed, and I guess the question is, overall is that necessarily a bad thing, a good thing, or just a thing.

I take it you agree with the contention that new products, of which the IPL may simply be the first, will compete with and potentially kill off existing ones. I know it doesn't HAVE to be that way, and I'm not accusing anyone of doing it deliberately, but to my mind that seems to be a highly likely result.

 

[silentstriker]

Yes, I think the Test format is a dead man walking. Too much conservatism. There will be change, but too little, too late. Day/Night Tests should have been here before the invention of T20. The ball issue is the biggest excuse I've ever heard. Let's get people playing - it's not going to be the end of the world if a few wickets are lost because it's a little tougher to see the ball, and once it's an accepted product, people will come up with solutions. I know of no other sport that would willingly sacrifice guaranteed higher ratings by simply switching the times for absolutely no reason. Maybe it deserves to die tbh.

 

[Matt79]

What about national vs national team as the norm for top level fixtures rather than franchises for instance? Could foresee a situation like soccer where international matches are not minority of matches the top players play in.

 

[GotSpin]

What about national vs national team as the norm for top level fixtures rather than franchises for instance? Could foresee a situation like soccer where international matches are not minority of matches the top players play in.

Don't think so honestly.

As opposed to Soccer where kids grow up wanting to play for all the major EPL clubs, young kids don't aspire to play for the Deccan chargers or whatever, they want to play for their country. This could change I suppose but not in the near future. The IPL doesn't get that much exposure here anyway.

As for the future of test cricket, it's faced worse challenges in the past and come back even stronger so I see no reason to presume it's a walking dead format. The introduction of Day-Night Matches would help it so much though.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yes, I think the Test format is a dead man walking. Too much conservatism. There will be change, but too little, too late. Day/Night Tests should have been here before the invention of T20. The ball issue is the biggest excuse I've ever heard. Let's get people playing - it's not going to be the end of the world if a few wickets are lost because it's a little tougher to see the ball, and once it's an accepted product, people will come up with solutions. I know of no other sport that would willingly sacrifice guaranteed higher ratings by simply switching the times for absolutely no reason. Maybe it deserves to die tbh.

Yep, genuine chicken and egg situation with Chicken Little the judge/jury/executioner; the ball issue may not be perfect yet but who's going to put money into fixing it when day-night Tests aren't even close to a fait accompli yet?

It's ridiculous. In trial matches so far, runs were still scored and bowlers still took wickets. Get on with it and get into day/night Tests FFS.

And, tbh, the death of cricket boards being totally in control of players' careers can be nothing but a good thing. Would also love to see some of the rules at grounds buggered-off so that going to the cricket is actually fun again.