Next up in our series which gives fans a platform to set right the wrongs of the cricketing world, zealous cricket convert Sofia Westaby wishes the Friends Life t20 ditched the gimmicks and forked out to bring in the cricket world’s superstars.
I am a recent cricket convert and with my newfound love of the sport, I often feel as if there is a grumpy old man trapped inside my young woman’s body. I become particularly grumpy when I look at the latest attempts by counties to make the spectacle of limited-overs cricket more attractive. They are throwing a miss-match of pyrotechnics, flame-eaters and noise at a cricket match. The result? A ‘pimped’ Friend’s Life t20 competition that is full of lights, but is lacking the big names to be put in them.
In the recent washed out Twenty20 international at The Oval, England v New Zealand, the biggest Twitter traffic came from the appearance of a string of fairy lights around the boundary rope. With the game lasting two balls it was unclear how and to what effect the lights would be used; to signify a four, a six or a random flash at the end of an over to engage the crowd? What was clear was that they were unnecessary; they added nothing but a few extra pounds on the electricity bill and some light pollution.
It’s bad enough that we have to suffer through one man and his iPod between overs. Granted, international fixtures have upgraded from iPod speakers to a sophisticated sound system, but there are still plenty of grounds on the county circuit that cause me to cringe every six balls.
Since the ICC Champions Trophy, the ECB have seen that there is huge appetite for cricket in this country. But what was also discovered – or shall we say reaffirmed – was that the attraction remains an opportunity to see big names or rivalries at affordable prices.
India v Pakistan, at Edgbaston, sold out within 30 minutes. And whilst the rivalry of Yorkshire and Lancashire is not necessarily to this scale (and they play one another regularly) it is a given that a good number of tickets will remain unsold, despite this being a popular contest.
With the ECB targeting 200,000 more spectators for the county game, perhaps counties should follow Surrey’s example and invest more of the £144 million, to be spread between 18 counties, in big signings. Regardless of how much fire, drums and beats are added to sport, the game and those who play it will always be the biggest attraction.
It is therefore a tragedy that no county had the finances for South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, who currently sits at the top of the ICC Test rankings. When the IPL offers such riches it is unsurprising that the Friend’s Life t20 has not attracted box-office names. Gayle, Pollard, Jayawardene, Kohli, Narine, Ajmal, and Mendis are all noticeably missing.
This is not to say that counties have not been able to attract exciting overseas players. Hamish Rutherford plays for Essex, Dwayne Smith for Sussex, Shakib Al Hasan for Leicestershire. Middlesex have Adam Voges and let’s not forget Ricky Ponting at Surrey, but can these players create a similar atmosphere to the IPL, the Big Bash or the Champions Trophy?
Even putting overseas players aside, England is developing a huge number of homegrown talents, like James Taylor, Alex Hales, Stuart Meaker, Scott Borthwick, Reece Topley and many others. But still these youngsters’ heroics are not pulling in the punters. People are just not interested if you are not an international superstar.
To be fooled by the flashing lights, the fireworks and the dancing girls is a huge mistake, they are not the ones who make the show. Timing will always be an issue and it is wrong for any player to choose a domestic competition over international duty. But surely one or two more blockbusters can be attracted and, more importantly, paid for.
If county cricket is to draw in new followers, as the ECB has asked, then domestic cricket must come out from behind the artificial smoke screen and face the blaring music.
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