It’s Just Not Cricket
In five years time will cricket still be Australia’s beloved and unrivalled summer game?
Up until 18 months ago, the answer would have been a resolute and confident ‘yes,’ perhaps with a couple of expletives attached. For nobody surely would have even bothered to ask the question.
Now, though, Mssrs Ponting, Gilchrist, Hayden et al face an expected challenge from the , Australia’s sprouting professional soccer league, which is still only in its third season.
How about this bouncer from Brisbane’s , which likely had the administrators at Cricket Australia hopping around at the crease? "Soccer has speared a warning shot at cricket by claiming the sport’s once vice-like grip on the hearts and minds of Australians in summer is loosening."
As evidence, the paper compared the crowds at Brisbane’s colosseum-like Gabba during the first test match of the summer with the number of fans flocking to the A-League fixtures that same weekend.
Whereas just 15,379 spectators watched ‘day three’ of the test match against Sri Lanka, 31,884 turned out to see Melbourne Victory against Sydney FC. The following day, 7,629 passed through the turnstiles for ‘day four’ of the cricket, while 13,808 saw Queensland Roar take on Wellington Phoenix.
Boosted by the success of the Socceroos at the last World Cup – a team than was unlucky to be knocked out by the eventual winners, Italy – the A-league is booming. Season ticket sales are up 52% on last season, while there’s been a 150% growth in tickets for the Socceroos.
Cricket, by contrast, has had a fairly dismal start to the southern summer. The two-match test series against Sri Lanka was an instantly forgettable affair, with the hosts recording two lop-sided victories. The gloomy weather here has not helped either, with the second one-day international against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground a virtual wash-out.
As for the domestic inter-state games, the crowds could quite happily be accommodated in a couple of phone boxes.
Arguably, the only unqualified success has been the Twenty20 limited overs thrash between at the WACA in Perth, with its miked-up players, rock music, jugglers, fire twirlers, stilt-walkers, seven-piece brass band, post-match fireworks, and dunking machine to provide a splash for each boundary and wicket.
was originally introduced to provide a much-needed shot of adrenalin to the county game in England. The problem is that now it is becoming a worldwide addiction, for fans and administrators alike.
The idea, as the peerless cricket writer Gideon Haigh has noted, was to attract cricket ‘tolerators’ rather than cricket lovers – or, as he memorably put it, design ‘a game to the specifications of those who don't like it.’
For cricket purists, the inaugural Twenty 20 in South Africa this past September ended with the worst possible outcome: a fantastically successful and well-attended tournament which ended in a win for India, now the commercial driving force behind many of the unwelcome changes in the game.
So that prompts another question. What is the future of test cricket?
Cricket Australia will tell you that test matches have never been more popular. Just look at the 2005 Ashes series in England, arguably the most close-fought ever played, and the sell-out return series in Australia last summer.
But the administrators are clearly fretful, having announced their desire to trial day/night test cricket by the end of the decade – an innovation which they claim will deliver bigger prime-time television audiences and attract new people to the game.
This trial balloon was shot down within a few hours, when the world’s leading ball manufacturer, Kookaburra, said it was impossible to produce a ball which could be seen both at day and night.
Still, it has left the traditionalists seething. Mike Coward of , another exceptional cricket writer and historian, speaks for many. "Test cricket is sacred because it has stood apart from all its mutations and from all other sport for 130 years. This makes it unique. The moment it does not stand apart is the moment it will be despoiled and doomed."
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If the test arena fails to bring in the crowds in the future, it will still be seen as the ultimate test for the player. So whether crowds come or go, the cricket player will still be tested and the arena will be test cricket.
No different to 5 a-side footy or 20-20 cricket...good fun..but not the test of a real player.
Being popular doesnt make it the best arena.
I also find it hard to believe that any real cricket fan could be wooed by Twenty20. It's far too gimmicky and so dumbed down that even I (only an occasional follower of the game) feel insulted by it. Give us a test any day!
In the face of ever stiffer competiton, is it any surprise that cricket needs to make some concession to the passing of the ages? Few things from 130 years ago are fresh today.
The question is this, would test cricket continue if the stadiums were empty? If the answer is "yes" then none of this matters, but if the answer is "no" then taking into account what helps fill the stadiums is essential.
Despite what purist might wish, cricket won't change the audience, the audience will change cricket. It's inevitable.
Twenty20 needs to go through some maturing and perhaps a re-think of some of the rules used to boost the scores, but it's helping fill stadiums, and it's clearly bringing in younger, more diverse audiences.
It's making cricket fun to watch.
Cricket, Soccer, Netball, Rugby Hockey and of course Crockey are sport invented by the Poms to bore patrons to death. Thank goodness for Australian Rules that provides the skills and excitement that Australians crave. They play soccer in summer so they can get a crowd. You should be aware that Australian Rules in played in London at the same time as it is played in Australia. All of the above sports require changes to the rules to allow the whistles to be put in the Referee's pockets.
Interesting observation about the challenge to cricket from soccer. In my opinion, Australian cricket has an image problem that extends far beyond the traditional complaint that it's a boring game. It seems to have been caused by unsporting behaviour on and off the field that dates back to when Ian Chappell led the team in the 1970s. The recent insults by Shane Warne and - surprise, surprise - Ian Chappell, directed at former national coach John Buchanan, are examples of what I'm talking about. It doesn't seem fair for players of their stature to attack an official like that. Still, the spectators who keep going to cricket matches don't seem to care anyway. Maybe others who are turned off by this bad behaviour are prepared to give the A-League a go.
While soccer seems to be the flavour of the month, I won't be going while there is still a chance of coming across some of the violent behaviour that still occurs at some games.
I notice this blog was written before the Boxing Day test started - crowds will turn out if they feel a good game is in the offing. Maybe Australia's dominance is not helping - why go if you know the result before the game starts?
Hi Nick! Happy New Year! Love your work and thought it was about time I contributed to this excellent blog.
Your article is great, but I think there's an 'elephant in the room' issue that's not raised. Could it be the Australian cricket team that's killing cricket in Australia?! As a Pom (I declare an interest!) who's been here nine years, I've yet to witness a summer Test series which was any form of a contest. I went to the first day of the Boxing Day Test a week ago and felt there was a real crackle of expectation that Australia would get a proper match. Alas, by the end of the first session the next day, normal business was resumed. No-one wants to discuss it, but Australia's incredible cricket success is now becoming a bit of a yawn. The only reason last year's Ashes series sold out was because they actually lost the UK series in 2005. So the puzzle for Cricket Australia must surely be who to barrack for in the remaining Tests with India!
Hi Nick! Happy New Year! Love your work and thought it was about time I contributed to this excellent blog.
Your article is great, but I think there's an 'elephant in the room' issue that's not raised. Could it be the Australian cricket team that's killing cricket in Australia?! As a Pom (I declare an interest!) who's been here nine years, I've yet to witness a summer Test series which was any form of a contest. I went to the first day of the Boxing Day Test a week ago and felt there was a real crackle of expectation that Australia would get a proper match. Alas, by the end of the first session the next day, normal business was resumed. No-one wants to discuss it, but Australia's incredible cricket success is now becoming a bit of a yawn. The only reason last year's Ashes series sold out was because they actually lost the UK series in 2005. So the puzzle for Cricket Australia must surely be who to barrack for in the remaining Tests with India!
I agree with Mike Coward regarding prospective rule changes in test cricket. In particular the inclusion of new technologies in umpiring decisions. As the septics say "don't fix it if it aint broke". Please preserve the traditions of this most subtle and venerable of games. Umpires are fallible but aren't we all, with the possible exception of the Pope. Some people are also quite gullible and lacking in the department of of logical reasoning and blindly accepting of information of a clearly questionable nature. Anyway thats my tuppence. Cheers Jamie Burke