There’s a theme developing over your last few pieces. First how test cricket is being reimagined by Stokes and Mccullum. Then the relevance to CSA of ODIs in general and the world cup in particular.
And it all comes down to the IPL’s World Domination. Who could blame SA players for taking advantage of the shop window afforded by a T20 tournament, with the possibility of riches to come. Or CSA for replenishing their depleted coffers.
Those top two media money spinners (NFL & IPL) have something in common besides each having 3 letters in their names: the length of games is elastic. And this allows for more ad breaks. And more revenue… And that is the IPL.
Soon, the wall containing the sponsor names will be visible from space.
And in the commentary box, while Matthew Hayden explains for the umpteenth time the theory of match-ups, the hype generated by his co-commentators will reach criticality and the ubiquitous Simon Doull will spontaneously combust, creating two identical versions of himself, allowing each to commentate on a different game. Graham Swann will only speak whilst doing his impression of Viv Richards and Kevin Peterson will laugh hysterically at nothing. Danny Morrison will follow the ball as it escapes earth’s gravitational pull and Sunil Gavaskar will calmly state: that was genius. Only Harsha Bhogle will retain any semblance of not having sold-out.
And at that stage we will have achieved peak IPL. The season will last so long that we are still in the play-offs when the next tournament begins.
The ECB, meanwhile, will decide that The Hundred isn’t generating sufficient revenue and invent yet another unnecessary and uncalled for format, based around players meeting in the middle of the pitch and bumping gloves. But this time with 4.75 ball overs.
At last, cricket 24/7/365. And when their country asks the England players if perhaps they’d like a weekend break in Pakistan to play a couple of internationals by way of thanks to the Pakistani team for touring England during lockdown, they say they are too mentally fatigued after 6 weeks living in an IPL bubble.
I love cricket. I like T20. On a rainy April London afternoon, a bit of IPL is a nice distraction. But I am not invested in any of the teams - sorry, franchises. And let’s be honest, how many games are really that memorable? I like strawberry ice cream, but not every day for every meal. I need a palate cleanser before preparing myself for five days of what is now known as red ball cricket.
A few years ago a friend asked me why I didn’t have Sky Sports (UK). I told him that there was so much cricket being played throughout the world, I may never leave my home. I have since succumbed, but do get out from time to time.
Nice description of the IPL commentators. Its one thing about that tournament that has definitely got worse over time. Hayden and Pietersen are shocking... but Indians seem to accept them blindly because of their playing records and their attacking ways.
I can understand the value of an IPL franchise in India. That competition is going to continue to grow, and the revenue from broadcast rights will grow with it (like how its just doubled), all supported by India's ever-expanding middle class. Those businesses will get a return on their investment. The numbers add up.
But KKR owning a franchise in the West Indies, or the UAE or in South Africa? I just can't see how the numbers add up here. The value of the broadcast rights either locally or into India, and a franchise's subsequent share of it, has to be insignificant (relative to the IPL rights). Those local markets cannot grow to any significant extent. Indian players will never be allowed to play in any of those leagues, so the value inside India is not going to change. I just can't see how having your name on a T20 team in Pretoria is going to 'globally grow your brand' to any significant extent. There will never be millions of people running around in Africa, China, Korea or Brazil wearing KKR shirts.
So where's the increase in revenue going to come from to provide the RoI?
I really think the IPL owners have got ahead of themselves. Yes, they have a huge, valuable market within India. But, they did nothing to create that market, and not much to cultivate it either. I don't believe they can grow and cultivate cricket markets outside of India.
Or maybe, they are happy to blow a few mil per season on 1 or 2 overseas franchises for some perceived 'soft' branding benefits. But I definitely think that's a marketing driven decision and not a bean-counter one... which in my experience is a very non-Indian thing to do.
For now, the old cricket adage applies nicely to CSA... its not how that matters, its how much!
That's a very interesting comment. I presumed (maybe wrongly), that the IPL ultimately wanted to either gain a foothold in, or maybe even then ultimate control of, all major T20 tournaments around the world allowing them (the IPL) to dictate terms. And times. And I do see Indian players appearing in those leagues. Thus providing a home Indian audience.
I think there's a very important distinction between an 'Indian IPL franchise owner', and 'the IPL'. The IPL is the BCCI, whereas the franchise owners are a collection of individuals and businesses. The BCCI can't control what those businesses do outside of India. Well maybe not... I may be wrong here but when I quickly checked months ago, the KKR franchise in the CPL was the only franchise not to have a Pakistani player on its books. So the BCCI may still exert some level of control!
The BCCI knows it has the golden goose, and said goose is getting more golden every year. I think they will protect it vigorously and selfishly. That means the only place you will ever see Rohit, Rishabh or Jasprit is Team India or the IPL; ie. when it benefits the BCCI
That's a good point. Easy to confuse The IPL with the franchises. And your point about IPL franchises and Pakistani players is something I was unaware of.
As for any chance of seeing Indian players in T20 competitions outside India, my comment was more in hope than expectation. I think you may well be proven right.
I just checked again... only 3 or 4 Pakistanis in the CPL (2022) in total. One of them was with Barbados Royals, who share a part-owner with Rajasthan Royals. It doesn't look like the 'no-Pakistanis' directive exists outside of India.
Does anyone see the problem with this IPL in South Africa? Am I the only one that sees the bigger picture, or am I wrong?? We have lost the crown jewels, we have sold the control of cricket to the IPL Gods..CSA is nothing more than a puppy that does a great job of fetch, but cannot stop itself from laying big brown stinkbombs on the carpet...
Without the cash from the IPL, cricket was dead, can we just sell the stadiums, build low cost to build, R3.5m 3bed 2bath, 2 car garage and for an extra 50k a small swimming pool can be yours.. Solar is standard...
We need 3 grounds, 1 in Cape Town, 2 in Jozie... 1 in Stellenbosch, who cares about Durban, PE, Bloem, Kimberly, Poffadder? No one gives a hoot about 2 3 4 day cricket or the worst time soaks 5 day games, when last did SA play 450 overs, 5th day, last hour?? What is the point, more to the point, try and sell 450 overs=draw to the kids born post Y2K paranoia.... Kids who have no idea about the crazy day in '95 when some bloke kicked a oblong ball over a pole and the country went mal... Happy days....
We no longer play cricket in SA, we play IPL.. a very different game, a boring, dull game, a bit like baseball or basketball, short and way too many games in a season.. So you loose 25 in a row, win the next one, you are still not out of the race.. How is this exciting? Watching grass growing is way more exciting...IPL is just stupid cricket, it is not cricket, it is like saying fossball is football...
Thanks Neil. Was in the bush with Sanparks for 2 weeks so had no idea what was going on. Now I am 100% caught-up. Pity todays ODI was rained-out. Great to see Quinny batting so brilliantly though. Cheers.
In the end its the money. And getting in on it is not a bad thing for CSA or the South African cricketing public. Time will tell but as long as the teams are quality snd the ticket prices not exorbitant it bodes well. We had a short experience early on of IPL in SA in 2009 which was well supported. I think this expansion will eventually see the demise of the 50 over format as a force globally. This is not good for the game. No matter how you market it or talk it up T20 is merely Cocktail Cricket with a huge element of chance in the results whereas ODIs are more like an actual meal - to be prepared and savoured for its nuance and style. It goes without saying Test Match Cricket is the real yard-stick by which to judge technique and averages - the Full Five Course Meal with all the accompanying sides and wines. Without sounding too sentimental or conservative - I would prefer my cricket Haute Cuisine , to take care choosing and consuming , rather than a drive- thru order of whichever Junk Food took my fancy. Still enjoyable for sure. But memorable? Probably not .
That's nice. I too like ODIs and test cricket - or, if you prefer, haute cuisine - but I believe something has to go. I believe we will see a reduction in any domestic 50 over competition, whilst maintaining international events. Wasim Akram recently suggested that the 50 over format was doomed. The ICC future tours programme seems to disagree. And I'd warrant that for most cricketing nations a 50 over trophy means way more than a T20 trophy. And SA will rediscover their mojo and return to the fight for that elusive win. We need SA cricket.
How about something new? But not too radically different? ODIs played as two lots of T20 as quarters? If that is the way cricket is heading then at least maintain some length to ODIs? Would throw all stats and averages out the window though?
That's a nice thought, but I'm not sure I see what would be achieved - apart from a weird T20 double header. Then imagine in their first innings the team batting second fails dismally and ends up chasing an unlikely 300 in the final innings. Would we stay watching? Then take the length of a run of the mill IPL T20 game and double it. You may as well play 50 overs a side - it might well be shorter.
The issue sadly missed is that 99% of the South African consumers of cricket, are never going to see the game, either live at the grounds, or on tv, so it is mute, it is the same with the Snoozelami dog's breakfast F1 race in 2023 or 2024, 1 or 2 tenderpraneurs are going to get rich off the R2500 general admission tickets to a 2 hour once a year event...
Since I lost my passport to pleasure at DSTV online, I really could care less about what happens in sport, the only sport I get to watch is F1.. The point is, without national broadcaster support, for free, the whole event is pointless...
To that point, F1, NFL, IPL, all sport is a vehicle for adverting, to highlight and promote brands, so why limit exposure, surely it makes more sense to give the product, the actual broadcast away for free, so you go from maybe 1 million premium subscribers to 20milion on terrestial, that way you can charge a lot more for every pair of eyeballs watching, more than covers the costs of production of the outside broadcast..
Broadcasters have not understood this concept, for example, in the UK, if you want to watch F1, you have pay for a bolt on to the top tier package, to gain the right to view F1, yet for less than £10 a month, you can watch 95% of what Sky produces for each broadcast via F1TV, it is the same commentary team, minus the skypad aspects.. And the in car camera feeds..
Sports broadcasting has almost nothing to do with the actual sport, it is 100% about getting folks to see the names of the brands, IPL is famous for abusing the naming rights of certain shots, you could end up with POWERADE 6, and DEFY VACUUM 4... shouted 20 000 times a game by the over excited commentators..
Not only did CSA make a deal with the devil himself, the devil is not a very good chef, and will not only kill the golden goose, he will cook it until it is only charcoal, what we are witness to now, is the final death-throws of a dying sport... Rugby has almost died, barely survived #StupidRugby, now we are seeing the end of cricket as a sport, how much longer can the venues keep the wolf from the door? When will Kingsmead be turned into a parking lot for the ICC???
Great article
There’s a theme developing over your last few pieces. First how test cricket is being reimagined by Stokes and Mccullum. Then the relevance to CSA of ODIs in general and the world cup in particular.
And it all comes down to the IPL’s World Domination. Who could blame SA players for taking advantage of the shop window afforded by a T20 tournament, with the possibility of riches to come. Or CSA for replenishing their depleted coffers.
Those top two media money spinners (NFL & IPL) have something in common besides each having 3 letters in their names: the length of games is elastic. And this allows for more ad breaks. And more revenue… And that is the IPL.
Soon, the wall containing the sponsor names will be visible from space.
And in the commentary box, while Matthew Hayden explains for the umpteenth time the theory of match-ups, the hype generated by his co-commentators will reach criticality and the ubiquitous Simon Doull will spontaneously combust, creating two identical versions of himself, allowing each to commentate on a different game. Graham Swann will only speak whilst doing his impression of Viv Richards and Kevin Peterson will laugh hysterically at nothing. Danny Morrison will follow the ball as it escapes earth’s gravitational pull and Sunil Gavaskar will calmly state: that was genius. Only Harsha Bhogle will retain any semblance of not having sold-out.
And at that stage we will have achieved peak IPL. The season will last so long that we are still in the play-offs when the next tournament begins.
The ECB, meanwhile, will decide that The Hundred isn’t generating sufficient revenue and invent yet another unnecessary and uncalled for format, based around players meeting in the middle of the pitch and bumping gloves. But this time with 4.75 ball overs.
At last, cricket 24/7/365. And when their country asks the England players if perhaps they’d like a weekend break in Pakistan to play a couple of internationals by way of thanks to the Pakistani team for touring England during lockdown, they say they are too mentally fatigued after 6 weeks living in an IPL bubble.
I love cricket. I like T20. On a rainy April London afternoon, a bit of IPL is a nice distraction. But I am not invested in any of the teams - sorry, franchises. And let’s be honest, how many games are really that memorable? I like strawberry ice cream, but not every day for every meal. I need a palate cleanser before preparing myself for five days of what is now known as red ball cricket.
A few years ago a friend asked me why I didn’t have Sky Sports (UK). I told him that there was so much cricket being played throughout the world, I may never leave my home. I have since succumbed, but do get out from time to time.
Yes, you can have too much of anything.
Nice description of the IPL commentators. Its one thing about that tournament that has definitely got worse over time. Hayden and Pietersen are shocking... but Indians seem to accept them blindly because of their playing records and their attacking ways.
I can understand the value of an IPL franchise in India. That competition is going to continue to grow, and the revenue from broadcast rights will grow with it (like how its just doubled), all supported by India's ever-expanding middle class. Those businesses will get a return on their investment. The numbers add up.
But KKR owning a franchise in the West Indies, or the UAE or in South Africa? I just can't see how the numbers add up here. The value of the broadcast rights either locally or into India, and a franchise's subsequent share of it, has to be insignificant (relative to the IPL rights). Those local markets cannot grow to any significant extent. Indian players will never be allowed to play in any of those leagues, so the value inside India is not going to change. I just can't see how having your name on a T20 team in Pretoria is going to 'globally grow your brand' to any significant extent. There will never be millions of people running around in Africa, China, Korea or Brazil wearing KKR shirts.
So where's the increase in revenue going to come from to provide the RoI?
I really think the IPL owners have got ahead of themselves. Yes, they have a huge, valuable market within India. But, they did nothing to create that market, and not much to cultivate it either. I don't believe they can grow and cultivate cricket markets outside of India.
Or maybe, they are happy to blow a few mil per season on 1 or 2 overseas franchises for some perceived 'soft' branding benefits. But I definitely think that's a marketing driven decision and not a bean-counter one... which in my experience is a very non-Indian thing to do.
For now, the old cricket adage applies nicely to CSA... its not how that matters, its how much!
That's a very interesting comment. I presumed (maybe wrongly), that the IPL ultimately wanted to either gain a foothold in, or maybe even then ultimate control of, all major T20 tournaments around the world allowing them (the IPL) to dictate terms. And times. And I do see Indian players appearing in those leagues. Thus providing a home Indian audience.
I think there's a very important distinction between an 'Indian IPL franchise owner', and 'the IPL'. The IPL is the BCCI, whereas the franchise owners are a collection of individuals and businesses. The BCCI can't control what those businesses do outside of India. Well maybe not... I may be wrong here but when I quickly checked months ago, the KKR franchise in the CPL was the only franchise not to have a Pakistani player on its books. So the BCCI may still exert some level of control!
The BCCI knows it has the golden goose, and said goose is getting more golden every year. I think they will protect it vigorously and selfishly. That means the only place you will ever see Rohit, Rishabh or Jasprit is Team India or the IPL; ie. when it benefits the BCCI
That's a good point. Easy to confuse The IPL with the franchises. And your point about IPL franchises and Pakistani players is something I was unaware of.
As for any chance of seeing Indian players in T20 competitions outside India, my comment was more in hope than expectation. I think you may well be proven right.
I just checked again... only 3 or 4 Pakistanis in the CPL (2022) in total. One of them was with Barbados Royals, who share a part-owner with Rajasthan Royals. It doesn't look like the 'no-Pakistanis' directive exists outside of India.
Does anyone see the problem with this IPL in South Africa? Am I the only one that sees the bigger picture, or am I wrong?? We have lost the crown jewels, we have sold the control of cricket to the IPL Gods..CSA is nothing more than a puppy that does a great job of fetch, but cannot stop itself from laying big brown stinkbombs on the carpet...
Without the cash from the IPL, cricket was dead, can we just sell the stadiums, build low cost to build, R3.5m 3bed 2bath, 2 car garage and for an extra 50k a small swimming pool can be yours.. Solar is standard...
We need 3 grounds, 1 in Cape Town, 2 in Jozie... 1 in Stellenbosch, who cares about Durban, PE, Bloem, Kimberly, Poffadder? No one gives a hoot about 2 3 4 day cricket or the worst time soaks 5 day games, when last did SA play 450 overs, 5th day, last hour?? What is the point, more to the point, try and sell 450 overs=draw to the kids born post Y2K paranoia.... Kids who have no idea about the crazy day in '95 when some bloke kicked a oblong ball over a pole and the country went mal... Happy days....
We no longer play cricket in SA, we play IPL.. a very different game, a boring, dull game, a bit like baseball or basketball, short and way too many games in a season.. So you loose 25 in a row, win the next one, you are still not out of the race.. How is this exciting? Watching grass growing is way more exciting...IPL is just stupid cricket, it is not cricket, it is like saying fossball is football...
Thanks Neil. Was in the bush with Sanparks for 2 weeks so had no idea what was going on. Now I am 100% caught-up. Pity todays ODI was rained-out. Great to see Quinny batting so brilliantly though. Cheers.
In the end its the money. And getting in on it is not a bad thing for CSA or the South African cricketing public. Time will tell but as long as the teams are quality snd the ticket prices not exorbitant it bodes well. We had a short experience early on of IPL in SA in 2009 which was well supported. I think this expansion will eventually see the demise of the 50 over format as a force globally. This is not good for the game. No matter how you market it or talk it up T20 is merely Cocktail Cricket with a huge element of chance in the results whereas ODIs are more like an actual meal - to be prepared and savoured for its nuance and style. It goes without saying Test Match Cricket is the real yard-stick by which to judge technique and averages - the Full Five Course Meal with all the accompanying sides and wines. Without sounding too sentimental or conservative - I would prefer my cricket Haute Cuisine , to take care choosing and consuming , rather than a drive- thru order of whichever Junk Food took my fancy. Still enjoyable for sure. But memorable? Probably not .
I like that "Cocktail Cricket". Certainly not a Pimms. Maybe Sex On The Beach. Overhyped and not as pleasurable as one might hope... I'm told.
That's nice. I too like ODIs and test cricket - or, if you prefer, haute cuisine - but I believe something has to go. I believe we will see a reduction in any domestic 50 over competition, whilst maintaining international events. Wasim Akram recently suggested that the 50 over format was doomed. The ICC future tours programme seems to disagree. And I'd warrant that for most cricketing nations a 50 over trophy means way more than a T20 trophy. And SA will rediscover their mojo and return to the fight for that elusive win. We need SA cricket.
How about something new? But not too radically different? ODIs played as two lots of T20 as quarters? If that is the way cricket is heading then at least maintain some length to ODIs? Would throw all stats and averages out the window though?
That's a nice thought, but I'm not sure I see what would be achieved - apart from a weird T20 double header. Then imagine in their first innings the team batting second fails dismally and ends up chasing an unlikely 300 in the final innings. Would we stay watching? Then take the length of a run of the mill IPL T20 game and double it. You may as well play 50 overs a side - it might well be shorter.
The issue sadly missed is that 99% of the South African consumers of cricket, are never going to see the game, either live at the grounds, or on tv, so it is mute, it is the same with the Snoozelami dog's breakfast F1 race in 2023 or 2024, 1 or 2 tenderpraneurs are going to get rich off the R2500 general admission tickets to a 2 hour once a year event...
Since I lost my passport to pleasure at DSTV online, I really could care less about what happens in sport, the only sport I get to watch is F1.. The point is, without national broadcaster support, for free, the whole event is pointless...
To that point, F1, NFL, IPL, all sport is a vehicle for adverting, to highlight and promote brands, so why limit exposure, surely it makes more sense to give the product, the actual broadcast away for free, so you go from maybe 1 million premium subscribers to 20milion on terrestial, that way you can charge a lot more for every pair of eyeballs watching, more than covers the costs of production of the outside broadcast..
Broadcasters have not understood this concept, for example, in the UK, if you want to watch F1, you have pay for a bolt on to the top tier package, to gain the right to view F1, yet for less than £10 a month, you can watch 95% of what Sky produces for each broadcast via F1TV, it is the same commentary team, minus the skypad aspects.. And the in car camera feeds..
Sports broadcasting has almost nothing to do with the actual sport, it is 100% about getting folks to see the names of the brands, IPL is famous for abusing the naming rights of certain shots, you could end up with POWERADE 6, and DEFY VACUUM 4... shouted 20 000 times a game by the over excited commentators..
Not only did CSA make a deal with the devil himself, the devil is not a very good chef, and will not only kill the golden goose, he will cook it until it is only charcoal, what we are witness to now, is the final death-throws of a dying sport... Rugby has almost died, barely survived #StupidRugby, now we are seeing the end of cricket as a sport, how much longer can the venues keep the wolf from the door? When will Kingsmead be turned into a parking lot for the ICC???