Who is popular today?

BY BRYAN DAVIS

THE enormous pressure brought to bear on this planet of ours over the past almost two years has affected all facets of life.
Consequently, all sports, including cricket, are struggling for survival. The governance of various cricket administrations worldwide is finding great difficulty to host teams, hence, to reciprocate visits. Tours are being cancelled while players are experiencing extreme challenges in adjusting to lockdowns and quarantines. The quality of play has been affected because of this unwelcome intruder in our lives.
No one is spared, all nations are affected.
Hence, in times like these, we must be kind when we try to understand just what the officials that run the cricket boards have to endure. However, as the old saying articulates, “the show must go on.” In other words, it would not be wise for one to throw in the towel and hope for better times to continue.
There are so many factors to consider, like the form of the current cricketers, the development of future players, the maintaining of interest in the sport, plus the vital economic welfare of professional players, staff, and all those connected to the sport financially.
Of course, it is not as if it’s only cricket when the biggest and richest global sport, football, has the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, trying to convince hesitant nations to hold the World Cup, the biggest tournament in sport, every two years instead of four, because of financial considerations.
Just imagine a multi-billion-dollar world sport like football, trying to change a century of football tradition, to ensure they don’t experience any serious dip in monetary fortunes. American sports, although not scrambling to survive, yet are feeling the pinch because of economic factors affecting that country as well. Thus, a poor cousin like the sport of cricket could be in danger.
That is so, as cricket depends on the exchange of tours between countries for financial fluidity. Hence, it costs a fair penny to keep flying to touring destinations and staying at the best hotels. And, with crowds being sifted for health reasons between vaccinated and the unvaccinated, there is a lot more pressure brought to bear on a game of cricket.
When the highest form of the game is given five days for one team to prove its superiority over another, one has to understand how the expenses multiply. This is the reason why there are more white-ball competitions currently, especially of the T20 variety. This is to please those who don’t have the necessary time to spare to watch an entire Test match. However, it was never done in the past anyway. Most aficionados would view the first three days of a Test, then decide if it’s interesting enough to look at the final two days. Of course, not all Test matches go five days but are completed in three or four days.
The creation of revenue in cricket relies heavily on sponsorship, especially in WI. However, sponsors are interested in winning teams and their popularity. To ensure successful teams, the quality of cricket has to be of a high standard. This feature is horribly lacking in WI sides. One cannot fault commercial entities for withholding funds if they’re not getting their money’s worth.
Therefore, it comes right back down to winning. The problem with cricket is that it is unlike most sports in its essence. The cricketer, by and large, wants to play Test cricket because he knows this is the true test of a cricketer. He understands the reason for cricket of the limited-overs type coming into existence to build up funds which are always badly in need by cricket organisations, to maintain the game and to ensure proper development for the future.
It was apparent from the late 50s that county cricket in England, the only professional circuit worldwide at the time, was dying, which gave birth to the idea of introducing a limited number of overs with first-class cricket teams of one inning only and to witness the reaction.
The result was spectacular. In 1963, the counties established a 60 overs per side game on a knockout basis for all seventeen counties. It was a huge success. Large crowds attended, allowing money to be made at every venue, especially attracting fans who never followed cricket before.
Nonetheless, in the WI, domestic cricket is not a money-spinner, therefore WI teams depend on tours to the region to earn.
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