The cricket audience is here
It's in the fitness of things that cricket championships in what is the most exciting format today - the Twenty20 version of the game - will be staged in the subcontinent for the next five years. Sri Lanka will host the next scheduled championship in 2012, followed by Bangladesh in 2014 and India in 2016. It is natural for matches to be scheduled where most of its fans are. The International Cricket Council (ICC) decision only reinforces the fact that cricket generates the most interest, draws the biggest crowds and in turn generates the largest revenues and profits in South Asia.
Hosting a T20 cricket championship is an expensive proposition. It can't be done if it isn't commercially viable. It makes strategic sense to locate it where most of its fans are. If T20 matches have the greatest potential to generate viewer interest, they could be converted into an entertainment bonanza which draws in large revenues. These in turn could be used to subsidise other formats of the game - such as 50-over World Cups and Tests - which could then be hosted elsewhere. That, in fact, is the game plan the ICC appears to be working on. Future 50-over World Cups are being planned for Australia, New Zealand and England, while England has been shortlisted for hosting the best-of-four Test playing nations' playoffs. That ought to meet the criticism that by locating cricket events in South Asia, the ICC is not doing enough to promote it in other nations.
Cricket, in order to prosper, needs a viable economic base. That base can at present be provided by South Asia, which has the live and television audiences needed to keep the game going. Fans will benefit from seeing the world's best players in action. The game will benefit with the profits from the tournaments being ploughed back into the game, creating a virtuous cycle. A strengthened game can then be the launching pad for cricket seeking new territories.
Hosting a T20 cricket championship is an expensive proposition. It can't be done if it isn't commercially viable. It makes strategic sense to locate it where most of its fans are. If T20 matches have the greatest potential to generate viewer interest, they could be converted into an entertainment bonanza which draws in large revenues. These in turn could be used to subsidise other formats of the game - such as 50-over World Cups and Tests - which could then be hosted elsewhere. That, in fact, is the game plan the ICC appears to be working on. Future 50-over World Cups are being planned for Australia, New Zealand and England, while England has been shortlisted for hosting the best-of-four Test playing nations' playoffs. That ought to meet the criticism that by locating cricket events in South Asia, the ICC is not doing enough to promote it in other nations.
Cricket, in order to prosper, needs a viable economic base. That base can at present be provided by South Asia, which has the live and television audiences needed to keep the game going. Fans will benefit from seeing the world's best players in action. The game will benefit with the profits from the tournaments being ploughed back into the game, creating a virtuous cycle. A strengthened game can then be the launching pad for cricket seeking new territories.
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