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Rob wrote:The current 6 'clubs' aren't credible, nor does anyone (barring the very occasional tragic) have any attachment or loyalty to them. And CA know it.
You know, not quite. Having lived in NSW for a while it amazes me the number of bogans who hate league and wear the nsw blues jumper everywhere they go. I'd say the problem for CA is the brand loyalty is there, just not within a cooee of the SCG.
There are 2 reasons (as I see it) why the current set up is not credible. The first is loyalty. Anyone can crap on about how they 'follow' NSW or whatever state they're from, but the bottom line is that they almost certainly don't show up to games and don't watch on TV -, with the exception of a big bash game, and IMO that's just novelty following anyway. If they stopped the big bash league and replaced it with nothing, no-one would give a sh*t. Who travels interstate to watch a domestic cricket game? Fucken no-one. Because no-one really cares whether their team wins or loses. There is precisely zero supporter loyalty.
The 2nd is that the current location of teams has absolutely nothing to do with population, players, or supporters. Teams are based on political boundaries. That is utterly, utterly ridiculous, and it's no wonder the system loses millions a year. And results in a lot of quality young players winding up playing grade cricket until they're 25.
I'm not going to try and pretend that whatever structure they're proposing is going to be better, because it may well not be. Especially if the early signs are any indication. But our current domestic structure will definitely not create the popular 'product' that CA really need.
I don't necessarily disagree with a lot of what you're saying, but I do stress the point that there is a place where there's rusted on cricket fans who follow their state cricket side as fervently as a foodie supporter follows foodie. This place is country NSW. For this sort of fan base where it's heavy decentralised, the provincial model is the one that works.
Cricket's bigger problem is that it requires a bigger time investment to obtain fans than the foodie codes. You can head to the G after work to follow your foodie team, you literally have to take annual leave to follow a cricket side. T20 was designed to address this structural issue, and the evidence so far is it works quite well in the current state team structure.
This new team model seems at best a quick fix to boost interest, and at worst a move by a code that doesn't quite understand its product and the general sporting market in which they compete.
Just to prove my point on a lack of supporter loyalty, it's interesting to see the 2 T20 crowds in Sydney and Melbourne being well down on last year. In the MCG's case, well down on 2 weeks ago.
Crowds down across the board for the T20 this year. Some people were talking up a 50-60k crowd for the MCG last night, I think the MCC then predicted about 45k on their website, and they're usually pretty accurate. But less than 20k showed up. Obviously it's no longer the "new thing" in town! Much more interest in the media for the Melbourne derby over at Etihad.
Not sure whether this is being planned or not (or even possible), but I think it would help greatly if the season could be scheduled so that domestic and international competitions did not run concurrantly. It's difficult to engage fully with a domestic team when your attention is constantly getting distracted by what's happening at international level. Or vice versa...
I lived in WA from 1996 to 2002 and found out there just how great going to Domestic cricket was to attend. When I moved back to Victoria, I would do my best to attend as many games as I could! Over the last 2 seasons I only missed 3 games of both Ford Ranger and Big Bash. They were the 2 games at Geelong and a game at the G against Qld where I had to work. I know live in Bendigo at getting to the G is near on impossible, it makes it simply to big an occasion. I don't have Fox so I have had to rely on the internet to follow my beloved Bushrangers. For me the Bushrangers mean as much as ones Football Club. this new T20 competition for me would be like the AFL saying that they were going with the two new teams Gold Goast and Giants that they were going to change all the other teams so that there would be no more Collingwood et al. i know that sounds extreme, but that in essence is what CA in all they're wisdom are doing.
Last year Victoria nplayed NSW at the G the Busrangers had in their line up: Hodge White, Hussey, McDonald, Finsh, Blizzard, BRAVO, Nannes, Mckay... that's from memory. This year, both States were playing debutants and for the Vics, Bravo wasn't even at the ground let alone. Victoria's captain was on national duties. I'm sure that if both Victoria and NSW were allowed to feild their strongest teams and it didn't clash with the soccer the MCG would have been up around 50,000.
I will support only the Victorian Bushrangers. If they go, I will not watch a single game of the new BBL.
While formation of the Ashes review is the most high-profile matter to be raised at Tuesday's board meeting the decisions about the expansion of the Big Bash for next season are - financially, at least - more significant.
Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania have each been guaranteed a team in the city-based competition but Victoria and NSW have been allocated two each, requiring a bidding process for the rights to host a team.
The SCG, ANZ Stadium, WIN Jubilee Stadium and the Sydney Showground are possible venues for the NSW teams.
While the expectation was that Cricket Victoria and Cricket NSW, who will own the teams, would choose the two favoured bidders and have those decisions ratified by the CA board, it is believed Cricket Victoria has been so impressed by each of the bids that it will recommend three for consideration.
NSW has already rejected regional-based bids from Canberra and Newcastle.
As well as the location of the teams, the meeting is also likely to decide on the monikers for all eight teams and also their colours.
The Daily Telegraph today said the teams are likely to be Sydney Sixes at the SCG and West Sydney Thunder at ANZ Stadium "to create a cross-city rivalry". Wankery in the extreme.
Gotta say, with time, we're seeing how the choices of Sydney Fleet and Western Sydney Rams in the Amusing Rahrah Cockup were wise an appropriate, even if the competition wasn't.
BTW, 27,000 odd in Adelaide for the final. Not bad for state-based rivalry.
Separately, CA decided today that the inaugural eight Big Bash League (BBL) teams contesting the new national Twenty20 competition next year should be located at Melbourne (MCG and Etihad Stadium), Sydney (SCG and Sydney Olympic Park), Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, subject to satisfactory commercial arrangements being finalised. The Board noted the outstanding quality of Geelong’s proposal to host a BBL team.
The Board also asked CA management to continue to investigate opportunities and timing of any possible future expansion of BBL from the initial eight-team competition.
In regards domestic cricket scheduling, the Board decided to retain the Sheffield Shield in its current form (including the final), while reducing the Ryobi One-Day Cup from 10 to eight rounds, plus a final, from next season.
Had a massive national TV audience of 258,000 too.
The Superbowl didn't get much less than that.
But it will be interesting to see if the new league is a success. Crowds dwindled badly this year as the novelty wore off, and if they go with the Perth Extreme and Melbourne Maxx then I can see it dying in the arse once the 13 year olds get bored by week 2. But if they market it as a serious sports league as opposed to simply an entertainment product then it's got a chance. I'd imagine the promotional budget will be huge.
