The popularity of T20 may mean that the game is suitable for supporters of traditional cricket
As 2023 unfolds, a scan of professional cricket’s horizon suggests that its profile will change significantly, perhaps radically, in the next two years. Developments that have been underway for nearly 20 years are about to accelerate at unprecedented speeds, with no braking mechanism in place.
Previous columns have highlighted and documented the growth in T20 cricket in terms of the number of tournaments, the amount of money they attract and their impact on the planning of the longer formats of the game. All these features combine to create a disruptive dynamic to the traditional look of the game.
However, what is this traditional view? Is Test match and domestic state/county cricket played over four/five days in front of small crowds, at least in the case of the latter? If so, it survived the disruption brought about by the introduction of 50-over cricket in the 1970s, absorbing it into existing temporary structures. At club level, in the UK, 40/50 limited overs cricket remains the norm. In Australian cricket, matches of longer duration are played over two days.
Does “traditional” refer to countries that play Test matches? That’s what three different formats, both international and domestic, have to squeeze into each calendar year. So far, they have been able to assimilate T20 cricket into domestic structures, attracting non-traditional spectators, although whether some of them are cricket-focused, as opposed to hospitality, is unclear.
What is undeniable is that T20 cricket is popular. This is true for sponsors, advertisers, broadcasters, players and, most importantly, administrators, promoters and funders. Everyone will benefit financially. It is also popular among spectators, especially Indians, despite having to pay for access to watch, either in person or on screen. It is unusual to find so many actors connected to such an extent. With the exception of India, most national cricket boards are financially fragile, especially after the ravages of COVID-19. Franchise T20 cricket offers some of them a lifeline to a more secure financial future, while for others it is a means of achieving greater recognition.
Currently, the Australian Big Bash is halfway through its schedule towards the final on February 4, as is the Super-Smash in New Zealand. The Bangladesh Premier League opens on January 6, ending on February 16, with Pakistan and Sri Lankan players taking the majority of overseas games. Local interests own all seven franchises.
This is not the case for the UAE ILT20, which opens on January 13 and ends on February 12. Five of the six franchises are Indian-owned, the sixth is American. Foreign players are dominated by the English, West Indians and Afghans. Indian ownership of South Africa’s new T20 tournament is total, in that the existing IPL owners have bought all six franchises. The tour starts on January 10th and ends on February 11th. Two-thirds of the overseas players are English, with West Indians being the next largest contingent.
Apart from the above, the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League will start in mid-February and will last until the end of March. There appear to have been some changes to the original dates in order to allow the ILT20 to be completed and accommodate those players playing in both tournaments. The PSL has named 36 overseas players, including 10 from England, five from Afghanistan and four from New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa.
From the above it is clear that the English players have an abundance of options, as do the West Indians. Afghan players have openings in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. Opportunities are limited for Australians due to the Big Bash and domestic cricket. The same goes for South Africans until after SA20 is over. The near full range of opportunities is skewed because contracted Indian players are not allowed to play in exclusive competitions other than the IPL, while Pakistani players are not allowed to enter the IPL or, presumably, tournaments that are mainly or wholly owned by Indian interests .
How this conundrum will be managed in the franchise’s upcoming US tour is unclear. After a series of delays, Major League Cricket’s professional franchise tournament is scheduled to be held between July 13 and 30, 2023. Six teams based in Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Seattle and New York City, will play 19 the matches. By then, the other franchise leagues will have finished, leaving a strong pool of players to draw on, the only major deviation being the England v Australia Ashes series.
The identities of all the franchises are yet to be revealed, but a strong Indian involvement is likely. Multimillionaires Anurag Jain and Ross Perot Jr. own the Dallas team, which will be based in the former AirHogs baseball stadium, now the newly constructed Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas-Fort Worth. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has invested in the Seattle franchise, while the existing Knight Riders franchise, which already operates in Kolkata, Abu Dhabi and Trinidad and Tobago, is investing in a new stadium in Los Angeles. The momentum is building towards the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in the Caribbean and USA in June and July with 20 teams. In the US, cricket is set to challenge baseball.
Over the next 18 months, T20 will be the dominant format, representing an ever-increasing proportion of cricket played at professional level. The main target for this has been South Asia and its diaspora, but it is also the format used to spread the game globally outside of this market. Cricket stands at a watershed moment. Is it time for those traditionalists, who only look at the Test and longer the formation of domestic cricket, to accept and accept that their time is up, that the game has moved on, structurally in T20 and geographically in India, leaving them after in its wake? The only foreseeable obstacle to this trajectory is the willingness of the longer format to become more attractive while there is still opportunity.
