CrichQ bowled over by cashflow
New Zealand Cricket is trying to find out whether cricket clubs will be forced to go back to pen and paper to score games, following the collapse of technology company Crichq.
Wellington-based Crichq had appeared to be taking the cricketing world by storm after developing a cloud software platform in 2010 that automated scoring and in which it has invested a total of $20 million.
But the loss-making firm was put into receivership on Tuesday after running out of options to raise working capital.
NZ Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock said yesterday morning that it was urgently seeking a meeting with receivers Kordamentha. The association supplied Crichq’s service to provincial, district and club teams and it was particularly widely used by amateur clubs, he said.
Internationally, Crichq estimated its service was used to score about one in 10 organised cricket matches.
Boock said NZ Cricket was unsure of the immediate implications for clubs because it had not yet been able to discuss the situation with Kordamentha.
But he hoped Crichq’s service would continue to operate. If that was not possible, it would necessitate some ‘‘quick thinking’’ by clubs, he said.
The cricket season has already begun for some New Zealand clubs and will get under way in earnest for many others from Labour Day on Monday.
Clubs had been using pen and paper to score matches up until two years ago, Boock said.
But Crichq had been valuable for the game and had made cricket far more accessible to the community, he said.
‘‘It is good to have a platform that parents and caregivers can use to go online and see how their kids are going, and also to follow other teams.’’
Kordamentha receiver Neale Jackson said its initial focus was on stabilising the business, and its goal was to keep Crichq’s service running while it sought a buyer for the company.
‘‘I am heartened by the interest that has already been shown it in,’’ he said.
Crichq employs 22 staff from its base in Kelburn in Wellington and also has offices in India and Bristol, England.