Change of innings: How Ex Black Caps skipper is part of the new team behind this summer of cricket
Rugby World Cup glitches are a distant memory, insists new cricket host broadcaster on eve of home internationals. Mark Geenty reports.
Just as All Blacks fans – eventually – moved on from the Rugby World Cup, so too did Spark Sport.
It’s just over a year since the streaming platform completed its biggest assignment to date, and not all customers were happy. Now sport viewers await something even more significant: a new host broadcaster of home cricket internationals for the first time in two decades. Via the internet, too, rather than traditional or satellite television, aside from one T20 match per tour screened on TVNZ.
So far, so good. With less than a fortnight until the Black Caps’ season opener against West Indies at Eden Park on Friday night, November 27, it all looks very polished at seemingly hefty expense.
Top UK production company Whisper – co-founded by Formula One driver David Coulthard – was locked in early, and an impressive commentary panel of former internationals and wellregarded analysts was finally revealed last week. Behind the scenes will be a largely Kiwi crew of freelancers, experienced in delivering cricket to our screens.
Still, some subscribers ( or potential ones) paying $ 25 per month who might have experienced technical and picture issues during RWC will want reassurance.
Head of Spark Sport, Jeff Latch, is happy to provide it as he counts down the days until liftoff.
‘‘ We’ve moved on a huge amount from the Rugby World Cup. That’s over a year ago, and our platform has been developed and matured significantly from there. The platform is in terrific shape,’’ Latch said.
Latch points out Spark Sport brought in 10 live Premier League football matches and another live fixture concurrently in July. Under a new deal with the England Cricket Board the West Indies and Pakistan series
was streamed over winter with no apparent issues.
Then there’s an unexpected benefit of Covid-19; households upgrading to enable smoother viewing of online content and conduct work meetings from home.
‘‘We think the net result of having Covid and the lockdowns has probably moved digital streaming forward about 12 months. That’s really advantageous because everyone has had to get their home digital fit.’’
Far-flung areas of the country still provide a question mark, even if Latch points out the Government is working with all the telco companies to improve rural connectivity.
Unlike RWC, which Spark didn’t produce itself, this show is built from the ground up, which is a huge advantage.
‘‘It means we have more control over the production, we’re not dependent on someone else and we can tailor it for the New Zealand audience which is really important,’’ Latch said.
When the commentary team was finally announced on Monday, spearheaded by former Black Caps skippers Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum, Latch and others could exhale and start counting down.
Mark Richardson is one longtime Sky regular who moved across while former Black Caps batting coach Craig McMillan, Grant Elliott and Frankie Mackay also cut their teeth with the former host broadcaster.
World Cup winner and double international Rebecca Rolls and actress turned Lotto presenter Sonia Gray are the other women in a commentary lineup where diversity and quality storytelling are the buzzwords. Latch sees it as a ‘‘world-class’’ operation with a mix of broadcasting and international cricket experience.
‘‘We think it’s a fantastic team. That’s the key thing, we’re trying to mould a team. If you get the team makeup right then the delivery and entertainment values flow from that.’’
Covid- 19 contingencies must feature in their thinking, in a packed summer featuring visits by West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia (men and women) and England women, the latter two sides filling the gap left by the postponement of the Women’s World Cup by a year.
New Zealand Cricket has backup plans to switch venues if one region was to have its alert levels raised, and matches will still go ahead without crowds if there was a move to level two.
Fast forward to the morning of Friday, November 27 and there will be some nerves, but Latch insists they are ready despite this extraordinary year.
‘‘That’s going to be a big day for us. A huge amount of work from a large group of people has gone into structuring, framing and assembling the team and equipment, and the production expertise and the graphic design. This will be the first opportunity to bring all that together. Incredibly exciting, and it’s not far away now.
‘‘I think New Zealand is looking forward to having live and international cricket available to watch again. There hasn’t been a lot of big events available live in New Zealand in the last nine months and we’re incredibly fortunate that international cricket is looking like it will go ahead in a normal and full way in New Zealand. When you look around the world we’re very privileged that that is the case.’’
‘‘We think it’s a fantastic team. That’s the key thing, we’re trying to mould a team. If you get the team makeup right then the delivery and entertainment values flow from that.’’ Jeff Latch