It’s all about the fans – Stars boss:
PASSIONATE about cricket, newly appointed Nelson Mandela Bay Stars chief executive Sean Morris will be aiming to add his own brand of expertise as the franchise strives to make an impact on the inaugural T20 Global League.
Initiated this year as an answer to the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash, the T20 Global League is poised to change the face of the game in the country.
And Morris, with a rich cricketing background, will be doing his utmost to ensure Nelson Mandela Bay fans are provided with an experience that will transform them into permanent members of the greater Eastern Cape franchise family.
Born in England, the 49-year-old Morris played professionally for Hampshire in domestic cricket, scoring 101 not out when the county played Kepler Wessels’s touring South Africans in 1994.
After his retirement from the game in 1997, he became involved in sports marketing.
He was later chief executive of the Professional Cricket Association in England, and then chief executive of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL for two years.
Although he has visited Port Elizabeth only once, Morris has a strong connection with South Africa, having played league cricket in Cape Town for five years in the 1990s.
He is now looking forward to working with legends such as ex-Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher and Zimbabwe fast bowler Heath Streak.
“The thing that particularly attracted me was the appointment as coach of Mark Boucher, whom I know through a number of very close friends,” Morris said. “Working with Mark will be very interesting for me, while Heath Streak is a former teammate of mine. “So when you look at the cricket management team, that’s grade A – sorted.”
Morris said his vision for the franchise was that it was all built around the fan.
“The model is built on the media and sponsorship, but you are only as valuable as your fan base so, as an investor, your top priority is to grow your fan base.”
He said the franchise was a huge opportunity for the Bay to promote itself to a massive world audience.
“If we get this right, we can help youngsters [and] EP cricket and get the community behind the team.”