How Covid-19 will
Long before Covid-19, cricket was already in a state of flux. Questions about how the three formats of the game could coexist, the balance between club and international cricket, how to expedite the growth of women’s cricket and inequalities between countries loomed as decisive for cricket’s trajectory in the 2020s.
The global pandemic has made all these issues more salient – a decade’s worth of changes to the sport could now take place within a year.
As countries try to stay afloat in the short term, the need for tours from England, and especially India, will be greater than ever. Given the willingness of West Indies and Pakistan to fulfil their tours this summer, England will feel conscious of the need to act in the same collective spirit.
Even if Covid-19’s direct impact on international cricket in 2020-21 can be minimised, the financial damage as sponsorship and broadcasting revenues are affected will be profound. Necessity may well drive innovation.
Three years ago, Australia played a home Twenty20 international the night before beginning a test match in India. In the years to come, it is possible to imagine red and white-ball teams – especially from India and England – touring different countries simultaneously, playing limitedovers games in one country in the break between tests in another in a way that protects the finances of other nations.
‘‘All other cricket boards will be desperate for their home series against India to go ahead,’’ says Jon Long, the former head of strategy at the International Cricket Council.
Paradoxically, this pressure for more cricket will coexist with pressure for less. Countries will want to play more of the most lucrative games – but they are also ‘‘going to have to scrutinise where the loss-making cricket is’’, says Wasim Khan, the chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Most tests not involving one of Australia, England or India lose about £400,000 (NZ$800,000) net, so there are likely to be fewer in future. There could also be a further exploration of reducing tests to four days, which some hope could save 10 to 15 per cent of net costs.
The economics of limitedovers games are better, but some fixtures also lose money. ‘‘If the broadcast revenues fall significantly, more series outside of England and India matches, in particular, are going to become unviable,’’ warns Johnny Grave, chief executive of Cricket West Indies.
The Indian Premier League looms largest in cricket’s immediate restart plans. This year’s competition could now run from late September to November, with the men’s T20 World Cup likely to be postponed.
If the 2021 IPL is played in its normal slot of April and May, the tournament will run for four months out of eight, limiting the time for countries to stage home