Effort needed to grow MSL
CRICKET has always been a sport that the South African public has supported, and the Proteas have always enjoyed the backing of the nation regardless of their level of success on the world stage.
The national squad also can boast being the most “transformed” outfit of all the main sporting codes. However, on a domestic level, you’d struggle to find 200 or 300 people attending a match.
This is partly why the country has been crying out for an IPL-like competition, bearing in mind that South Africa is generally rated among the top four or five cricketing nations in the world.
It’s taken our administrators a while to get it going, but after 10 years of the Indian Premier League, the Mzansi Super League (MSL) is finally here.
We’ve lagged behind, though. Australia quickly got together the Big Bash in 2011, while even the Caribbean could muster up the CLT20 competition in 2013, and Pakistan began the Pakistan Super League T20 in 2015. Fast forward to October this year and news of the MSL filtered through. But the organisation of this tournament was rushed and there were a few reasons why.
Since the competition began on November16, stadium attendance has been poor. The blame here can be shifted either to fans or the league marketers.
In terms of supporters, we’ve been crying out for a competition like this for years. It’s finally here in our backyard with some of the best players in the business. Sure, we don’t have squads like the IPL teams, but players like AB De Villiers and Chris Gayle should surely draw bigger crowds.
Ticket prices are also fairly decent, ranging from R25 to about R150.
On the other hand, even though the MSL has teamed up with the country’s largest broadcaster, the SABC, very little has been done to market the league.
And there are not enough attractions at the stadiums to induce people to buy a ticket. There’s no merchandise for sale, not even free posters, flags or inflatable stumps. It is going to take more than just a few big names to draw the crowds, and there has to be more investment from the league or the teams to rope in cricket fans.