SA20 the lifeblood of cricket: Graeme Smith
● The older cricket brigade needs to accept that the sport has changed and Test cricket does not provide room for growth into new markets, says SA20 League commissioner Graeme Smith.
He reiterated the stance taken by the MCC Cricket Committee last year, that the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to set up a fund to ensure Test cricket can survive in nations outside the “big three ”— England, India and Australia.
Smith said the reality was that, outside these three, putting on a Test match actually costs money, and hosts lose money. “So the ICC needs to create a fund,” said Smith.
The second season of the SA20 starts in Gqeberha on Wednesday, with the league again enduring controversy because of Cricket South Africa’s (CSA’s) stipulation that all the nationally contracted players must participate. That includes the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Gerald Coetzee and Test captain Temba Bavuma.
That has meant a drastically weakened Proteas team will be sent to New Zealand this month for a two-match Test series.
That decision drew criticism, mainly out of Australia with former Test captain Steve Waugh saying it showed how Test cricket was no longer cared for.
“I have a lot of respect for Steve Waugh, but sometimes Australian cricket isn’t in touch with what is going on in the rest of the world of cricket,” said Smith.
Smith agreed with Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad, who said this week that the SA20 was the lifeblood of South African cricket. history and tradition go forward but the reality is it’s never going to be that (attractive) a format when there are just six or seven nations playing it,” said Smith.
“You are not going to get China or America (to be attracted to Test cricket), it’s not going to grow into something massive, whereas T20 cricket can grow dramatically.
“It’s in the Olympics now, there’s a World Cup in the US and then you look at Major League Cricket (the new T20 League in the US). So 20-over cricket is the opportunity to grow the game dramatically. Test cricket, you have to protect it for six or seven nations to keep the game we love strong.”
Cricket SA stood to make more than R1bn
You’re not going to get China or America (to be attracted to Test cricket), it’s not going to grow into something massive, whereas T20 cricket can grow dramatically
Graeme Smith
SA20 league commissioner
from the tour by India, mainly via broadcast deals, with the breakdown for matches across the formats providing an illustration of how TV producers value T20 and Tests.
For the India tour that finished last week, one T20 International — which lasts about four hours — is worth R250m and a Test match, supposed to last five days, is worth the same. Those figures are obviously less for other nations which don’t have as large an audience as India.
After concerns last year that South Africans may have been put off by CSA’s decision to cancel an ODI series in Australia, which put the Proteas’ automatic World Cup qualification in jeopardy, Smith doesn’t believe the drama around the New Zealand tour will turn crowds away.
“World cricket is in flux. We want to provide a world-class product. With the best players on show, people will want to watch unbelievable cricket and have great in-stadium experiences. I believe (they will look past some of the negativity),” said Smith.
The SA20 unexpectedly turned a profit last year, with CSA, the majority shareholder in the league, adding R34m to its coffers. As a result, the expectation is for more this year.
“The fact that we made a profit and proved ourselves in season one at the level that we did shows every year is an opportunity to get stronger,” said Smith.
“Commercially, we are growing our partnership portfolio, a lot of our broadcast deals are in place for lengthy periods. Now we can focus on building an incredible product that attracts more and more people.” said Smith.