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What cricket can learn from the USA vs. All Blacks clash

Despite the often hilarious commentary, the game between the United States and New Zealand was an example of how more elite sport should start working if it wants to go truly global. Cricket has a lot to learn from this very simple exercise. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

On Saturday night, rugby fans across the world witnessed something quite historic. New Zealand took on the USA for the first time since the 1991 World Cup and the match was played in America. The All Blacks trashed the Eagles, but the match was still a sporting win for many reasons. The 60,000-plus sold out crowd – made up largely of expats and tourists – stayed on until the end and millions of others across the world had access to watch.

Broadcasters in Australia, Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Middle East, Portugal and Sub-Saharan Africa all had the rights to show the match. Those who could not watch on TV could watch it free online, on a stream provided by the title sponsor.

This kind of ease of access is often underestimated when it comes to sport, but accessibility is crucial in growing any game and it’s something this fixture had spot on. Making it easy for sports fans to watch something is one of the key parts of growing a sport. Nobody likes to make an effort and few like to spend money on something that they’re not sure of. Free (legal) internet streams are the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

The commentary on the game, filled with comedic gems such as “rugby fifteens” and “blood time out” provided much jest for the regular rugby fans, but in context, it made sense. The commentary team took their time to explain the sport to those watching. Although that approach was alien and sometimes irksome to the more esteemed rugby fans, it was exactly what the target audience needed. Chances are good that many tuning in would know little about rugby and guiding them, without patronising them, is exactly what commentators need to do. Score one, team USA.

It was in stark contrast to the banal and patronising commentary from some of cricket’s ilk, especially in T20 leagues. The commentary served its purpose without being too annoying. Rugby fans will also have some new phrases embedded into their lexicon. “Rugby IQ” refers to a team being quite good and knowing a bit about the game, “rumble” seemed to refer to a line-break and “crossing for a five” refers to a try. Those terms probably won’t catch on in more established rubgy circles, but for the audience, they were perfect.

While rugby and cricket are two vastly different sports, fixtures like these serve as a reminder of just how far behind cricket is in terms of taking the game across the globe. The Sevens format is probably the best example of this, but the USA vs. All Blacks game took things to a new level.

In cricket, limited overs bilateral series serve little contextual purpose, especially outside of a World Cup year. While they do bring in money for the teams involved, there are massively untapped markets which cricket is yet to explore and which could be of great benefit.

Imagine a T20 between South Africa and Afghanistan as part of a Championship also involving Nepal, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Imagine that championship having some sort of context, like a league qualification that counts towards a World Cup qualification. Imagine this game is made accessible for everyone, through mobile and computers. Imagine the impact it could have in magnifying cricket’s footprint. It’s not too hard to imagine, because in some cricketing circles, it’s already happening.

The online-broadcast approach is already being embraced by women’s cricket and some associates. The current series between Australia and West Indies women is broadcast live on the Cricket Australia website and the Ireland men’s team streams their matches whenever they can. It’s a fertile breeding ground for gaining new ground and picking up new fans. If cricket is to truly become a global sport, this should be a crucial part of their future thinking.

Giving context to bilateral series (by using them as a league) also holds an added advantage. The money from these isolated championships will also be spread to the developing nations, allow the game to grow and flourish in all corners of the globe and, eventually, dissolve the elitism that now dominates its structures.

Cricket is missing out on some of the biggest untapped markets. From America to China, by reserving itself for an elite few and excluding all others, it is at risk of collapsing. More cynical observers will say that’s probably exactly what the “Big Three” will want. However, while a cricket dictatorship might flourish briefly, it’s only a matter of time before a bright spark leads a revolution.

Cricket has remained the same for far too long. Just like football in England realised that it needed to change in the early 1990s, cricket will realise that too. And that might happen far sooner than many might think. DM

Photo: The All Blacks (REUTERS)

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