In my last newsletter, I included plenty of interesting articles, news and views. However Google Analytics told us that the most viewed article was the one concerning Shane Warne.
It is a simple fact, that SKW (Shane Keith Warne) attracts interest – look at his twitter following with approx. 2.4million, although his partner in the All Stars cricket tour of the USA, Sachin Tendulkar is on 8.3 million. And if we go into the world of Super Star celebrities, Shah Ruhk Khan of Bollywood fame boasts a mere 16.1 million!
However, given my newsletter readership is primarily Australian, then SKW still commands a curious ‘look’.
It will be my last newsletter for 2015m in the coming days so further research on the ‘Warne Factor’ may be required?
What is of more interest will be to gauge the success of the All Stars venture into the USA –
• How will the investors and stakeholders view the pilot?
• What will the broadcasters think?
• Will the commercial numbers stack up?
• And to a much lesser degree, what did those who played and played a role behind the scenes think?
Cricket is in an interesting place in terms of planting seeds for the future –
• Will the IPL and all the various offshoots that it has spawned in most major cricket nations around the world, be the foundations of growing the game?
• Will experiments such as the ‘pink ball’ in Test cricket be a litmus test for other future experiments?
• Will new private ventures such as that being trialled using the faces of Tendulkar-Warne develop the legends or cricket’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters?
• Seeking admission to the Olympics through a shortened version of the game?
• Looking more seriously at women’s cricket as a means to opening new markets?
• And grappling with which new technologies to use to promote the game at grass roots cricket levels, as well as to those markets purely seeking an entertainment experience?
Cricket administrators need to be on top of some of these decisions relatively quickly so that the INTEGRITY of the game is properly protected as this will be what will not only help it survive, but will also maintain its relevance in a world of changing demands from a sports product.
Cricket needs less groups making short term gains at the expense of the long terms sustainability of the sport.
If Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar with their band of merrymen can continue to play a part in delivering the Future of Cricket, then the more interest these men attract, the better for the game.
Please message us your thoughts and comments!
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