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Domestic scene in the doldrums
17/10/2007 13:22 - (SA)
Arthur Turner
The South African domestic season has started with the SuperSport Series (First class cricket) which will conclude at the end of January next year. This will be followed by the MTN Championship (45 overs) and Pro20 Series (20 overs).
CSA structure domestic competitions so as not to overlap for both marketing and cricketing reasons. However, franchise fans will realistically will not be able to watch their favourite team on TV until February because first class cricket does not enjoy sufficient support to warrant screening live.
It is universally accepted that first class cricket is not marketable. Even in the United Kingdom where counties have a strong membership following, County Championship matches are poorly attended and are not commercially viable.
So what is the role of the first class game?
First class cricket remains the foundation that cricket is built on with regards to developing players for the international arena, even though it has little or no following, no commercial value and needs to be financed by profits generated from international cricket.
Securing a sponsor
SuperSport are the sponsors and broadcasters of first class cricket but the indications are there that they will not renew this arrangement in the future. SuperSport no longer screen any first class cricket due to the lack of interest in the competition.
When the SuperSport contract expires it is difficult to see CSA securing a sponsor for first class cricket and it will have to be financed solely by CSA because of its importance to South African cricket.
From a cricket angle it is important for the franchises to continue playing first class matches at international venues because of the quality of the wickets and facilities at these venues.
The next generation of South African players need to be developed on wickets of international standard where they can learn to bat and bowl without compromise.
In recent years there has been continued concern regarding the standard of our domestic cricket. For this reason CSA implemented the franchise system in 2004 in an attempt to close the gap between international and domestic cricket.
I am not sure if franchise cricket has achieved its desired effect because of factors mostly beyond the control of CSA.
Kolpak players
The future tours programme has increased the demands on international players removing them almost permanently from domestic cricket. This has denied young players an opportunity to play franchise cricket with and against the international players.
The number of experienced and young players leaving our shores to play as Kolpak players is starting to hurt the standard of South African domestic cricket. I think the answer to this problem is not to limit the number of Kolpak players in the respective franchise teams.
The Indian Cricket League is another issue CSA needs to deal with. The ICL has to date signed five high profile SA players that will further damage domestic cricket playing standards and the marketing of the domestic game. I am not convinced that CSA's unilaterally banning of these players will stand up in a court of law because of restraint of trade.
The possible incorporation of Zimbabwe into our domestic competitions and the official Indian Premier League are also unknown factors that could radically influence the standard and status of our domestic cricket.
For South African cricket to remain internationally strong it needs a domestic competition of high quality even if it is not totally commercially viable.
Arthur is a former cricket administrator.
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