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05/02/2008 13:20
Arthur Turner
The South African international domestic season has concluded and as expected South Africa easily defeated New Zealand and the West Indies in both their Test and the ODI series' without being tested.
The two touring teams were pathetic to say the least. They never seriously challenged the South Africans at any stage in spite of the West Indies winning the first Test at St Georges Park.
Both teams have now toured South Africa on three occasions since 1992 and have grown progressively worse.
This raises the question of how strong is the product called international cricket and is the game not being over exposed.
Impossible to sell
The international product is undoubtedly currently weak because of the lack of ability of the majority of teams like the West Indies, New Zealand and even England at times to compete with the top three nations: Australia, South Africa and India, especially away from home.
Add to this the likes of Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya and one has a product that is hard - if not impossible - to sell at times.
The ICC has confused the global development of the game with excellence, this has further undermined the integrity of international cricket.
Ultimate
There are only four events that currently enjoy a high profile and are marketable in international cricket.
The Ashes has by far the bigger appeal for Test cricket around the world. From an Australian and English point of view, one gets the feeling that winning the Ashes is the ultimate, even more important than winning the Cricket World Cup.
Test series' between India and Pakistan are also special because of the great rivalry that exists between these two great fanatical nations.
For the rest, with the exception of England, does anybody really care about Test cricket? This is sharply reflected in the attendances and the lack of passion around the world at present.
Not a priority
In the ODI version, the World Cup, played every four years, is the ultimate for all nations. ODI series' are played no more than for commercial purposes and used to develop teams for the World Cup. The winning of an ODI series is not a priority.
After the successful initial Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa it will become an important event in world cricket. However, winning this event will not be a priority for cricketing nations. It will remain a game to attract a new audience and increase revenue.
Over exposure has also made a big contribution towards the weakening of international cricket as a product. The ICC has totally lost the plot with regards controlling its product at the source. The simple principle of supply and demand has been ignored for greed.
Product mismanagement
One only has to look at South Africa's schedule for 2008 as proof of this. The Proteas tour Bangladesh, India, England and Australia this year and also play in the Champions Trophy in September.
Add to this the Indian Premier League (IPL) in which several South African players will be playing and this completes the picture of product mismanagement.
Modern day cricket is commercially glued together by two television contracts in ESPN Star and Sky Television and little else.
The danger of a weak international structure and over exposure is that cricket is fast becoming a television sport only. The culture of fans attending matches in the stadiums is at the very best, under threat.
Arthur is a former cricket administrator.
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