Why the Big Bash League should never become the biggest game in town
Scorchers turn up the Heat
About 20 years ago, a fresh-faced, fully haired cadet reporter nervously sat in the study of former Test cricketer Arthur Morris at his Cessnock home.
The rookie's hands were shaking. This was Arthur Robert Morris, one of Australia's greatest batsmen. He played with Bradman. Batted with Bradman. Was part of Bradman's Invincibles team that toured England undefeated in 1948.
Advertisement
"Mr Morris," the green reporter from The Maitland Mercury asked, "what do you think of one-day cricket?"
Morris leaned back in his big armchair, stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed.
"One-day cricket is like All-Bran," he replied. "It's good for the system but it produces a lot of shit."
For a regional newspaper, this was 24-carat gold.
Packed house:The Big Bash League match between the Sydney Sixers and the Sydney Thunder at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Packed house:The Big Bash League match between the Sydney Sixers and the Sydney Thunder at Sydney Cricket Ground. Photo: Mark Kolbe
Not only had a living legend criticised the highly popular one-day game but he'd also dropped a swear word to emphasise the point. Stop the presses! Hold the back page! Give the young journo an immediate upgrade!
Unfortunately, Morris passed away two years ago at the age of 93 so we can only wonder what he thinks of the big box of Coco Pops that is the Big Bash League.
The crowd perform the wave during the Big Bash League match between the Sydney Sixers and the Sydney Thunder.
The crowd perform the wave during the Big Bash League match between the Sydney Sixers and the Sydney Thunder. Photo: Mark Kolbe
What would Morris think of electric bails, Kaboom bats, pyrotechnics and legions of smiley kids on the boundary belting together inflatable whatever-they-are-I-just-know-they-are-really-annoying-so-go-away-small-child-because-I'm-trying-to-watch-sticks?
There it was again on Saturday night at the SCG. Another sell-out following another week of hype, of back and front-page stories. Another glimpse of the monster that threatens to swallow cricket — indeed sport — whole.
Did I hear right? More than 40,000 sardined themselves into the SCG to watch the Sixers take on the Thunder in the "Sydney Smash".
The game was a dud, easily won by the Thunder, but everyone went home happy because it was over early and two blokes got their gear off and streaked across the field.
As Fairfax Media revealed last week, the NSW government is keen on snatching from Melbourne the finals of the men's and women's World Twenty20 in 2020.
The Big Bash has cracked the code of Sydney sport. Sydney used to be in love with itself. Now it's in love with Twenty20 cricket. Maybe it can pass on some pointers to rugby league.
There are favourable numbers for the BBL wherever you look and they highlight the interest in the abbreviation of the already abbreviated version of the game.
Forget about the packed stadiums across the country. It's all about the small screen, baby, and on that score the game is flying, averaging more than 1 million viewers for Network Ten.
For some perspective, consider this: the Sixers-Thunder fixture peaked at about 1 million in the second innings. Meanwhile, about 100 metres away at Allianz Stadium, more than 40,000 fans were watching the A-League derby between Sydney FC and the Wanderers but only an average of 107,000 people were watching on Fox Sports.
Cricket Australia has every right to slap together its inflatable sticks and celebrate the BBL.
But for this weary, follicly challenged sports hack it provides a concerning commentary on the direction Australian sport could take.
Fast4 tennis. Rugby sevens. Rugby league nines. Is our attention span that short? What's next? The Golden Slipper over 200m? The Doncaster Mile over, er, less than a mile?
Sport is entertainment — but it still has to be sport. It cannot sell itself out just to keep the cash and the kids coming in. We can't live on McSport alone. It needs to mean something.
The clash between the Sydney FC and the Wanderers meant something. It always does.
Sydney FC fans pelted Wanderers goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovi with rubber snakes just as the second half was starting. It was an outrageous reminder of the fact he jumped mid-season from the Sky Blues to their Western Sydney rivals.
(On that note: as funny as the moment was, if often-criticised Wanderers fans had pegged anything at Danny Vukovic, would there not have been a greater outcry about poor crowd behaviour?)
As it stands, Cricket Australia has the mix just about right.
Buoyed by the addition of day-night Test matches, in Adelaide and Brisbane, the traditional format of the game has rated well on television and enjoyed strong crowds - despite losing a series to South Africa.
While only 30,000 or so attended Sunday's one-dayer between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG, the match had a national peak audience of almost 1.9 million viewers.
The belief from Cricket Australia that T20 cricket can drag a new generation of wide-eyed fans to the game is ringing true — for now.
Likewise, we shouldn't dismiss the skill of the T20 player, from the explosive batting of the Heat's Chris Lynn to the street smarts of veteran players such as the Sixers' Brad Haddin — just as long as nobody loses sight of the bigger picture.
It was reassuring to see spinner Steve O'Keefe shun the Sixers to play red-ball cricket ahead of the tour of India.
And this just in: New Zealand has won a Test match despite Bangladesh scoring 595 in their first dig, the most a side has scored before going on to lose the match.
The exciting victory came in the final session of the fifth day.
Even though Mr Morris might not have approved, the Big Bash is good for the system. It just can't become the biggest cereal in town.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/why-the-big-bash-league-should-never-become-the-biggest-game-in-town-20170116-gtscz7.html