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By Tom Melville
Another international T20 series has been completed at Lauderhill and
now with the crowds gone and the vuvuzelas packed away the question
remains: What was accomplished?
Pic (Right): Sri Lanka supporters at the NZ vs SL T20 matches held at Lauderhill in 2010
If
the primary purpose was to provide the American ex-pat cricket
community with some high caliber cricket entertainment, the event was a
great success—at least on the on a short term basis. Looking at things
from the long term—bringing cricket to the attention of the American
sporting public—it’s hard to conclude anything else than this venture
fared as poorly as the one in 2010. American media attention was
negligible, American attendance minimal, with no discernible post-event
“buzz” so critical to feed and continue popular awareness of sports or
anything else.
After four international matches it should be pretty clear the
passive Lauderhill strategy—which goes something like, “If we just keep
staging these matches sooner or later the Americans will come around to
the game”—just isn’t working. The belief that all you have to do is
shorten the game, hit a slew of balls into the stands, and Americans
will come flocking to cricket has been exposed in all its naivety.
A much more aggressive, pro-active, approach is going to have to be
seriously considered, one that specifically targets Americans , and one
that will require a much more innovative, imaginative, and creative
strategy in promoting the game than simply announcing dates, sending
out press releases, and selling tickets, which has pretty much been the
extent of past “promotions” for these matches.
Then there’s the matter of venue. Personally, I’d never consider
staging an international cricket match at Lauderhill. Why? Because it
simply reinforces cricket’s image with Americans as not being a
big-time sport played by big-time athletes (cricket supporters may be
outraged with this statement but anyone who’s worked directly with
Americans at cricket will vouch for it).
Pic (Right): Crowds were sparse at Pearls Cup T20 in 2010
Now
Lauderhill may be the finest cricket facility in North America and an
impressive ground by New Zealand or the West Indies standards. But by
American standards it’s comparable to maybe a AA baseball stadium, not
exactly the stage I’d want to showcase the world’s top cricket teams and
players.
Some years ago MLB was going to play an exhibition baseball game in
England, one that was going to include the likes of Sammy Sosa and other
major league players. Where were they going to hold the game
(eventually rained out and never played)? Not on any baseball ground
(through my guess is there are some pretty good baseball grounds in the
UK) but at the Oval, a test match standard professional cricket ground.
The MLB people clearly knew the image of their game was all important
and that meant nothing less than playing at the country’s finest
sporting facility. The cricket world does itself a great disservice to
take any other approach in the United States.
The Lauderhill matches may have made things easier for CHA to attract
investors to its planned American pro T20 league. But the savvy
investor should want answers to two, and only two, questions: “Show me
your strategy for connecting with the American sporting public” and
“Convince me you know how to do this.”
Because if anyone thinks cricket in this country is going to reach
the dimensions envisioned by CHA—a sport capable of generating millions
in income--they’re going to have to find a way to generate not just a
little, or some, American interest in cricket. They’ll need to generate
a lot.
[Opinions expressed here are those of the author. Tom Melville
is a member of the rare species of American-born cricketers and a
historian and researcher. He is the author of The Tented Field: A History of Cricket in America and Early Baseball and the Rise of the National League.]