IPL Auction

[S.Kennedy]

Yeah a large part of the BBL is the prices.. Read somewhere that they were committed to keeping the prices low till the time the largest venues like the MCG were being consistently sold out.

I read that they were around the £10 - £12 mark with also family tickets. A game for Britain's Blast will not be cheaper than £20. (I do not know what it is at Surrey or Middlesex but I imagine it is higher again!).

The problem with cricket in England is lack of access and people being priced out, neither which will be solved by a new city competition. When the ECB made that Faustian pact with Sky back in 2004, they turned cricket from a national sport (which had even replaced football from the back pages then, the summer of 2005) into an aficionado underground thing. Australia do things better. The government specifically preserves cricket for free-to-air, seeing it as a sort of national heritage thing that should be accessed by everybody. There is also a more long sighted policy of proliferating the sport rather than just accepting a gigantic wad of cash.

You never know though. I might be wrong. The ECB might sell the rights to a free-to-air channel and keep the prices down below £15! It would be a complete reversal in policy but you never know!

 

[Daemon]

I don't agree, but I see I'm in the minority here so we may as well leave it.

Nah don't, I may have been a bit of a **** to you with that meme, but I do want to hear your opinion. I liked your post on why it wouldn't work in England.



As for the IPL, I genuinely couldn't tell you who won when besides the first and last one. Last season I tuned in whenever my whatsapp buzzed about Kohli/AB going berserk, along with a few other times when I had **** all else to do but that's about it. I like the idea but the execution has been ew and it's hard to support teams with terrible names that keep changing their core players.

 

[TNT]

Yeah a large part of the BBL is the prices.. Read somewhere that they were committed to keeping the prices low till the time the largest venues like the MCG were being consistently sold out.

Matches that last only 3 hours which is similar to a football match and constant entertainment is the reason that the BBL is working so well. My son is a member and along with his mates they go to the games and then have a night out. This format appeals to people that go out for entertainment and want fast moving action. Going to a ODI is a long day out and unless you are cricket mad sitting in a stadium for 8 hours is not going to appeal. T20 is the future of cricket, test cricket is the steam train, ODI's are diesel trains and T20 is the subway.

 

[indiaholic]

ok

 

[S.Kennedy]

I like ''a day at the cricket'' where you sit on your arse for ages with a flask of tea or a few beers and a newspaper for company. You do not really get that at a T20. You attend a T20 like you'd attend a football match.

 

[marc71178]

Not entirely sure why ticket prices should be reduced if grounds are selling out at a higher price. That's just stupid business sense.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Not entirely sure why ticket prices should be reduced if grounds are selling out at a higher price. That's just stupid business sense.

That is true for the actual grounds which are selling well, e.g. Chelmsford, Taunton and New Road and to a lesser degree the two London venues, but so their (ECB) argument goes, they want more people attending so that can only signify places that sell less tickets such as Chester-Le-Street, Rose Bowl, Edgbaston and Cardiff. Here are the gate receipts for 2016 to give you an indicator of which venues are selling and which are not,



There is also a more altruistic and long-sighted argument to be made which I believe is what Cricket Australia espouse, i.e. they actually want to keep prices low in order to make it 'family friendly product' and proliferate the sport at a grass roots level.

PS

To be honest, I've been impressed with some of the crowds at Chester-Le-Street - granted they do not open the seating at the other end of the venue, beneath Lumley Castle, so it is only the main stands which look packed - but what do I know? The Lancashire and Yorkshire games usually get a lot of away support.

 

[vcs]

Not entirely sure why ticket prices should be reduced if grounds are selling out at a higher price. That's just stupid business sense.

If you are looking purely at the short term from a capitalistic viewpoint, yes.

If you want to grow interest in the sport long-term, attract kids and encourage all types of demographics to attend the game, not true at all.

 

[marc71178]

Football prices are showing no real sign of reducing and that's got long-term interest.

 

[vcs]

Football is different because clubs have to be run as competitive, profit-making entities. The onus is on FIFA and national organizations to promote the game at the grassroots level.

But even at the club-level, in the long run, clubs will suffer if they prioritize immediate earnings too much. They will risk losing potential younger generation fanbase, and good local players, to competing clubs in the same area. It is not a good idea to price out local fans and the majority of people who cannot afford very expensive tickets.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Football is in a hideous state. I wouldn't be using that as an example for cricket!!

 

[marc71178]

Most popular sport by a country mile - got to be doing something right.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Most popular sport by a country mile - got to be doing something right.

And do you think all of this greed and foreign players has helped the national team?

 

[ImpatientLime]

england's inability to compete in football is nothing to do with an influx of foreign players.

england have been terrible for generations, including generations when the league would have been 90% english.

england are terrible due to a complete lack of coaching nous in this country and a complete mistrust of technically able players in favour of physicality.

 

[S.Kennedy]

england's inability to compete in football is nothing to do with an influx of foreign players.

england have been terrible for generations, including generations when the league would have been 90% english.

england are terrible due to a complete lack of coaching nous in this country and a complete mistrust of technically able players in favour of physicality.

I'm not going to debate the problems with England's football team or I'll be here till next Christmas - and then the one after that probably!

 

[theegyptian]

Not sure I'd be going out of my way to buy many of the english players tomorrow.



Stokes - poor overall record and poor bowler. Very good fielder. High valuation. Give him a miss imo.

Woakes - His value paradoxically probably comes in his batting (and to a lesser degree fielding). Could be a very useful number 7 or 8. Really has improved as an adaptable (Hard to find for 7-11) and smart bat down the order. Plenty of power but also uses the pace of the ball well to hit gaps. Good fielder for a bowler. Bowling is average- Reasonably with the new ball, poor at death. Probably a miss at high base price.

Roy- Poor record, poor against spin and doesn't go on. Miss.

Bairstow- Not a bad utility player imo (although has played little T20 cricket in recent times), Keeper and very good outfielder. Could bat anywhere 1-7. Maybe.

Mills - No brainer. Available for whole tournament and year on year. Cheap. Good variation. Sign him up.

Hales - Decent record (although not so much in recent time). Good slogger who could make use of small indian grounds. Better value than Roy. Sign him up.

Jordan - Improved bowling in first 6 overs. Good (not great at death). Excellent fielder and ok no.9 bat. Going cheap. Sign him up.

Morgan - Average to poor record in IPL. Vulnerable against spin. Expensive. Give him a miss.

 

[DriveClub]

Asela gunaratna should be good value I'd think if you can get him cheap

 

[Athlai]

Anyone know why IPL viewership so drastically increased last year?

 

[Daemon]

Anyone know why IPL viewership so drastically increased last year?

Rcbs batting lineup

 

[brockley]

Any live coverage?