Thread by @vijayarumugam

THREAD on #T20WorldCup

For those, who're saying, Australia should have hosted the T20 cricket world cup in the middle of their summer in December-January, and not before or after the peak summer, let's put some points out there.

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Cricket Australia runs Cricket in Australia & has contractual agreements with the various grounds - and those grounds are shared with AFL. AFL runs its competition for 9 months & Cricket Australia uses them for 3 months. This has necessitated the usage of drop-in pitches.

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Cricket Australia has a TV contract with Ch7 & Fox, which stipulates the number of days of international cricket & how much cricket in certain time slots - how many evening sessions of cricket (Adelaide D/N & WACA being night sessions for East Coast). Yet, Ch7 has sued CA.

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Plus, Big Bash & its calendar. These games have to be played in the pre-defined slots - Boxing-day Test, NY Test, BBL in school holidays, NYE BBL, Australia day BBL etc. This isn't just for TV contract. This is for the broader cricket in the community & societal set up.

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Cricket in summer is a rating clash between Australian Open Tennis on Ch9 & Cricket on Ch7. Both channels try to outwit each other. In summary, even in summer, Cricket has competition to remain relevant. This competitive tension between TV channels is that drives the price.
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Cricket Australia has another set of stakeholders - the members of the various grounds. The members for SCG have a 10-year waiting period & they pay thousands of $$ every year to retain the membership. These members are given a schedule of cricket & other sports in advance

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One of the reasons why the Tests in Aust gets good crowds is due to the members. They plan their holidays around it to be at the cricket for Dec 26 or NY Tests. This is a vital aspect in running cricket, with the SCG Trust being a powerful body, even at a political level.

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ICC tournaments are run with a different TV deal and different set of rules. Star Sports India brings in its own TV camera personnel from overseas. The ticketing is different, with members not given access to the cricket games, as they are for Australian home season games.

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This meant, the profits from ICC tournaments go to ICC & its TV broadcaster. Yes, it will be shared with other members & the host nation. But this isn't the mainstream, planned revenue for CA, for its P&L, its TV contracts, its competition with other sports like AFL & NRL.

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Cricket Australia gets support from the government(s) for grounds, grassroot Cricket, club cricket etc., for the way it runs the game in this country vis-a-vis other sports. This is its home cricket season & team performance & not for hosting ICC tournaments.

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Though the Australian state governments benefit from tourism &hospitality from ICC tournaments, it doesn't move the needle much for CA's books. Plus, it can't antagonise SCG trust or equivalents & its members, for an event that might come to these shores, once in 8 years.
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Therefore, an ICC tournament can't be played in the middle of the summer, without CA losing money, reputational damage, political goodwill and public support. That's why 1992 2015 WC & 2022 T20 WCs have happened outside of the main summer. It will continue to be the norm.

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CA hosted the 2015 WC in Feb-March, when AFL agreed to postpone its tournament, allowing CA to have access to MCG, SCG etc. With AFL expanding aggressively, such trade offs will be less likely in the future. Plus, Feb is a cricket season in NZ & in RSA as well.

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In summary, for overseas cricket fans, CA hosting the T20 tournament outside of the cricket season, might sound ridiculous. However, there are many factors which don't allow for such a compromise from a contractual, legal, economic & societal perspective in Australia.

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