Cricket Finds A Fairy Godmother (5 Oct 1996)

5 October 1996

Cricket finds a fairy godmother

Mihir Bose

ENGLAND could play Australia in a full-scale cricket international at Disney World in Florida next year and the International Cricket Council are close to tying up a deal with a highprofile sponsor in a move to develop worldwide interest in the game and ensure that there are at least 12 Test-playing countries by the millennium, writes Mihir Bose.

In April, Disney are due to open a $100 million sports complex in Orlando catering for all the traditional American sports - baseball champions Atlanta Braves will have their spring training base there and it will be the venue for the US clay-court tennis championships. Amazingly, cricket is also on the menu.

Reggie Williams, Disney`s vice-president in charge of sport, has been in touch with David Richards, chief executive of the ICC, and Ali Bacher, managing director of South African cricket. On a recent visit to South Africa, Williams was enthralled by the story of Michael Atherton`s epic century at Johannesburg last winter. Williams could not believe that such a feat did not bring victory but merely a draw.

A five-day Test is considered unpalatable for American audiences but one-day cricket might be feasible. Financially, the game has the attraction of allowing a television commercial every six balls. Williams, a former American footballer, says: "We would like to introduce Americans to this great sport. We`re aware of its great tradition and great competition."

Ninety-two of the 200 acres in the Disney complex are grass and, with the help of the ICC, Williams is planning to install proper turf wickets where full-strength international sides can play one-day matches.

An England v Australia clash would be an immense attraction, bringing in visitors from England and Australia, and Williams says: "We`re aware of this great rivalry in cricket. England against Australia would mean putting on cricket of the highest standard."

Bacher says: "Disney gets 35 million visitors a year, 20 million from America, and this is a great chance to show cricket to the world."

But to expand the game in America, Bacher believes cricket will have to introduce a new form of itself - cricket eights. Each team would have eight players, matches would be 16 overs a side and the whole show would last about three hours. Bacher is chairman of the ICC`s recently-formed development committee and is charged with trying to make Testplaying nations of countries where cricket is still a fringe activity.

Bacher`s committee have targeted 12 countries which could be brought up to Test level: Holland, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, Kenya, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Bermuda, Canada, the United States and Namibia. Bacher, who has just visited Holland, Denmark, Ireland and Scotland, says: "In some of these countries cricket has been played for more than 100 years, but there`s little sponsorship, very little television coverage and it`s a low-profile sport."

Bacher`s plan to remedy this is to get the Test countries to send their A teams to these countries every year. Bacher is also close to a deal with a major sponsor to develop the game. The recent World Cup in the subcontinent saw intense rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi and a soft drinks or sports goods manufacturing company could find cricket very attractive.

Bacher said: "International cricket has been slow to spread. We need more than nine Test-playing nations. For the World Cup in England we can`t have more than 12 teams, but by 2003, when we hold it in South africa, I would like to see 16 countries take part, with perhaps 12 of them Test-playing countries."

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)