English Cricket Revolution (31 October 1998)

31 October 1998

English Cricket Revolution

By Mihir Bose

ENGLISH domestic cricket is poised for its biggest upheaval since the mid- Sixties when twin tours and the influx of overseas cricketers in county cricket shaped the modern game.

The changes that have now been agreed will not only mean seven Test matches every summer and a triangular one-day series but Test matches will start in the middle of May and continue until the end of the first week of September. The NatWest final will move forward to the August Bank holiday.

There will be a mid-summer's break from Tests of nearly three weeks in July when only one one-day international will be played. Also, the two-Test series against Zimbabwe in 2000, Pakistan in 2001 and possibly Sri Lanka in 2002 will come as an appetiser before the five-Test main courses against West Indies, Australia and India. The fine details of the 2002 season are yet to be finalised. Sri Lanka may get three Tests but India, who have not had a five-Test series here since 1959, will press for all five.

The changes are the result of the television deal signed by England and Wales Cricket Board with Channel 4 and Sky and have gone unnoticed in the deluge of comment about how Channel 4 have snatched cricket away from the BBC. But in some ways more significant is the new shape of the cricket season, largely fashioned by Sky to have a domestic cricket programme more suited to their own special television needs.

Yet 48 hours before the deal was signed Sky threatened to walk out and a compromise was agreed only hours before the deal was announced. Sky wanted cricket to fill the black hole in their sports coverage in June and July. These are their two problem months, for the football season has finished, Sky do not have Wimbledon tennis or international football like World Cups and European Championships and their plight was highlighted during the World Cup in France when they were reduced to phone-in programmes discussing the matches being shown on rival channels.

Sky were determined never to be so short of live sport during June and July and bid for two Tests and the triangular series. In several discussions with the ECB they fashioned a triangular one-day series ideally suited for Sky. Only two of the 10 one-day matches to be played in the first three weeks of July will be midweek day matches. Of the other eight, three will be day-night, five on Saturday and Sunday. Research carried out by Sky and ECB had shown that day-night matches attracted new audiences and more women and families.

As far as the Tests were concerned, Sky sources were adamant that they were never going to bid for all the games. They assumed BBC would secure most of the Tests. Sky's intention was to gain the rights to cover what insiders call the Wimbledon Test, the game played at the same time as Royal Ascot and Wimbledon, when the BBC have struggled to show every ball of Test cricket.

But the Sky strategy was threatened when suddenly Channel 4 emerged as very realistic challengers to the BBC. Channel 4 had talked to Sky about making a joint bid through the good offices of the ECB. Channel 4 wanted to televise Thursday morning, Friday morning, Saturday morning, the whole day on Sunday and Monday morning. Sky rejected this as a dog's dinner of an idea. Channel 4 insiders feel that Sky, who have worked with BBC on cricket and still do on football, were not comfortable with the newcomer. Sky sources retorted that Channel 4 were nervous about taking on the BBC on their own. As it happened Channel 4's presentation made such an impact that the ECB decided not only to ditch the BBC but to give all Tests to Channel 4.

Sky were told they could have the one-day internationals and other domestic matches but no Tests. Sky immediately made it clear that if they did not get at least one Test they would withdraw their £50 million offer or reduce it dramatically. This led to a meeting between Trevor East, deputy managing director of Sky Sports, and Terry Blake, marketing director of ECB, at a hotel near Heathrow. This was followed by a meeting between Vic Wakeling, managing director of Sky Sports, and Blake. It was finally agreed that Sky would get one Test match.

The board members and the counties had gathered there to discuss the future of English cricket but unknown to most of them Blake and Wakeling were thrashing out a deal which resulted in Sky getting one Test but agreeing to pay the same price of £50 million. This with Channel 4's £53 million, including £2 million for marketing, made up the £103 million deal for four years.

England's Home Schedule

1999: World Cup shared between Sky and BBC, final on Sky. Four Tests against New Zealand starting in July, second Test on Sky, rest on Channel 4.

2000: Two Tests against Zimbabwe starting May 18. Second Test starting June 1 on Sky, rest of Tests including five Tests against West Indies on Channel 4. First West Indies Test June 15, second June 29. Ten one-day internationals between July 6 and July 22 before Tests resume.

2001: Two Tests against Pakistan starting mid-May. Second test in early June on Sky, rest on Channel 4 including five-Test Ashes series. One-day internationals in July.

2002: Two or three Tests against Sri Lanka, second on Sky. The rest, including four or five Tests against India, on Channel 4. One-day internationals in July.

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