Is rugby's inclusive attitude a lesson for cricket?

Rugby's expansionary zeal could put cricket's status as the world's second most popular sport at risk

07-Nov-2015

In its Game theory section, the Economist notes that the divide between the traditionally dominant nations and the rest is shrinking in both cricket and rugby, but points out the difference in approaches towards growing the game.

This is perhaps best typified by the size of their World Cups. Rugby's version comprises 20 nations. World Rugby, the sport's governing body, is considering increasing the number to 24 for future tournaments. "It allows us to justifiably claim we're a global sport. With a smaller World Cup you could dispute that," says Morgan Buckley, a bigwig at World Rugby. Inclusion in the World Cup has helped smaller nations gain exposure and so increase sponsorship, bringing in more money to develop the game, he says.

In contrast, this year's Cricket World Cup featured only 14 sides. The plan is to reduce that to only ten for the 2019 and 2023 events. "Retrenching is a strategy that isn't conducive to growth and development," says Simon Chadwick, a professor at Coventry University. "Cricket needs to get on the front-foot and fight back in building its constituency and fan base beyond its traditional core markets." All the major international cricket tournaments, until at least 2023, will be held exclusively in Australia, England or India--the sport's three wealthiest nations. The 2019 Rugby World Cup, on the other hand, will be hosted by Japan.