COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
US COPYRIGHT REGISTRATTION # TXu 2-163-784
Though there are some
similarities between Cricket and Baseball, the major playing nations are almost
mutually exclusive. Baseball has always been popular in advanced nations like
Canada, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea and the United States. Thus far, the
marketing efforts to expand cricket into the major baseball nations have been
marginally successful, at best. Even when an exhibition cricket match is played
in the US, the audience is mostly the immigrants from the cricketing nations,
making it commercially unviable to attract any major TV channel to carry it
live.
For cricket to be a viable
alternative to baseball in major baseball nations (and vice versa down the
road), it has to be lot more entertaining to the viewers at large. While the
cricket fans consider the shortened T-20 format very entertaining, it’s not so at
all for their baseball counterparts. In fact, the baseball lovers will still
find it quite “boring.”
The only way cricket can be
sold to the major baseball world is by reinventing the format itself. From the
entertainment point of view, the two-innings format is fundamentally backward-bending,
offering little to virtually no incentives to the commercial media in the
all-baseball world, because more often than not, this format makes an on-going
match far too predictable, thus destroying the fun and thrill of it. For
example, when the team batting first collapses or even performs sub-par, the outcome
is more or less predictable. So, who would stick around for the second inning?
Not the TV viewers, at least – which is the primary viewership.
While the traditional format
cannot be changed overnight, a highly entertaining and thrilling “Reality”
format could be invented and tried in the baseball world. If it becomes
successful there, it would be equally, if not more, successful at home as well.
Reality cricket – by design –
must be lot more entertaining and thrilling than the traditional variety. In
addition to supporting the standard 2D smart TV, this form and format will also
be 3D TV-friendly, thus attracting new generations of media audience who are
otherwise unaware of or are indifferent to the world of cricket. Again, it’s
not going to be the garden variety club cricket which will be commercially
unappealing to the futuristic media.
Once the Reality version
starts to gain commercial momentum, the makers of virtual sports will quickly jump
in, taking it to the next level where viewers can virtually play along “live.” The
Virtual 2.0 will be AI-friendly, allowing the virtual batters to try out
different “timing” and “striking” options which the actual on-field batter
could only wish. Similarly, the virtual bowlers will be able to try out a
combination of various “line” and “length” options which, again, the actual on-field
bowler could only wish.
So, what’s the new “Reality”
cricket? Here it is…
1. Playing
Field: Instead of the traditional
flat cricket grounds, it will be shifted to the professional Golf Courses, preferably
18-hole Resort Golf Courses, with magnificent surroundings, for an added TV
attraction. By switching the venue to a golf course, the so-called home field
advantage will cease to exist. Since the makeup of each golf course is somewhat
different, players will encounter new challenges each time they take the field.
Also, the net practice and the practice matches will be arranged on smaller
courses, keeping the thrill and unpredictability of playing on the big course
alive. The same cricketing bat and ball will be used for now, with a usual
cricketing pitch. Down the road the ball will be remanufactured with synthetic
material to make it less susceptible to wetness. Pre-fab drop-in pitch will be
ideal to maintain the portability from course to course locally, even
regionally. Other than the pitch, the rest of the course remains unchanged
which will help keep the costs under control. But, unlike in traditional
cricket, only one batter will come in and bat at a time so only one set of
wickets will be used. Should the course comprise actual water hazards like artificial
ponds or lagoons, they must be netted using modern technology to get the ball
out of the net promptly, without having to deal with the ball getting wet. Rain
will stop play as is customary in the traditional format. Obviously, it is
going to be played during the day only, differing from the short One Day
International (ODI, usually day/night) or T-20 (mostly under floodlight)
formats. Timeouts will be necessary to keep the ad dollars flowing.
2. Playing
Format: In terms of the number of
overs, the Reality format will initially share the T-20 (i.e., 20-overs)
format. But, instead of the cricketing 2-innings format, the Reality format
will be split up into 4 batting innings per side (5 overs per inning) to a
total of 8 innings, thus allowing each team to bat for four rotating innings,
meaning the team that opens the batting will return again to bat out the 3rd,
5th and 7th innings, respectively. Needless to say, the
same team will take the bowling/fielding for the alternate 2nd, 4th,
6th and 8th innings, respectively, when the opposition
bats. The problem of the one-batting-inning per side is that the match often
becomes far too predictable early into the second inning; for instance, if the
side batting first does not put up enough runs on the board, the match becomes
quite predictable within 5 to 7 overs into the second inning – to the utter
dismay of the attending fans and the media audiences at large. As the new Reality
data points come in and get adequately mined, the format could be later expanded
to 25 or 30 overs, adding innings proportionally.
3. Player
Format: While all cricket formats
call for 11 players per side, the Reality version will comprise 7 players per
side, reducing the use of specialists; for example, out of the 11 cricket players,
5 are generally specialist batters, 5 are specialist bowlers (1 is often considered
an all-rounder) and the remaining 1 is a dedicated wicket-keeper with good batting
skills. Again, the problem to this type of side selection is that the match
becomes more predictable. When the top-order of batting (primarily specialist batters)
collapses, the specialist bowlers (a.k.a., the tail-enders) can hardly come to
the rescue and turn things around. Likewise, when the batters get their day,
the bowling side starts to feel an insurmountable pressure. Again, the
selection of specialists generally makes things more predictable, which is fine
when the sole objective is to win a tournament. In the proposed Reality format,
where entertainment is the primary objective, the team selection will be based
on all-round skills, eventually paving the way for a whole new generation of
skilled all-rounders. Of course, each team will need a 5-player bench
considering it will be played under the Sun. This all-rounder approach will change
the overall grooming and bidding (on player auctions) process.
4. Batting
and Bowling: Under the Reality
format, each batter gets to bat only one over per inning, with the mandatory introduction
of two new batters in consecutive innings. Of course, when the first five
batters do not survive till the end of the fifth over, sixth and seventh batters
will bat. To put in simple terms, only three batters from inning one can be
repeated while batting in inning two and so forth. Similarly, bowlers can bowl
only one over per inning, with the mandatory introduction of two new bowlers in
consecutive innings. Therefore, the bowling side can reintroduce only three
bowlers when they open their second bowling inning. Of course, the exception to
this rule will come into effect when more than five batters needs to bat in an
inning. This general one-over batting and bowling restrictions will force teams
to recruit more all-rounders than specialists, lessening the usual
predictability of the game. The combination of 4-innings per side and 1-batter/bowler
per over will make the match more unpredictable, hence entertaining, till the
end – a big win-win for both live and media audiences. A team can use a
dedicated wicket-keeper across all four innings, for now (this practice may also
be dispensed with down the road, making way for more unpredictability).
5. Scoring
Runs: This is going to be very
different from the traditional cricket format. Batters must return to the base
to be credited for any runs, making the traditional singles (1’s), threes (3’s),
boundaries and over-boundaries off-limit. In other words, the batters can only hit
2’s and 4’s (maximum per bowl) by returning to the base. In order to minimize
inaccurate bowling and imprecise throws, byes and leg byes will be allowed. A 2-run
deduction will be taken when a batter’s strike hits the hazard (water or bunker)
without bounce, beating any reasonable endeavor by the nearest fielder to catch
the ball (reasonableness of the fielder’s attempt will be determined by the
umpire). This deduction will stand irrespective of the batter’s score in the
inning and will be counted as a cumulative negative (i.e., deduction).
The advantage of having only one batter at
a time is that the batting momentum will continue, keeping the entertainment
ante significantly up, which is critical for the Reality cricket to garner worldwide
audience. In a traditional format, since two batters bat together, the
entertainment aspect of the game often gets compromised. Generally, when one batter goes on a
scoring spree, the other slows down, playing a more supporting or defensive role
(except in death overs), which could be technically fine, but generally at the
expense of the entertainment value of the game. Having one batter at a time
removes altogether the potential of the second batter slowing down.
6. Batter
Dismissal: Until this format
gains some meaningful commercial momentum, any new and specialized technology
will not be forthcoming. Therefore, the use of the existing DRS and related
technology will force this format to continue with the current batter dismissal
options like, bowled, caught, stamped, hit wicket, leg before, run out, etc. Since
singles will be unavailable, the possibility of run outs will rise. Similarly, the aggressive nature of batting
will give rise to more stumping opportunities. Down the road, when the specialized
technology is available for the Reality version, the direct no-bounce hits to
hazards could be treated as dismissals, rather than the proposed negative
scores (2-run deduction). When the playing golf course comprises trees, a catch
bounced off a tree will be disallowed. A batter however will be allowed full
credit for the runs scored even when the ball bounces off a tree. Since scoring
will be allowed, run-outs will also be allowed when the ball bounces off a
tree.
7. Protective
Gear: In the traditional format,
batters and wicket-keepers are amply protected with (protective) gear, but the
fielders and bowlers aren’t. It makes no professional and economic sense to
allow a good percentage of the players to sit out a good part of the season
with finger injuries. The Reality version will therefore allow the bowler and
all fielders to use baseball-type gloves on one hand to help prevent such
unnecessary injuries. Of course, on the field, it will be their choice to use
it or not. By the same token, they will lose their match fees (or prorated
contract fees) if they are forced to sit out with such preventable finger
injuries. The liability clause of the disability insurance must also contain
similar stipulations, thus making it difficult for them to be rehired for
future events as well. While they need a helping hand from the rules committee,
they must also be willing participants. Irrespective of their prominence and
celebrity, this format will never allow or encourage anyone to practice or
demonstrate any narcissism whatsoever, so that the audience continues to
exponentially grow, not drift away.
8. Field
Positions:
Granted, the game of cricket is a common
religion in cricket-playing countries. So, the fans learn to not question its age-old
shortcomings and idiosyncrasies; for example, the field position names like
“Silly mid-on / Silly mid-off” and “Forward short leg” will be a hard-sell in
non-cricketing countries. The Reality format will therefore comprise a new set of
non-technical, sensible and easy-to-remember field (position) names, e.g.,
Base, Short Base Left/Right, Long Base Left/Right, Deep Long Base Left/Right, etc.
Instead of confusing the new audience with unnecessary semantics – Long vs.
Deep, etc. – the name Deep Long Base Left/Right will be self-differentiating,
meaning this field position will be further deeper than the long position, but
along the same field corridor. Considering it’s a seven-per-side event, only
five more fielders – other than the bowler and the wicket-keeper who will hold dedicated
field positions – will be present on the course. The idea is that the marketing
team must be armed with a marketable product, free of silly antiquities.
9. Tie-breaker: In case of a tie, i.e., both teams tied at the same score,
each will play one more inning, instead of the traditional one over each. When
a match is finally decided by one over, it becomes somewhat unreasonable and
irrational, at least from the audience viewpoint. In the Reality format, the
one additional tie-breaker inning will bring more sanity and reliability to the
game. For example, NBA Finals are played on ‘best-of-seven’ format, allowing
the better team to prevail than ending the entire season with a one-off fluke. If
the tie-breaker inning ends in a tie again, a one over solution will be
implemented until, of course, the tie is broken. There will be one more twist
to the tie-breaker inning: The team winning the tie-breaker toss will get to
choose the opponent’s five batters, while the toss-losing team will get to
designate the opponent’s five bowlers. Similarly, if the tie-breaker inning
runs into tie-breaker over(s), the toss winner will get to designate the
opponent’s batter while the toss loser will choose the opponent’s bowler. This
new approach will force all competing teams to hire quality all-rounders rather
than the traditional specialists who are good at only one aspect of the game.
This Reality format, by no
means, attempts to reform the traditional format; rather it primarily attempts
to show the cricketing and non-cricketing world that an alternative and vastly
different version could easily be developed and marketed strictly as another
highly entertaining, thrilling, media-friendly and interactive fun sport.
Secondarily, it will provide an easy and rapid expansion into the commercially
unharnessed non-cricketing world. The 2D TV is way too outdated for sports and
entertainment. By making this version 3D TV-friendly, viewers will have more
fun watching it and perhaps participating alongside. A “Virtual” version will
soon be developed, allowing viewers to play along “live.”
Initially, this format could
be sold to the TV channels that broadcast the traditional cricket tournaments in
the cricketing world and to the Golf channels in the non-cricketing world. As
the Reality version gets momentum, the bidding war to broadcast it will
intensify. The investment company owning its worldwide rights will hopefully go
public so the sports fans around the world can own a piece of this futuristic
sport-and-entertainment pie.
Just imagine the unrestricted
domain of opportunity this Reality version offers to the future investors.
Later, a parallel Reality version can be ported to the game of Baseball as
well.
Finally, Some Stats to be Excited about…
1. Major League
Baseball (US/Canada) Revenue $10B
2. Top 5 MLB Teams’ Combined Revenue $2.7B
3. Nippon Professional Baseball Revenue $1.1B
4. Indian Premier League (Cricket) valued at $6.3B
5. The Economic Impact of Golf in the US: $84B (Forbes)
Developed and presented by:
Sid Som, MBA, MIM
President, Homequant, Inc.
homequant@gmail.com
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
US COPYRIGHT REGISTRATTION # TXu 2-163-784
2. Top 5 MLB Teams’ Combined Revenue $2.7B
3. Nippon Professional Baseball Revenue $1.1B
4. Indian Premier League (Cricket) valued at $6.3B
5. The Economic Impact of Golf in the US: $84B (Forbes)
Developed and presented by:
Sid Som, MBA, MIM
President, Homequant, Inc.
homequant@gmail.com
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
US COPYRIGHT REGISTRATTION # TXu 2-163-784
No comments:
Post a Comment