Twenty20 World Cup to be 'India friendly'; Photo: Getty Images/Scott Barbour
The World Cup in America with the India-Pakistan blockbuster in New York will get most of the attention, but from a cricketing perspective, what matters is the legacy it leaves behind in the Caribbean.< /p>
The United States is years, perhaps decades, away from becoming a serious cricketer. Its vastness and crowded sports market are formidable obstacles to overcome. The India-Pakistan match might sell out many times over and be a huge event at the new stadium in New York, but it won't tell us much about cricket in the United States; this is a match that will sell out anywhere in the world.
But in the West Indies, cricket is of great importance and its health is of great importance. The region will host 39 of the 55 matches, including the semi-finals and final. This would generate a profit of approximately $25 million for the West Indies board. This money will be enough for a couple of lean years in 2025 and 2026, when the West Indies will not host either India or England.
The venues have been upgraded by governments bidding to host matches. Kensington Oval, where the final will be held, has undergone a £25 million refurbishment, with fields and grounds replaced throughout and new LED lighting installed at St Vincent's. “We're talking about a huge legacy in terms of facilities,” says Jonny Grave, chief executive of Cricket West Indies. “And equipment and its cost is one of our biggest problems. Hosting the men's World Cup and getting governments to invest in stadiums that haven't had any meaningful investment since 2007 (West Indies 50-over World Cup) is a huge task.”
Kensington Oval, where the final will be held, has undergone a £25 million refurbishment. Photo: Getty Images/Randy Brooks
But there are fears that the tournament will lose its Caribbean atmosphere. The merry ICC team has a history of corporateizing tournaments and was heavily criticized for turning the 2007 West Indies 50-over World Cup into a sterile and joyless affair by banning anything that might upset its sponsors and there is no doubt that 17 years later it remains competition for the Indian television markets, not for local fans.
All India matches will start at 10:30 am to catch the evening crowd at home. If they make it to the final four, India are guaranteed to play their semi-final in Guyana as it is scheduled to start at 10:30 am, while the other last four match in Trinidad will begin in the evening, i.e. early in the morning. morning in India. Even the final in Barbados on June 29 will be held at 10.30, not in the evening with fireworks under the lights.
Twenty20 is a huge success in the West Indies. There's an all-night party at the Caribbean Premier League grounds and the stands are packed, unlike Test cricket. But local schoolchildren will be bussed in for free to watch midweek morning and afternoon matches in a bid to boost attendances. There's nothing wrong with that and ironically, given that they're the ones who set the schedule and cause the problems, it's the broadcasters who want fans in their seats and don't care whether they've paid or not. Nothing looks worse than rows of empty bucket seats. “Probably only the UK can get large numbers of people on a midweek game morning,” says Grave. “But in the Caribbean, if you get a couple of thousand school kids and a couple of thousand fans, you can create a better atmosphere than most places around the world. Again, it will be great for our legacy if we can get 30,000 kids to attend a tournament for free and turn them into cricket fans.”
The key is to make sure Indian broadcasters are happy, which is a result of Disney Star paying $3.2 billion for a four-year contract to show ICC events. “We have to accept that if you are going to host a T20 World Cup and 90 per cent of the revenue comes from India, then it has to be India friendly,” adds Grave. “You have to recognize and accept that this is not just a skew, it is a market fact – India brings in $3 billion in rights, the rest totals about $200 million. But if you give us the opportunity to host the men's World Cup with half the games at 10:30 in the morning and half at night, or not at all, we will take it.
“For the region as a whole, the economic effect will be about $300 million. If we have a good World Cup, we'll add $25 million to our coffers, and hopefully we'll prepare ourselves financially for some lean years. At least now we are ready for this. In the past we have used tours to England and India to help ourselves out and then get back to normal life and fight. Now, by the end of this year, we're going to be well ahead of the game. The next two years will drain our resources but will allow us to continue to make all the investments we need in our cricket system. Hopefully India will come back in 2027 and we will be up to par again.”
The excitement will build as soon as the cricket starts. West Indies are contenders and it always helps if the host team does well. They are ranked fourth in the world T20 rankings and whitewashed South Africa and beat England last year.
One issue could be the weather, as the dry months in the West Indies are January to May. It is inevitable that Guyana will be wet and this could affect West Indies' first match on Sunday against Papua New Guinea and if this becomes a common theme it could see the bigger teams struggling for points.
There will be a sink. There will be shells in the stands, steel drums will play and carnival performers will perform on the field before the game, so matches should have a distinctly Caribbean flavour, but only when it suits the Indian television market and that's the way of the world.
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