Cricket’s 21st century growing pains

A central tenet of the International Cricket Council in recent years has been to achieve growth in cricket.

A part of the ICC’s vision is to create opportunities for more people and nations to enjoy the sport. This may be the single unifying factor for all its members in an otherwise skewed governance regime, dominated by India, Australia and England.

However, growth is in the eye of the beholder. It could mean increased revenues, participation, watching or viewing, matches played, or more franchise leagues. Uncontrolled growth can lead to an inefficient use of resources, something already evident in an overcrowded international calendar.

It was concerning, therefore, to read reports emanating from an ICC board meeting held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from April 10 to 13, that the idea of officially recognizing the T10 cricket format was raised.

Although it is understood that the topic was not part of the official meeting agenda and did not receive much interest and support, it could be regarded as the first step in a process to achieve recognition.

The most prominent T10 tournament is the Abu Dhabi T10, first held in December 2017. Since then, T10 competitions have been held in the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the US.

Last year, a planned T10 league in Scotland was cancelled because it did not receive ICC sanction. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, five academy teams are currently playing a T10 competition promoted by Cricket Victoria.

So far, T10 cricket has not been played by full members in either men’s or women’s cricket at national level. If the format were to be recognized performance data would be included in a player’s official statistics.

Cricket is already a sport conflicted by multiple official