100-ball competition plans because young people 'not attracted to cricket'

Last updated on 14 May 2018.From the section Cricket456

The younger generation are not attracted to cricket - ECB chairman

Young people are "just not attracted to cricket", which is why a new 100-ball competition is being proposed, according to England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves.

The concept could see innings consist of 15 traditional six-ball overs and a final 10-ball over, and matches would be 20 balls shorter than T20 matches.

The 100-ball format is set in stone, says Graves, but other details are still being discussed with different stakeholders, including county cricketers.

"It is not attracting the audiences, if it was we would not have that issue," Graves told BBC Sport.

"The younger generation, whether you like it our not, are just not attracted to cricket. In all the work, surveys and research we have done, the younger generation want something different.

"They want more excitement, they want it shorter and simpler to understand. Those are the things we have learnt for this new competition and that is what we have to make it."

Graves also said plans for a 10-ball over in the new competition are "open for discussion". The format was proposed in April but has had a mixed reaction from players and fans.

"We have got a model, we have got a skeleton and the players will be involved in that," added Graves. "The new competition board is in place to virtually launch this tournament."

Graves says the tournament will be worth £8m to county cricketers, and hopes "60-70%" of fans who attend will be coming to cricket for the first time.

New audiences?

T20 Blast finals day — Graves hopes 60-70% will be coming to cricket for the first time

Fans on social media reacted to the proposals by describing it as "needless", "a gimmick" and "simply ridiculous" and others thought it is so madcap "players should wear clown outfits".

But England bowler Stuart Broad said it has a "unique selling point", while England one-day captain Eoin Morgan said it was "great to see innovation".

Clare Connor, director of women's cricket at the ECB, feels it will "attract more women and girls to the game".

Asked if the format was set in stone, Graves said: "Yes, as far as we and the ECB board is concerned.

"One of the things the stakeholders said to us was not to take audience away from Vitality T20 blast . They didn't want just another T20 tournament on top of what is existing.

"(Managing director) Sanjay Patel and his team have come up with something I believe that is really exciting.

"I think it is special, it is different, it is shorter. It is trying to attract the audience that we haven't got at the present time."

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Comment posted by waterlooroader, at 17:29 14 May 2018
"Young people aren't attracted to cricket"

Well then the ECB has failed in its primary objective, namely to maintain and develop cricket in this country. A lack of free to air coverage, a lack of cricket in schools and the ECB seemingly crusading to devalue its own first-class competition are to blame.

I repeat, the ECB have failed.
Comment posted by Ploughlane83, at 17:32 14 May 2018
Rubbish. Stop selling cricket to sky and put it on terrestrial tv.
Comment posted by ste, at 17:42 14 May 2018
If the TV rights for cricket had not been sold to SKY after the great and widely watched ashes series of 2005, then plenty of people would still be following the game. You reap what you sow... Get cricket back on free to view TV and the problem will start to be addressed. No need for further gimmicks
Comment posted by Misterroy, at 17:28 14 May 2018
If people cannot understand the simplicity that is already there in T20 then I don't see this working at all. If people are not already interested, then this will NOT breed new fans, in my humble opinion. Happy to be proved incorrect, but how many formats of cricket do we need?!?
Comment posted by pistol, at 17:39 14 May 2018
Maybe if you hadn't hidden cricket away on Sky Sports and let BBC show it children might come home from school and watch, as usual minority sports see the money short term and not the longterm affect of less people actually watching it.
Comment posted by superbob, at 17:31 14 May 2018
They're not interested because they can't see it on tv! I remember every man, woman and their dog playing cricket around 2005. The ashes was live on terrestrial tv and everyone could watch. If you can't see it, you're not going to be interested.
Comment posted by ---, at 17:33 14 May 2018
How about making the World Cup tickets to see England next year a reasonable price? There's a start. Fact is - ECB/ICC only care about making money and literally nothing else
Comment posted by Cymraes27, at 17:38 14 May 2018
Shortening the game won't help, it'll only promote the idea of hitting the ball harder rather than any technical skill. If they really want to connect with the youth, make the summer tours and domestic competitions largely free to air. Spend a year or two with a load of cricket during the summer holidays with incentives like u12 get in free. Actually engage with people rather than giving it to Sky
Comment posted by milkybar63, at 17:40 14 May 2018
For the love of god, stop trying to market cricket to people who don't like cricket and market it to people that do!

Plenty of young people like cricket, if you are going to have most of it on sky, use the money to help clubs and schools. It's not rocket science.
Comment posted by WizardXel, at 17:30 14 May 2018
To put it bluntly, a lot of what kids do now a days is watch TV or more specifically youtube. Now, on tv there is some cricket but not enough on free to air to interest kids and on YouTube there’s next to none. If you want to interest kids, i recommend actually having it able to be watched, so those who may be interested by the game can be!
Comment posted by James Evans, at 17:38 14 May 2018
This really isn't complicated. There is no cricket on my TV. So I am not interested. How could I be interested if it's not even visible to me?
Comment posted by U16745827, at 17:52 14 May 2018
This bloke should resign. Frankly he and his board are a disgrace. They’ve medaled and messed about with every corner of the game from the moment they pulled test matches off terrestrial.

My local league is in tormoil as more and more struggle. And yes it’s less appealing to youth these days but his lot and their chaotic rehashed strategies are the main problem, not the solution.
Comment posted by David Ayres, at 17:34 14 May 2018
Waterlooroader you are totally correct. And running down the County Championship and Test Cricket, so therefore alienating the established audience, will just lose you even more people. I won't watch 100 ball cricket. I'd like to watch County Cricket but my team, Worcestershire, only have two more days of County Championship cricket left on weekends this season. Explain the logic in that.
Comment posted by witsend56, at 17:36 14 May 2018
Heaven help us. If it’s a fact that kids don’t like cricket then you can keep changing the format till your blue in the face but they still won’t like it.
You’ve got to show cricket on free to watch tv and get kids from inner city schools playing the game. Hoping to get 60 /70% new spectators says a lot of Graves view of existing supporters.
Morgan and other mercenaries will say owt for cash
Comment posted by Iguana, at 17:44 14 May 2018
As a young person (though obviously I can't speak for all of us) with only a passing interest in cricket, I can safely say that this does not make me more likely to watch cricket or follow it more closely. Maybe you should focus on listening to your current audience and what they want from the sport, rather than attempting to appeal to a group of people who will probably never be interested.
Comment posted by iggy1987, at 17:47 14 May 2018
This is proof that you are not fit for the office
You are so far removed from what cricket fans want & watch the game for you have cannot possibly know what is good for the game
You are just obsessed in money & creating a structure where the majority of counties rely on ECB handouts so you bribe the counties to get half baked ideas like this passed
You are turning the great game into a farce
Comment posted by Philip, at 17:36 14 May 2018
Given the chance kids will play and love cricket as much as any previous generation
Comment posted by BRIAN666, at 17:31 14 May 2018
THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GET YOUNG PEOPLE INTO CRICKET - MORE OF AN EMPHASIS OF CRICKET IN SCHOOLS AT THE MOST GRASSROOTS LEVEL WOULD BE A START.
Comment posted by London girl, at 17:38 14 May 2018
the reason young people are not getting involved in cricket because there no cricket on Free-view TV there not being introduce to when young. also if they want fans get the big football teams to sponsor 20/20 teams
Comment posted by rjsnell86, at 17:37 14 May 2018
@4 spot on.

For the chairman of the ECB to say that "young people are just not attracted to cricket", its quite incredible for him to put that in the public domain, even if the data backs him up. Cricket sold its soul to Sky and is reaping the rewards.

Protectionism of the "big 3" is also coming back to bite. Killing cricket. Say what you like abt Blatter but he expanded football worldwide.

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