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Can an English victory spark a renaissance in cricket interest in the UK?

TheNightWatchman

TheNightWatchman

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This post is in accordance to what [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] posted earlier about how there has been a severe lack of interest of this World Cup in England. So much so that must of the population isn't even aware that a world cup is going on and that their home team is in the final. Last year there was all this commotion of 'its coming home' in football but none whatsoever for cricket. The non south east Asian community just doesn't seem to care. Alot of it is due to cricket being locked up on sky and not on free tv and a multitude of reasons explained by [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]. http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...p-This-World-Cup-was-%93Made-for-Indian-TV%94
But the final will be shown to the masses on free to air TV. Could this possibly entice the masses? It will air at the same time as the Wimbledon final and the formula 1 grand prix so new viewership will be tough to gain.

The Ashes 2005 was the last time I reckon that the English cared about cricket and dare I say was the only time cricket became more popular than football in England-but it all went down hill from there and nobody could capitilise on it. This WC win will be bigger than the ashes and the only reason I'm hoping for an English win is so that cricket can become popular in that part of the world again.
Hard to believe this was 14 years ago!! Remember this victory like it was yesterday!
 
There will be euphoria for a few weeks and then everything will be back to normal.Football and rugby are the main sports in England.Cricket will not die out but it will not be as big as football.I live in small place.Our local cricket club was founded in 1783 and it is still going strong.It is nice way to spend time outdoors on a green at weekends.
 
Artaxerxes said:
There will be euphoria for a few weeks and then everything will be back to normal.Football and rugby are the main sports in England.Cricket will not die out but it will not be as big as football.I live in small place.Our local cricket club was founded in 1783 and it is still going strong.It is nice way to spend time outdoors on a green at weekends.
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cricket is an expensive sport compared to football or rubgy even. So it won't attract the cream of the crop athletes imo.
rugby and football also offer scholarships. cricket is more prestige oriented and is played by people from a posh background.
 
emranabbas said:
Cricket is dead in England, it was and it will always be.
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Dont think I understand what you are writing - Cricket is played in every corner of England - we are confusing it with number of people watching it.
 
Cricket isn't a popular sport in England and it has never been and it will never be.
Football is way ahead in popularity so is rugby, MAJORITY of British people just don't have interest in cricket. When you mention cricket to anyone, first thing that comes to their mind is test cricket. It's too long, it's boring etc... I dont think people even know that T20 or odi even exist.
 
emranabbas said:
Cricket is dead in England, it was and it will always be.
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emranabbas said:
Cricket isn't a popular sport in England and it has never been and it will never be.
Football is way ahead in popularity so is rugby, MAJORITY of British people just don't have interest in cricket. When you mention cricket to anyone, first thing that comes to their mind is test cricket. It's too long, it's boring etc... I dont think people even know that T20 or odi even exist.
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Absolute hogwash, not even worth the time of a detailed reply.
 
As much as I love Fifa worldcup, don't get the whole obsession of England or Europe in general over just one game of football (soccer). Football to me seems boring over 90 minutes, I mean other than shooting at goals, nothing much happens in it. American sports (minus base ball) are much more interesting and fun to watch.
 
A renaissance seems too far-fetched but maybe a WC win might encourage some kids to pick up a bat and ball and inspire new generation of cricketers in the UK.
 
Kriketer said:
As much as I love Fifa worldcup, don't get the whole obsession of England or Europe in general over just one game of football (soccer). Football to me seems boring over 90 minutes, I mean other than shooting at goals, nothing much happens in it. American sports (minus base ball) are much more interesting and fun to watch.
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True. That's why boring soccer will never become mainstream in the USA.
 
emranabbas said:
Cricket isn't a popular sport in England and it has never been and it will never be.
Football is way ahead in popularity so is rugby, MAJORITY of British people just don't have interest in cricket. When you mention cricket to anyone, first thing that comes to their mind is test cricket. It's too long, it's boring etc... I dont think people even know that T20 or odi even exist.
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Cricket is the national sport of England.

Football is the most popular sport of England.

I have seen more girls play cricket after England Women's won the WC, and the new 100 format is a testament to this.

There is no doubt if England win today, there will be a resurgence of Cricket nationwide. How long this resurgence lasts is another question, but there is no doubt Cricket will become popular if England win today.
 
Kriketer said:
As much as I love Fifa worldcup, don't get the whole obsession of England or Europe in general over just one game of football (soccer). Football to me seems boring over 90 minutes, I mean other than shooting at goals, nothing much happens in it. American sports (minus base ball) are much more interesting and fun to watch.
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Football is 90 minutes which is even shorten than a T20 match.
Football is easier to understand compared to cricket.
There's more excitement in football where things are happening every minute compared to cricket which is long and looks boring to people who aren't cricket enthusiasts.
 
AdamM97 said:
Football is 90 minutes which is even shorten than a T20 match.
Football is easier to understand compared to cricket.
There's more excitement in football where things are happening every minute compared to cricket which is long and looks boring to people who aren't cricket enthusiasts.
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Another point is the football started off as a working class sport, and Cricket started off as an elitist sport.
 
AdamM97 said:
Football is 90 minutes which is even shorten than a T20 match.
Football is easier to understand compared to cricket.
There's more excitement in football where things are happening every minute compared to cricket which is long and looks boring to people who aren't cricket enthusiasts.
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What is happening every minute? Players are running back and forth kicking the ball from one goal post to another over and over again with just 1-2 goals in 90 minutes. Is that what you call something is happening every minute ?
 
hafeezrocks said:
What is happening every minute? Players are running back and forth kicking the ball from one goal post to another over and over again with just 1-2 goals in 90 minutes. Is that what you call something is happening every minute ?
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There's all sorts of things happening. Tiki-taka, shots, dribbling, tackles, goals, offsides etc. These are just a few examples.
 
No, it'd only be short lived.

To sustain the interest, there needs to be more exposure on FTA TV than a few one off events.

The reason why ECB are reluctant to do that, and even spent £500k lobbying against the Ashes being relisted as a protected event that MUST be shown on FTA by law, is because the debt ridden Counties need the Sky money.

That's the reason. I'd argue English cricket CANNOT sustain 18 Counties but that's another debate.
 
Cricket has already picked up in England over the past few years. This is because of popularity of T20.
But yes, a World Cup will definitely help in creating awareness.
I think Test cricket will just die globally soon - perhaps only high profile series like Ashes, England-India, Australia-India, Australia-NZ will survive.
 
Cricket is not a populist sport like football. Winning the world cup won't change that fact. But that doesn't mean cricket isn't popular. It is. Cricket is played in every corner of the country. And now the sport is rapidly growing in Ireland and Scotland. With the World Test Championship and the World Cricket League, I think cricket isn't just here to stay, but will keep growing around the world. And test matches will continue being played in front of full houses in England.
 
Markhor said:
No, it'd only be short lived.

To sustain the interest, there needs to be more exposure on FTA TV than a few one off events.

The reason why ECB are reluctant to do that, and even spent £500k lobbying against the Ashes being relisted as a protected event that MUST be shown on FTA by law, is because the debt ridden Counties need the Sky money.

That's the reason. I'd argue English cricket CANNOT sustain 18 Counties but that's another debate.
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This is a key point. Exposure on FTA TV most certainly is a contributing factor no doubt.
 
cricketfan11 said:
Cricket has already picked up in England over the past few years. This is because of popularity of T20.
But yes, a World Cup will definitely help in creating awareness.
I think Test cricket will just die globally soon - perhaps only high profile series like Ashes, England-India, Australia-India, Australia-NZ will survive.
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Where's the popularity? I'm yet to see a county cricket club have a fanbase like football clubs do. Even Championship and League 1 clubs has more fans than a county cricket club. Cricket is only something Brits watch for fun's sake, not that there's anything wrong with that.

As many have stated, cricket was made more the British elite class and it made a mistake by not being inclusive and didn't encourage the working class to play it like football did.
 
Young white kids are not interested in cricket and that wont change because of the WC simply 99% of those same kids either didnt know there was a WC or if they knew, they showed no interest.
 
AdamM97 said:
Where's the popularity? I'm yet to see a county cricket club have a fanbase like football clubs do. Even Championship and League 1 clubs has more fans than a county cricket club. Cricket is only something Brits watch for fun's sake, not that there's anything wrong with that.

As many have stated, cricket was made more the British elite class and it made a mistake by not being inclusive and didn't encourage the working class to play it like football did.
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I never said it is or will ever be as successful as football.
But you do see more and more kids attending T20 matches and a lot more T20 being played.
Plus the success of the England team has made a difference.
 
Cricket is more popular with the middle class and upward in u.k, the reason why it’s not as popular in the uk because from what I’ve seen majority of the working class youth have no interest in cricket.
 
England have become quite an exciting side to watch in recent times, I think it coincided with the emergence of Morgan and KP before that. It won't generate mass interest, but I think it will definitely get a few more casual fans interested where previously test cricket would have bored them rigid. I am seeing a lot more coverage in the press over the last week, although some writers seem to think the cup has already been won.
 
Nado_ said:
Cricket is more popular with the middle class and upward in u.k, the reason why it’s not as popular in the uk because from what I’ve seen majority of the working class youth have no interest in cricket.
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The weather makes a huge difference, most year it is either too cold or too rainy.
But again over past few years England has been getting longer and drier summers so this will again help.
 
cricketfan11 said:
The weather makes a huge difference, most year it is either too cold or too rainy.
But again over past few years England has been getting longer and drier summers so this will again help.
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Yh weather is a big factor too, but even in uk if you look at the working class Pakistani areas you’ll see kids playing with wind ball in the local concrete park etc , but in other English working class areas you’ll only see them playing football.

If England had the working class talent playing cricket too, it may become unstoppable.
 
I know what you mean,
Terms like "working" or "middle" class don't get mentioned routinely in British society any more though.
It is to do with many things - cricket is an expensive sport to enjoy so wealth does come into it.
You don't need much more than a football and good footwear to play football but cricket is obviously not like that.
 
No, if England win today they may well win a few new fans. But how many of them will be able to continue watching their future matches when they go back to pay tv?
 
Seems to be more interest in the netball world cup than the cricket world cup.
 
Saj said:
Seems to be more interest in the netball world cup than the cricket world cup.
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Solely due to it being show on BBC. I cant stress how important it is for cricket to be shown on FTA in this country for it to gain some exposure and popularity within the english masses.
 
Hopefully it does.

It would be great for the game. Part of the reason the ECB are gunning for the Hundred is that it would likely be on FTA.
 
No.

Channel 4 needs to buy the rights for home Test matches again. Sky Sports and BT sports have destroyed interest in cricket
 
Hopefully. England really has to embrace the limited overs formats to keep cricket alive. It's hard for kids to associate with something they don't play. Even the small portion of schools who actually play cricket (which are often public schools), hardly anyone plays a 5 day test match lol, it's not feasible. Test cricket will have popularity as a format if cricket as a whole gets good support in England but when you don't have that gateway format, then there's an issue.

Something also needs to be done to encourage a style of play anyone can play. Not just those who have a big cricket ground and a proper cricket pitch with all the equipment. Maybe indoor cricket and using a softer ball. This is difficult as I realise the safety implications, but this is why countries like India and Pakistan have large cricket followings, they play with anything. It needs to become accessible, football and rugby are far more accessible and can be successfully altered to adapt to the public e.g. 5 a side football, touch rugby.

Not being free to air hurts cricket, but I don't understand why they can't at least make some T20s free to air. A way to get interest in the public, the hardcore fans will pay for sky sports and watch the other formats over T20 anyway. And T20s a better time scale to be shown on tv rather than taking up entire day. I'm sure sky sports aren't making as much money from T20s in England, and sure Free to air would be able to do much more with it.
 
If it can even get 5% people more of playing, it can be considered a success :)
 
Nado_ said:
Cricket is more popular with the middle class and upward in u.k, the reason why it’s not as popular in the uk because from what I’ve seen majority of the working class youth have no interest in cricket.
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It's just too expensive for the average Joe tbh.
The kit itself costs £150 to buy.
Football overall is a much cheaper sport.
 
No.

Nothing will change, cricket is hidden behind a paywall, facilities outside of private schools or grammar schools are non existent, most parts of Britain don't even have a turf pitch...I could go on and on. The game is dead and reserved for a tiny elite.
 
Lol to them who never been to England and guessing Rugby is way more popular than cricket and on par with Football.
Rugbys popularity is not way more, its on par with cricket. Football no.1 by miles..!!
 
There will be a lot of interest in The Ashes.
A recent online poll amongst English cricket fans said they would rather win the The Ashes than the World Cup.
If England win today there will be some interest but ODI cricket has not got the same hold here in England as it does in other parts of the world.
The impact of the absence of free to air cricket cannot be overestimated.
 
TNAmarkFromIndia said:
Won't grow much there either with that champion rugby side.
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Who is saying Cricket to replace Rugby in NZ or Soccer in the UK?

Pls..'the most popular sport' is not the only sport in a country.
If cricket(2nd most popular team based sport in nz) can close the gap between it and rugby, its fine enough.

To say cricket will replace Rugby in NZ would be disrespectfull. Its like canadian saying Hockey will replace Cricket in Ind again lol!
 
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Saj said:
Seems to be more interest in the netball world cup than the cricket world cup.
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Funny joke Saj. I've not once heard of the netball WC till this post.

I think the win won't create a renaissance however it will definitely help build interest. If ECB was a bit more lenient with what should be on FTA then it would help massively. All WC, WT20 and Test Championship games should be on FTA.
 
I don't cricket could've gotten a better advert than it today on FTA TV.
 
WC-Passion said:
Funny joke Saj. I've not once heard of the netball WC till this post.

I think the win won't create a renaissance however it will definitely help build interest. If ECB was a bit more lenient with what should be on FTA then it would help massively. All WC, WT20 and Test Championship games should be on FTA.
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And also people should stop comparing cricket to Football. No we arent competing with soccer, especially in Eng. Cricket was never a more popular sport here than Soccer since 1940s..lol. But at least Cricket was moderately popular pre 2000 and one breif time in 2005. Being the 2nd best team based sport in UK was not a poor claims by english cricket back in those days. People used to care about the sport and some players were household names but now none of the players are known. Many fathers who used to watch cricket at young age sadly says hes son doesnt know about it. In the 1980s cricket was the only thing that was on tv during the day there were a handful of stations that were available during the day and suddenly this game was the one to watch after 14 years.

No cricket is not trying to surpass Soccer but at least could be 2nd feeder like it used to be..
 
No. Cricket will always be a minority Sport in England.
 
It's barely been 4 hours since their win and the hype has already died out.
Love island is at a higher rank in the trends than the WC win
 
The peak viewership for the World Cup final was 8.3 million !

To put into context, the famous 2005 Ashes series had a peak number of 8.4 million.

Great number considering it was competing with a classic Wimbledon final.
 
Markhor said:
The peak viewership for the World Cup final was 8.3 million !

To put into context, the famous 2005 Ashes series had a peak number of 8.4 million.

Great number considering it was competing with a classic Wimbledon final.
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Damn, 8.3 million is a good number. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]
 
Markhor said:
The peak viewership for the World Cup final was 8.3 million !

To put into context, the famous 2005 Ashes series had a peak number of 8.4 million.

Great number considering it was competing with a classic Wimbledon final.
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Link?

And numbers for Wimbledon and F1 ?
 
hafeezrocks said:
Link?

And numbers for Wimbledon and F1 ?
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Cricinfo. 8.3m is the combined figure from Channel 4 and Sky.

Wimbledon peak was 9.6m on BBC and 3.7m for F1 which was also C4/Sky simulcast.

Lots of folks were channel hopping though, and the figures don't take into account those watching in clubs and fanzones.
 
Markhor said:
The peak viewership for the World Cup final was 8.3 million !

To put into context, the famous 2005 Ashes series had a peak number of 8.4 million.

Great number considering it was competing with a classic Wimbledon final.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Not bad figures for Cricket and fans couldn't have asked for a better game than this.
 
Markhor said:
Cricinfo. 8.3m is the combined figure from Channel 4 and Sky.

Wimbledon peak was 9.6m on BBC and 3.7m for F1 which was also C4/Sky simulcast.

Lots of folks were channel hopping though, and the figures don't take into account those watching in clubs and fanzones.
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That is a very encouraging Number- just need to get the all the 100 back on FTA next year.
 
8.3 million is fantastic. Double what I expected. Get the Ashes on Channel 4.
 
Anik Sharma said:
And also people should stop comparing cricket to Football. No we arent competing with soccer, especially in Eng. Cricket was never a more popular sport here than Soccer since 1940s..lol. But at least Cricket was moderately popular pre 2000 and one breif time in 2005. Being the 2nd best team based sport in UK was not a poor claims by english cricket back in those days. People used to care about the sport and some players were household names but now none of the players are known. Many fathers who used to watch cricket at young age sadly says hes son doesnt know about it. In the 1980s cricket was the only thing that was on tv during the day there were a handful of stations that were available during the day and suddenly this game was the one to watch after 14 years.

No cricket is not trying to surpass Soccer but at least could be 2nd feeder like it used to be..
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Cricket is still the second biggest sport in the UK, many more people were interested in the Cricket WC online and in my area than they were in the Rugby WC, for example. Not many people who are young are into tennis, imo it's worse off than Cricket in-terms of having an ageing fanbase. I've not heard anyone talk about Wimbledon and when my teacher decided to on Wimbledon instead of giving a lecture or making us do exam papers, nobody really knew who the guys playing were or what the context of the game was. The issue with Cricket is that the viewing figures have dropped significantly as Sky has took over everything in the last decade the prices are way too high for casual or even dedicated viewers of the sport. The final brought more attention than any of the other events including the F1 and Tennis combined, which shows the potential Cricket has for a huge FTA audience/demand.
 
I’m hoping yesterday’s win and how England has played throughout the tournament has inspired young fans
For me, it’s the perfect platform to bring new fans in, especially with the Hundred draft later in the year and the launch next summer

Perfect opportunity to get some more fans on board from the next generation which would be massive for England cricket
 
Spark a Renaissance? You better believe it now, especially after the controversy of the way the final won! Everyone I know is talking about hoe England won!
 
Nope. But it will continue the passion and drive for foreign cricketers looking to migrate and make a name for themselves in England team.
 
It’s all going to a plan for England if you want to revive public interest in cricket here, as just look at the timing, England wins CWC and then has home Ashes Series in the summer, and then next year they are launching a new commercialised and city based T20 tournament, leading to T20 World Cup where they will definitely be strong contenders also.

And they have new blood like Archer who look like the real deal, who did what many Pakistan fans were hoping Hasnain might do.
 
Majid Khan said:
It’s all going to a plan for England if you want to revive public interest in cricket here, as just look at the timing, England wins CWC and then has home Ashes Series in the summer, and then next year they are launching a new commercialised and city based T20 tournament, leading to T20 World Cup where they will definitely be strong contenders also.

And they have new blood like Archer who look like the real deal, who did what many Pakistan fans were hoping Hasnain might do.
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Its 100 ball tournament lol.
 
Cricket is far from dead. Numerous clubs in my local area with age groups from Under 7 up to seniors. It doesn't get the fancy headlines but cricket still sells well. Most test matches are well attended and ODI's and T20's are usually sold out.
 
Down here in the South, Cricket is still a decent summer sport. Spoke of a lot in the offices, numerous local cricket clubs and a lot of competitive cricket. Asians do play it but in the more elite club sides, its still dominated by the White who aspire to get into county sides.
 
The first match at Lord's since the World Cup final was Essex vs Middlesex tonight, and it was a sold out crowd of 28,000 who witnessed AB De Villiers take Essex apart.

Makes you wonder why they couldn't put T20 Blast on FTA TV instead of inventing this new Hundred competition.
 
Markhor said:
The first match at Lord's since the World Cup final was Essex vs Middlesex tonight, and it was a sold out crowd of 28,000 who witnessed AB De Villiers take Essex apart.

Makes you wonder why they couldn't put T20 Blast on FTA TV instead of inventing this new Hundred competition.
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Was that match FTA?
 
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