High Stakes
South African cricket needs the January T20 league to succeed.
Mark Boucher, Temba Bavuma and the rest of the Proteas are disappointed that the ODI series against Australia in Australia will not happen. But, they also understand what is at stake.
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15 000 a day. That was Kerry Packer's estimate. Packer had reason to be confident of that figure. His teams, WSC Australia and WSC West Indies boasted the best players of that era, Ian and Greg Chappel, Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Rick McCosker, and Andy Roberts. They were great cricketers and the Australian public loved them.
Vern Stone, World Series Cricket's general manager, had a higher figure. He thought 50 000 spectators would walk through the VFL Park's gates every day of the Supertest. John Cornell, one of the architects of World Series Cricket, had a lower estimate: 30 000 spectators. Richie Benaud, retired Australian captain and chief commentator for the WSC, had been more conservative: he thought maybe 8000 spectators would turn up.
Only 2847 people attended the first day of the Supertest. To say day one was a flop would be an understatement. It was a dud. Somehow, even the journalists present at the VFL Park missed the toss, which was superintended by Gary Sobers.
The ticket sales did not even cover the catering bill for the VIPs, which was almost AUD$18 000.
Cricket South Africa does not want this situation when they launch their yet-to-be-named T20 league. They want to set the tone from the first ball. Like Packer, they need all the stars they can get at their disposal. Packer lured superstars with massive contracts, worth between AUD $20 - AUD $30 000. At the time, Ian Chappell made around $5 000 a season.
According to The Daily Maverick, the yet-to-be-named T20 league will have a 'player budget of $1.5-million per franchise. That is the second-highest budget behind the IPL, and more than other global T20 leagues such as Australia’s Big Bash League.'
In addition to the competitive contracts, CSA also hopes to attract top players from overseas with the prospect of competing against South Africa’s best players.
CSA is throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, into making their yet-to-be-named T20 league a success. If the league is a success, the sacrifice made by forfeiting the three-match ODI series against Australia would have been worth it.
CSA is forfeiting the points, not by choice, but because they have been backed into a corner. They asked for a postponement of the series and tabled three alternative dates. But, Cricket Australia was unaccommodating. There is more at stake, much more than the 30 Super League points on offer, so CSA had to walk away from the series.
It's all hands on deck to make the yet-to-be-named T20 league a success.
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With the yet-to-be-named T20 league, CSA is fighting for survival. Literally.
When England (December 2020) and Australia (February 2021) cancelled their white-ball tours to South Africa, they left CSA in a huge financial hole. The board has had to put in place cost-cutting measures to ease the pressure. But, cost-cutting measures alone are not enough, CSA needed to find a way to earn money, in addition to the ways already in place.
Cricket South Africa has three revenue streams: broadcasting rights, ICC funding and corporate sponsorship.
ICC funding is not a lot, even if you add the money they would get from qualifying to the group stage of the ODI World Cup. Without a doubt, at the moment, CSA will treasure any little bit of income.
The Proteas no longer have the financial backing of behemoths like Castle or Castle’s successors, Standard Bank. So, there is not much by way of corporate sponsorship. It goes without saying that the success of this T20 league will help in attracting sponsors.
CSA will have a viable product to attract backers with. As things stand, the Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, as well as a consortium led by former England star Kevin Pietersen, have expressed interest in owning franchises in the yet-to-be-named T20 league.
Which leaves broadcasting rights. But, not all broadcasting rights are equal. 85% of CSA’s revenue is generated by the Proteas. A large chunk of that is from the Proteas playing either England, Australia or India at home. When they host anyone else, they stand to make a loss. Sometimes, if they are lucky, they break even. When the Proteas travel, CSA makes nothing. Host boards pocket the broadcasting rights money.
In their book, Crickonomics, Tim Wigmore and Stefan Szymanski say, ‘When the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed professional sport for several months, a funny thing happened: many international boards saved money. Unless Australia, England or India are involved, almost all bilateral international games lose money.’
On average, countries make a loss of around $500 000 when they host Tests. Except, of course, when they host one of the big three. Ireland, the recent addition to the Test playing nations, is still yet to host a Test. Ireland cancelled their 2020 home Test against Bangladesh after they realised that the Test would cost €1 million, while there was ‘little expectation of creating revenue streams to cover the costs.’
No one is ready to host Ireland. There is no money to be made. So, Ireland has Test status, but can’t afford to play Tests.
CSA is one of the boards that saved money during the Covid-forced break. During the first year of the Covid-forced break, CSA did not just save money, they actually realised a profit. CSA made a R50m profit. Part of the reason for this profit was because the Proteas did not tour the West Indies. It costs CSA an arm and a leg to tour the West Indies.
Besides bleeding money in all other bilaterals, CSA does not make any money from domestic cricket either. CSA spends about R250m to keep the 15 provinces operational. Only two are in a better financial position. They break even.
After the Covid-forced break, CSA needed to host one of the big three to generate income, sufficient income to keep the game running in SA. After being jilted by England and Australia, CSA was desperate for India to tour South Africa. When India postponed the four-match T20 series, South Africa lost out on up to R200m.
With fast dwindling reserves and no income, this was not ideal.
Things could have gotten worse for CSA had India cancelled the Test and ODI series. Many fans don’t realise just how important India’s tour to South Africa was. Put simply, the tour helped CSA to stall the fast-approaching D-Day. Debt day.
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‘In 2018, the ECB’s annual strategic report included the ‘status of Test cricket’ as a major threat to its future financial stability for the first time,’ write Wigmore and Szymanski. The ECB was worried that their home summer’s value depended on the quality of opposition they played. Every two years, out of four, when Australia and India did not tour in England, the ECB suffered a shortfall.
The Hundred was created as a response to these worries. ‘The ECB hoped that The Hundred would generate the same amounts of money every year as they did when Australia and India toured, creating less volatile revenue streams.’
South Africa suffers a shortfall every three out of four years, the period when India does not tour South Africa. The inbound India tour, which comes around once every four years, subsidises the three loss-making years.
The yet-to-be-named T20 league is an attempt by CSA to do what the ECB is doing with The Hundred. The only difference is that CSA is in dire financial straits. CSA can no longer depend on the windfall that comes from hosting India once every four years. It is not a sustainable model.
Cricket is at a turning point. Fan and spectator interest is shifting from international matches and is gravitating towards franchises. Broadcasters are investing heavily in them. From 2018 onwards, the BCCI earned 71% of its broadcasting rights revenue from the IPL. That figure is rising. Fast.
In the year 2000, about 90% of cricket’s money came from bilateral tours and other international matches. Only 10% came from domestic cricket.
More than 20 years later, more than half of cricket’s wealth comes from domestic cricket, especially the numerous T20 leagues littered around the world. With the IPL’s continued growth and increasing investment into T20 leagues, the percentage will grow. In the past, international cricket financed domestic leagues. At present, T20 leagues finance international cricket. The tables have turned.
South Africa has been slow to catch up to this trend. Part of the reason could be because of the conservatism the country embodies.
South Africa is a conservative nation when it comes to cricket. Old school values rule. That is why it took CSA so long to have some sort of framework to deal with ‘free agent’ cricketers. West Indies saw the light early on and created a framework just before the 2016 T20 World Cup.
The other reason could be plain old mismanagement. CSA has had two failed attempts at creating a competitive T20 franchise league. The first one, the T20 Global League, collapsed under a cloud of controversy. The second one, the Mzansi Super League collapsed after two seasons. The MSL was not financially viable.
Whatever the reason, maybe the third time will be a charm. A lot is riding on the success of the yet-to-be-named T20 league.
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