T20 World Cup: Caribbean Cricket Legacy and Indian TV Dominance
A World Cup in America with an India-Pakistan blockbuster in New York will steal much of the attention but in a cricketing sense it is the legacy it will leave behind in the Caribbean that matters. The United States is years – maybe decades – away from being a serious player in cricket. Its vastness and an overcrowded sports market are huge obstacles to overcome. The India-Pakistan match could have been sold out many times over and will be a grand occasion at its pop-up stadium in New York but it will tell us little about cricket in the United States; it is a match that would sell out in any country in the world.
But in the West Indies cricket matters and its state of health is hugely important. The region will host 39 of the 55 matches, including both semi-finals and final. It will deliver an estimated $25 million in profit for the West Indies board, money that will see it through a couple of lean years in 2025 and 2026 when it is not hosting either India or England. Grounds have been upgraded by governments that bid to host matches. The Kensington Oval, which will host the final, has had a £25 million facelift: pitches and squares have been relaid everywhere and St Vincent has had new LED lights installed. “We are talking a massive legacy for us in terms of facilities,” says Johnny Grave, the chief executive of Cricket West Indies. “And facilities and the expense of those are one of our biggest problems. To host a men’s World Cup and get governments to invest in stadiums that have not had any meaningful investment since 2007 (the 50-over World Cup in West Indies) is massive.”
The worry is that the tournament will be sucked of its Caribbean vibe. The ICC fun squad have a history of corporatising tournaments and were heavily criticised for turning the 2007 West Indies 50-over World Cup into a sterile, joyless affair, banning anything that might upset its sponsors, and there is no doubt that 17 years later this remains a competition made for Indian broadcast television markets, rather than for the local fans. All of India’s matches will start at 10.30am to catch the evening audience at home. If they reach the last four, India are guaranteed to play their semi-final in Guyana because that one is scheduled for a 10.30am start whereas the other last-four match in Trinidad is an evening start time which would be the early hours of the morning in India. Even the final in Barbados on June 29 will be held at 10.30am, rather than in the evening with fireworks under the lights.
Twenty20 is a huge hit in the West Indies. The grounds throw a nighttime party in the Caribbean Premier League and the stands are packed, unlike for Test cricket. But local schoolchildren will be bussed in for free to watch the morning and afternoon midweek matches to boost attendances. There is nothing wrong with that and ironically, given they set the schedules and cause the problem, it is broadcasters who want fans on seats and do not care if they have paid or not. Nothing looks worse than rows of empty bucket seats. “It is probably only the UK that can get big crowds in the morning for midweek games,” says Grave. “But in the Caribbean once you get a couple of thousand school kids and a couple of thousand fans in they can create a better atmosphere than most places around the world. Again it is great for our legacy if we can get 30,000 kids free across the tournament and we turn them into cricket fans.”
The main thing is ensuring the Indian broadcasters are happy which is the result of Disney Star paying $3.2 billion for a four-year deal to show ICC events. “We have to accept if you are going to host a T20 World Cup, and 90 per cent of revenue is coming from India, that it has to be India friendly,” adds Grave. “You have to acknowledge and accept it is not just skewed, it is a market fact – India bring in $3 billion of the rights, the rest combined about $200 million. But if you give us an option of hosting a men’s World Cup with half the games at 10.30am and half at night or not host one at all, we are going to take it. “For the region as a whole you are looking at an economic impact of around $300 million. If we have a good World Cup we will boost $25 million in our coffers and hopefully we are setting ourselves up financially for some lean years. At least we are set up for that now. In the past we were using England and India tours to bail us out and then get back to par and struggle. Now we are going to be well ahead of the curve by the end of this year. The next two years will drain our resources but allow us to continue to make all the investments into our cricket system we need. Hopefully India comes back in 2027 and we’re back up to par again.”
Excitement will build once the cricket starts. West Indies are contenders to win and it always helps if the host team does well. They are fourth in the world T20 rankings whitewashed South Africa and beat England last year.
One battle could be with the weather with the dry months in the West Indies being January to May. Guyana will inevitably be wet and the West Indies’ opening match there on Sunday against Papua New Guinea could be affected, and if that becomes a common theme it could leave bigger teams scrambling for points. There will be conch shells handed out in the stands, the steel drums will be played and carnival performers on the field before play so matches should have a distinctly Caribbean flavour, but just at times when it suits the Indian television market and that is the way of the world.