LONDON: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Cricket Committee has confirmed its unanimous support to the joint bid of International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for bringing women’s cricket for the first time in the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
Australian bowling legend Shane Warne, who is one of the new members of the committee, believes the women’s game deserves increased opportunities to engage new fans after a hugely successful ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies last year and the ODI International Women’s World Cup in England and Wales in 2017.
“It’s a hugely exciting time for women’s cricket after two great World Cups in two years and it’s up to the cricket world and Commonwealth Games Federation to build on that momentum and bring cricket into multi-sport games.
“What’s more, including women’s T20 in the Commonwealth Games will demonstrate that the sport of cricket is inclusive, dynamic and with plenty of opportunities for growth,” Warne said.
FICA, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, recently revealed 81% of women player respondents and 67% of men believe cricket should be in the Olympics, and women’s T20 inclusion in the Commonwealth Games may be the first step on the path to Olympic inclusion.
The sports vying for inclusion at the Games alongside cricket are archery, shooting, para-table tennis and volleyball. The Commonwealth Games Federation and Birmingham 2022 organising committee are expected to announce the sports later this year and ratify them into the competition by September.
The MCC committee, which met in Bengaluru over the weekend, also declared that as per its latest survey, nearly 86% of 13000 cricket fans across 100 countries favoured Test cricket as their preferred format of the game.
The results of the survey supported the findings of the ICC’s first global market research survey, which were announced last year. The ICC found close to 70% of the 19,000 global cricket fans interviewed are interested in Test cricket – with 86% of fans in England and Wales showing interest in the format, more than any other nation.
While over 50% of responders said that they watch every Test match they can, the survey also highlighted some of the key challenges in increasing the attendances at and support of Test cricket, including addressing the cost and availability of tickets to enable more fans to attend, increasing access to Test cricket on free-to-air TV and including half-day tickets to encourage families to attend.
MCC cricket committee chairman Mike Gatting said: “It is important we listen to cricket fans to continue to improve their experience of Test match cricket and address their concerns. We want to see Test cricket continue to thrive, especially as more formats of the sport such as The Hundred and T20 leagues gain popularity.
“Having the support of stars such as Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis will encourage a whole new generation to follow Test cricket. Virat has expressed his commitment to maintaining the position of Test cricket at the top of the sport, while off the back of South Africa’s one-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka Faf insisted such matches demonstrate Test cricket is still the number one format.
“It is easy to see why the format is viewed as the pinnacle of our sport and we want to see it future-proofed and that could include looking at more day/night Tests, which we can see there is a big demand for, especially in Asia.”
The committee is now looking to expand the research and gain deeper understanding of the cricket audience, including commissioning further research with an even broader base and international representation. It will hold a meeting at Lord’s, London in August 2019 for the same.
