Jonathan Liew, in the Telegraph on Monday, wrote an interesting article about the Big Bash. Apparently, the Tasmanian element of the Bash is a team called the Hobart Hurricanes, who get the smallest crowds of all grounds, not helped by the residents of Launceston, who don't fancy supporting a team with 'Hobart' in its title or the 6-hour round trip to watch them. He also re-iterated the problem that, whereas two-thirds of Australians live in the six cities hosting the tournament, the same does not apply in this country.
No thought seems to have been given to how all these new fans will get to the matches, apart from those in the cities themselves. As county fans, we all make an effort to travel to see our team: our own journey to watch Durham is about 50 minutes by car, but would be much longer by public transport (10 minutes walk plus 25 minutes on the 'bus, just to get to Darlington to catch the train) and some of you have even longer journeys. Is it likely that people who have never bothered with cricket before will suddenly devote themselves to a four-hour round trip to watch a couple of hours of sport played by a collection of individuals who may have nothing at all to do with the name of the team? Existing local rivalries will also come to the fore: will you be able to persuade Liverpudlians to go and watch a team called Manchester? Because if you can't, you'll never fill the ground.
Lynda and Steve
