Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Waldegrave
from News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We're in the middle almost of the international summer of cricket,
which feels very bizarre to say. On October the twenty
second five games down not completed. Of course, Australia has
already gone home. We've got England at Eden Park tomorrow night.
I was looking at the ticket sales earlier. They are
diabolically bad. I know New Zealand cricket. We're doing a
(00:33):
special deal to cut the price on them and trinkets
and fans through the gate. It's probably going to rain regardless,
but two of the four matches played so far have
ring rained out. We have some really good crowds at
Hagley over but I'm not feeling the passion. In fact,
the other night I got kind of bored halfway through,
and I would never have done that watching international cricket,
(00:54):
especially New Zealand and England previous to this point. Are
we still as passionate about international cricket as we once were?
No better man to help me discuss this and get
to the bottom of it than the co founder of
the Beige Brigade, the Black Caps supporters group of Cause.
Paul Ford joining us on News Talk ZB Paul House things.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Yeah, they think things are good. Things are good. My
house has a bland away in Mellington, so you know,
small mercy.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
That is a positive. As a cricket fan, one of
the highest profile in the country. How are you dealing
with the fact we're five matches down and we're still
not finished October yet in this spring of cricket, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Well it would be great if we've had some cricket
to watch, but yeah, I mean, and some of it's
been tough going and there's some of that's been non existent. Yeah,
looks it's been a frustrating start to the spring of cricket.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I would say, is this just the way it goes
now that we're going to have to play in October
and deal with the patchy weather that is going on
around the country because this is our lot when it
comes to what's being served up in the calendar.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Look, I think there is definitely an element of New
Zealand just the economic position that our cricket is in,
just our I guess our power on the on the
world stage is that we're a cork on an ocean,
a raging ocean of cricket scheduling, and so you know,
we're going to bobble around it. We're going to take
(02:16):
what we can get. And I guess it's the alternative
is we're not going to be playing Australia in October
and we're not going to be playing England and October
when are we going to be playing them? And the
answer is, well, then we're not available to play you guys.
I think we've just got to take it. As frustrating
as that.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Is, That's the thing, isn't it. Because if we don't,
if we say actually no, we don't, we don't want
these in October, it's not good for our weather, it's
not good for fans getting through the gate. Then we're
left with maybe a West Indies tour in November December
and then five T twenties against South Africa in the
back end of the sum when everyone's back at work.
So is it a case of you know, you got
to you gotta basically lump it?
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, Look, I think look and it is. It's pretty
bare and right. The last couple of summers have been
really I think this is there's a big problem around
reclaiming the New Zealand Somma for Cricket and Great Cricket.
What can be done? You know, if we can't have
big international teams come and play in that window because
they are running their own tours, the ashes is on
(03:15):
all that kind of stuff, then you know, can we
take control of our summer here in New Zealand through
through a fantastic competition of our own. Can we beef
up the super Smash? I don't know, but there's got
to be something that we can do, which means that
we're not just sort of saying you know what, I
We'll just we'll end up having like these book ND
too is a little bit in the middle and then
(03:36):
kind of nothing in the in the in high summer.
So yeah, look, I think it is our lot, but
I'd love to see a bit more proactivity around us,
in particular reclaiming that summer.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Do you reckon? That's why they're looking at potentially putting
in a or looking at a big bash license from
across the tows And.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Then yeah, it does seem like there's some thinking going on,
which is which is good. But I know we've been
talking about that big best thing I think for about
a decade so what are that What are the economics
on that? Look, I don't know. I like the idea
that we're trying to do something different. That idea, in particular,
I'm not so sure about because it basically will mean
that our domestic cricket, which is happening in January and
(04:16):
February and is that kind of the only game in town,
means that it drops down. It would drop down another run,
there'd be a bunch of players that were off playing
in that tournament, which would mean that our domestic game
is even more hollowed out. And so I'm not sure
that that's the answer. As much as and just being honest,
I would fill on the couch and watch that. Absolutely,
I would fly over and watch those games. I love to,
(04:38):
But I'm not sure that that's the golden ticket for
for what I mean. I think this is about we
want cricket to connect with the next generation of fans
and get kind of addicted to it like we did.
And that means you've got to be on the embankments.
You've got to be soaking it up on you, you know,
your summer Saturdays and Fridays and getting out to games
(04:59):
and watching them with your mates and getting the buzz
out of the game. And I do worry that if
we're not doing that when people are on holiday and
want to you know, putting their feed up in January.
It makes me nervous for the future of the game
for sure.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, it does worry me when I see those empty
seats tomorrow night and I was looking around the map
at Eton Park and it's you know, basically two thirds
to get still available. And this is you know, potentially
one of the marquee matchups of the summer or bigot
in October New Zealand England. That's one you circle in
the diary at the start of the summer. But it's
a Thursday night, it's in October, the weather may not
be flash the recipes there for Calamity for New Zealand Cricket,
(05:36):
you know.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And people did that like Hagley. Yeah, it was sold out,
you know, and that it had all the makings of
a fantastic series on paper. England have seen out a
pretty damn good team and I think there's a bit
of nervousness that they might have seen out, you know,
a weaker team and not taken it quite as seriously
as they have and I think that's that's great. So
they're a real draw card the way they play. I
(05:59):
do think that people have gotten nervous about the weather,
so yeah, I think that that is definitely a fact
for people. But yeah, it's Eden Park, you know, Auckland.
You guys, you've got to get out and get get
along too the games because you don't get too many,
so you've got to get out there and make the
most of it.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Well, they don't get Test cricket either, and I worry
when T twenty is not getting the people going, how
do we get people into test cricket, which you know,
you know, I think T twenty should be a gateway
drug to test cricket, which for me remains the ultimate.
But when they're not watching T twenty cricket, it's hard
to take them onto the Do I say that harder stuff?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah? T twenty is absolutely, you know, the gateway drug.
I think that's I think that's right, you know, I
think it's David Legant a million years ago called it
the you know, the hamburger game. It's burger than fries cricket,
which is you know, it sounds like you the other night,
not not quite getting it's stuck into it, as you
may be previously did, and just letting it wash over you.
I think that's okay though, because I think lots of
(06:58):
people that is how they will you know, get their
interest peaked in cricket, will be better. TEA twenty games
on and there's a hell of a lot of stuff
going on and there's not not all that all that downtime.
But yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think T twenty
is the future. The people want what the people want,
and if we look around the world and look at
(07:20):
where the bums on seats are and where the where
the eyeballs are going, it is on T twenty cricket.
How can it be leveraged to guarantee, you know, the
continued survival and relevance of test cricket. I think that
this is about taking control of the cricket schedule, making
sure that all of the teams are playing cricket that's relevant,
(07:41):
that's part of a cycle that leads into a World Cup,
that is just relevant to all of these matches, so
that things so that games aren't just sort of happening
and that are kind of meaningless out in the eather,
kind of a warm up game for the Ashes or
warm up games for an upcoming T twenty competition. How
can we make the competitions a bit more relevant and
(08:02):
carve out some schedules so that at least it feels
like things getting more of a fair goal at the
different formats.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
As we touched on earlier. I mean, how culpable is
New Zealand cricket and all of this or is it
an ICC problem?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
We'll actually see its effectively just an events company these days.
That's really kind of what they what they do. I mean,
if they're not taking control of the schedule and that
is that is really what they're doing it. It does
feel like it's been left to individual countries to negotiate
and we've done a good job I think of staying
friendly with the powers that be in some of those
big commercially monstrous country so you know, credit there. But
(08:41):
I think, yeah, we are complicit. I think in the
schedule slipping away, where are we actively lobbying for you know,
relevant cricket to be played? Are we are we actively
lobbying to get you know, to ensure that whenever a
game is played that it's been built, it's building up
as part of a broader competition and giving every single
(09:03):
cricket match that's played in international cricket relevance. Are we
lobbying to make sure that there are windows for international
cricket where all the best players are available to play
the best players. I'm not sure. I wonder if we're
being a bit passive and a bit polite and a
bit key we about it.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Paul Forward, are you still as passionate about international cricket
as you were when you founded the Base Brigade?
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Look? Yeah, I think I am. And weirdly, you know,
only a few years after the Base Brigade was sounded
with that first T twenty, the first ever of T
twenty that we've just celebrated twenty years off, and you
know that it was all a bit of a laugh,
and you know what, you know, who cares and all
that kind of stuff. And now obviously it's become the
enormous part of the cricket ecosystem. And I do keep
(09:48):
a really close eye on the T twenty. So I've
probably fallen more in love with that. That doesn't mean
I've fallen out of love with Test cricket. That will
always be the thing that I that I follow most closely.
I do think there's a thing that happens though. Whatever
the cricket you watched when you're about twenty is probably
that's sort of how you expect cricket to be for
the rest of your life, and it's not. It evolves,
(10:09):
and that's okay because you know, if you think about
our dance, they were probably they were probably of the
generation where they were going, oh my god, you know,
one day cricket's going to destroy cricket. Now where the
generation that's going, ah, T twenty cricket's going to destroy cricket.
I don't think it is. It's going to be if
we can get the schedule under control, if we can
make things commercially viable across a whole bunch of countries,
(10:32):
I think it'll be fine. It'll just change. It will
just be different, and that's okay.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
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