Fans given a chance to shape cricket's future
In February this year, the ICC Board decided to commission a comprehensive international research study to help ICC and its Members develop a deeper understanding of consumer attitudes towards Test, ODI and T20I cricket as part of its wider commitment to providing leadership on the promotion of all forms of international cricket.
Public interest in cricket as a whole is at an all-time high and we are very fortunate to have three formats of the international game. Recent discussions involving our Board, Chief Executives' Committee and Cricket Committee have highlighted the strategic importance of effectively balancing Test, ODI and T20I cricket so that they complement rather than cannibalise each other.
We know intuitively that different groups of people have varying levels of interest in the three formats and that these attitudes are evolving but we want to find out more about why people follow certain formats and events and what motivates them to attend live cricket, watch at home or keep in touch with the game by other means.
The research will help us draw out the key features of the three formats in the eyes of sports fans and enable us to tailor future promotional plans to match these expectations.
At a time when several innovations are under discussion it will also give us an opportunity to test consumer attitudes to initiatives such as day/night Test cricket and a second batting powerplay in ODIs.
While this project is focused on effective promotion rather than changes to the international calendar, it will provide timely support to ongoing discussions on the context of international cricket and give us an important evidence base for future decisions.
As well as speaking to fans in major cricket-playing countries across five continents we are also using this as an opportunity to enhance our understanding of two countries that have been talked about a lot in recent times, the USA and China. Cricket already has a foothold in the USA so we will be looking for ideas that may help us accelerate the profile of the sport in that country. In China it's a different story with the development of cricket in its very early stages.
The timing of this project is also good from an organisational perspective as we will feed the research into a strategic planning process which is well underway. Our current strategic plan runs through to the end of 2010 and this feedback from fans, when combined with inputs from other stakeholders, will give us a strong evidence base upon which to build a long-term strategy for the ICC and the international game.