NEIL MANTHORP: For short attention span Americans, T20 cricket is just right

The changing face of international cricket is bewildering, depressing and exciting in equal measure depending on your age, background and inclination but the start of the Major League Cricket (MLC) T20 series this week could be the biggest change of all. Until the Saudi League starts, at least.

Cricket has existed in the US since the 1830s but has always been a minor sport. For decades, however, the game’s administrators have hankered after the American market and the billions of dollars in it.

Anand Rajaraman is one of the co-owners of the San Francisco Unicorns and has invested many millions of dollars in the project. Of course, he has many spare millions of dollars to do so but he earned, rather than inherited, all of them.

Having emigrated from India to do a master’s degree in computer science at Stanford University 30 years ago, Rajaraman started from the bottom of the entrepreneurial ladder and worked his way up, fast. He never finished the degree, instead establishing two tech start-up companies which he sold for not inconsiderable amounts to Amazon and Walmart.

His business acumen is unquestionable. His instinct was complemented by the sharpest of minds but, even so, when it came to investing millions of dollars in what is, after all, another “start-up” — but in a field unfamiliar to him — was this an indulgence? Did his passion for cricket compromise his business acumen?

“Probably a bit of both, to be honest,” he said last week. “I grew up in India watching cricket and became hooked on the game when India won the World Cup in 1983. The only reason I got involved is because of my passion for the sport, it’s not a ‘straight line’ tech investment which I would normally make,” Rajaraman said.

“But having said that, there is a good chance this plays out and becomes huge, and not just financially. I will judge success not just by the financial returns but by the popularity of the game. Can we make cricket a mainstream sport in the US? That will define success for me, and the other team owners.”

Having failed to “catch on” previously, why now?

“The key innovation is the length of the game. Of course, we still love Test cricket but I don’t think a game which lasts five days is the right model to bring to the US,” he says with delicious and intentional understatement. “Even one-day cricket is far too long for the American market. T20 cricket is exactly the right package, it’s like a baseball game except there is action all the time, there are no quiet periods, so it’s perfect.

“The US has the biggest sports consumer market in the world and there are huge populations from India and the subcontinent, also from England, Australia and SA, all the cricket-playing countries, ready to watch cricket. There is already a lot of cricket which is streamed online in the US and a lot of data to indicate the potential popularity of this league. So, it makes sense to give them cricket in their own time zone rather than having to sit up through the night to watch it,” Rajaraman said.

He knows it won’t be easy but he, like the other owners — four of whom are Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners — say they are prepared to invest heavily and be patient.

“The first five years will probably be a money-sink, to be honest. It will take time and a lot of investment to get the attention of the advertisers and broadcasters, nobody is jumping up and down to show cricket on prime time. Amazon wasn’t profitable for the first 15 years but we will be patient investors.”

SA will be heavily represented across the six teams, not just by contracted national players but by a string of former internationals, several of whom were enticed to make new careers, and lives, playing Minor League Cricket several years ago with the promise of the Major League to come. Remember Rusty Theron and Dane Piedt? Shadley van Schalkwyk and Calvin Savage were also bought at the inaugural player auction.

What makes this league different to all the others is the mere fact that it is being played in America, a country few professional cricketers visit.

“We are getting some of the best talent in the world to come and play and, from those I have spoken to, I can say there is a genuine interest in coming to play in the US beyond the immediate financial component which is significant — we have the second highest salary cap outside the IPL.

“It is clear to me that many of them see this as a long-term commitment. Many are coming with partners or spouses and are looking to spend more time here outside the tournament.” 

SA Players at MLC:

Los Angeles Knight Riders — Rilee Rossouw.

Seattle Orcas — Quinton de Kock, Wayne Parnell, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius.

San Francisco Unicorns — Lungi Ngidi.

MI New York — Dewald Brevis and Kagiso Rabada.

Texas Super Kings — Faf du Plessis, David Miller and Gerald Coetzee.

Washington Freedom — Anrich Nortjé, Marco Jansen.