What can WSH learn from EPL & other European leagues

The hockey lovers in India are really excited about WSH. According to many this is the right step in reviving Hockey in India which over years has taken a beating in front of other sports like Cricket, Tennis, Football and modern sports like F1. There was a time when the Hockey matches were passionately followed but now even India's biggest newspaper covers it under Other Sports while it covers NBA in the main page!!!!

With almost all decks cleared for WSH, and it happening this December, what are the steps that WSH can take to ensure that it does not got the PHL way. The answer to that question lies at the same place where the Indian leagues both IPL & WSH looked to when they designed themselves i.e. the EPL.


Now the question comes what can WSH learn from EPL and various other league. Lets look at what strength employs and how it can be used

1. English and used for it's advantage
The EPL takes huge advantage of the it being from England and uses this connection in the Anglophone world. Similarly WSH can use to its advantage the huge diaspora all around the world and ensure it goes global through them.

2. Aggression v  Technical v Tactical
All the global sporting league's rely on any one of the trait. You rely too much on one then it becomes a drag and mix them, you get success. However of all the 3 using Aggression the most helps to get the youngsters which becomes the backbone. This is true for EPL. Similarly in USA NFL is most popular of big 4 because it uses a lot of Aggression along with being Tactical and Technical too. Baseball which is too Technical with little bit Tactical is now amongst the laggard in big 4 US games. Similarly Bundesliga which has more Technical playing angle is also behind other Football league
Hockey is a highly Technical game. WSH should ensure that Aggression as well as Tactical stuff if put into it to make it complete fun for viewers

3. Matches on Weekend
IPL is played daily with 74 matches. It bored you. You will not want to watch every team play. Like I just want to KXIP and not KKR. EPL efficiently places on weekend with the biggies not clashing with each other. The players are released if required for international commitments. This ensures local viewers can enjoy their games at the right place, in the Stadium
WSH may not be able to do it initially but over time they should put in more matches but on Weekend only

4. League goes on but does not burden you
The beauty of EPL scheduling is that even though it has 380 matches in a season it does not burden you, why because you get to see your favorite team play 38 times. And with matches over the weekend over various months you have the excitement but not burdened by it

Somehow WSH has also to ensure that it does not over do it. Presently with 61 matches over 45 days seems a little dragged. Over time I hope they ensure that they balance the scheduling



5. Local support and tradition
The EPL and other European clubs have been formed on long traditions. WSH though cannot do that overnight but surely would like to be associated with the locals. The ways for this should be some visible local players, roping in local hockey clubs, linking themselves with the local traditions or roping the local stars of any field. This will help the WSH to form an unmovable base of support

6. Good junior Programs
This is one area where EPL lacks but surely other Europeans clubs specially Spanish, Italian and German clubs are very good. They have very good junior programs and which help them to produce future stars, bring in talent at very low cost, and through them garner local supports. Through sponsorship programs the young talent must be tapped

7. Timing of Broadcasts
The timings of Broadcast is very critical if WSH has really a dream of becoming "World" Series Hockey rather than staying in India. The EPL broadcast are set in a way that they are enjoyed in UK along with wide support network in Africa and Asia. As the matches are on Weekend, setting them towards evening or late night are taken very well by the fans. Similarly in the long term WSH should try to balance out the various time differences and reach primary Hockey markets of Asia, Oceania and Europe.

8. Global Players and brand names
This is a aspect that makes EPL attractive to so many nations. A star of a local country be it in Africa or America is signed by European league and then in return pulls in the viewership of the locals of that country for EPL. WSH has brought in some stars but should look for some bigger names of Netherlands, Germany, Australia or Spain. This will help it improve the quality of league, more interest locally and more interest globally

9. Global expertize of the commentary panel. 
Finally last but not the least, have you ever seen the level of commentators on ESPN be it cricket or EPL. This is why people love to watch ESPN. This really matters. A good match can be spoiled by a bad commentary. It is not stars that are required but the better, sensible and level headed commentators. WSH can bring in good commentators from other sports as well like Harsha Bhogle etc. This factor will really help projecting WSH in a big way.

PS:-This blog could not have written without the help of my friend Ambujesh Yadav an ardent athlete, a real sports and Man U fan.

Cricket's oldest Rivalry is Back: Auty Cup

What would be thought that will come into your mind if I ask you which is the first international match in any sports: Is it Football? What would be the oldest series in cricket: Is it the Ashes? Which 2 countries played the first International game of Cricket: Is it England and Australia?

These would seem the obvious answer to the 3 questions. 99% of the people would give that answer, but the story is different. The first International match in any sports was not played in football or hockey, it was infact in Cricket (Cricket lovers should be proud of this fact). Ashes is not the oldest series in Cricket (Yes it is the oldest official series) but the oldest series is the Auty Cup. England and Australia did not play the first cricket series. It was infact played between Canada and USA, and it was highly popular. he game was watched by between 10,000 and 20,000 spectators and around $120,000 worth of bets were placed. 20000 people in 1844 is like 200000 people attending a match now.

The series was played sporadically between the 2 countries. However over time with the American Civil war, baseball became a popular past time. Aggressive marketing in Baseball lead it to become a popular sport. Similarly in Canada, with Americans more concentrating on Baseball, they similarly shifted towards ice hockey. Also with ICC coming up as Imperial Cricket Conference, this came as a death certificate for cricket in both countries specially USA. The tours of England to USA reduced and increased towards Australia and then the Ashes was born.

The Auty Cup was held again after a gap of 16 years, when it was last time played in 1995. The winner this time was the same as first time i.e Canada. Canada defeated USA by 34 runs

The Auty cup is a 2 day match. To have a result in the two-day match the 2 innings are kept limited to overs. Each first innings was limited to 45 overs and each second innings to 40 overs.  There is no bowling restriction to ensure that it doesn't become like a 2 limited innings match.

Canada started their innings well and made 239-4 from their 45 overs. The USA reply started badly as they lost early wickets. The visitors were bowled out for 166.

In the second innings, having scored 231-6, the Canadians set the USA a formidable target of 305 in their 40 overs. The USA team put up a remarkable fight. USA got a lot closer than many would have expected. the Americans were bowled out for 270, losing by 34 runs.

Let us hope that we see a revival of the oldest sports rivalry and with time the profile of the game comes back to its old times of glory.

East Africa's brilliant cricket Experiment

This world cup was a disaster for Kenya. From the highs of reaching the World Cup semi finals in 2003 to losing all matches "Badly" in the 2011 world cup was a real shake up. Over that came the news that team had many internal divisions. The World Cup in 2011 could simply be called a disaster for Kenya.

The problems were many. Cricket in Kenya was limited to few elite clubs in Nairobi and may be to some extent in the Rift Valley. The extent of Elitism was that Kenyan National team had no national ground it could practice on. They had to rent it from the Gymkhana Club. The game never actually reached the common man and this made an issue of a limited pool. This lead to Kenya being dependent on same set of players who started demanding salaries beyond their capability levels. This lead to player strikes, group-ism and all sort of problem. This was a dangerous cycle

Then the head of Cricket Kenya as part of complete shake up of besides other measures has initiated a process which I hope will bring many positive results. Cricket Kenya immediately after the world cup announced a 6 team franchise league both for OD and T20 format. Initially criticized for 6 teams as too many was silenced when it was announced that 4 teams are from Kenya and rest 2 from Uganda. This meant that the pool of players will be playing highly competitive domestic cricket besides the very few matches they get as international exposure. 6 teams across 2 countries meant that the pool of players is also optimally utilized.

The best thing of the league is that it involves 2 countries. This means that cricket Kenya have a better proposition to take in front of the Sponsors. This also means that this will bring in much wider interest in the league. It is also a replication of a similar successful effort in Rugby in which teams from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania play in one league. This also means that a chance to bring in more foreign players and more exposure.The results have been encouraging. Super Sport has agreed to telecast the final live besides providing regular updates for matches. One of the team already has a sponsor and hopefully many will follow

Over time I feel that this league should be extended beyond these 2 countries. Tanzania, Rwanda should be definitely added. If possible then Burundi and Zambia should also be added. Lets us give this league 2 years to stabilize and after that the final composition may look like Kenya- 4 teams, Uganda- 3 Teams, Tanzania 2 Teams, Rwanda, Zambia and Burundi:- 1 team each. If resources allow then Home and Away for all 12 teams else 2 pools of 6 is the next best option.

Again if successful similar experiments should be replicated in Ire+Scot, Neth+Belg+France, USA+Canada, UAE+Oman, Malaysia+Singapore and many more places. Lets hope this series comes out as a huge success and can be replicated around.

Cricket's lost Bastions-Nations where cricket was popular at one time

Cricket as a sport is limited to few nations. For many year there were no particular efforts to take it to new areas. It was after the 1996 World Cup that ICC has taken some good initiatives to take cricket to new nations. Though they have not been perfect and many shortcomings have been there but there are many success stories to be proud of.

Having said cricket at many stages had many chances where the state the game could have been different. There are many countries where cricket could have been a major game but it missed out. The reasons have been many

1. ICC being formed as Imperial Cricket Conference and shutting itself to countries outside the commonwealth
2. The length of the game was also a limitation as only Test Match was the format
3. Rigid rules of cricket controlled by MCC who under colonial influence wanted to keep the game to gentlemen as per its definition. This literally shut any scope of innovations
4. The local factors in the country
5. The weather limitations

In many countries some or the most factors literally killed the game. The country whose name comes top of the list and if it was there in cricket list then the dynamics of the game would have been much difference- Yes talking about USA

USA

Cricket was once the most popular game in the country. Infact the first international match was played between USA and Canada and it was so popular that in 1800's around 10000 people attended that game. However around the civil war a game very similar to cricket- Rounder & Baseball started to become popular. Baseball was easier to play as it just required a bat and ball and a ground while cricket required a proper pitch.
Also cricket was played by the elite and soon baseball started to emerge as the game of the masses. Cricket had its pockets but then 2 things happened. ICC was formed in 1965 and since US was a non commonwealth nation the game was shut for it. This meant no tours of counties or MCC. Secondly the pockets where Elite played the game soon started to shift towards Golf and Tennis. Hence sadly the game which was very popular soon lost out there.

Now recently with people from South Asia, Caribbean & UK, Aus coming to USA brought the game along with them and game has seen a resurgence. Cricket is a fast growing sport but if in peak times it was 1000 now it is 1. Even if it reaches 100 that would do a sea of good for the games. Hopefully over time the game will see better management by USACA and game improves

Canada

Cricket was declared as national game by the first prime minister of Canada. As already mentioned Canada was the first nation to play an international match of cricket. However the game in Canada was tied to rivalry with USA. As the game declined in USA, the same happened in Canada too. Also weather also played some part in the decline of the game.
Like USA, the game has seen a resurgence. In fact after 1979 Canada qualified for the world cup in 2003, then 2007 and 2011. Also the whole team in now on contracts showing the game is coming back. However there is still long way to go.


Malaysia

Before independence the games dominated all the newspaper. At once time Malaya had defeated the visiting Australians. In the limited sports culture in the country the game had good enough mind share. Malaysia was admitted to ICC as an associate after 1965 when ICC changed from Imperial to International.
By that time the game had lost a lot and never recovered to old levels. There were other causes for game not becoming popular. Whenever cricket was taken to any country it was played by british only. Over time the Elite of that country also started playing the games. In England, Aus, NZ, Zim or SA it is still the European that played the game. In India and Indian sub continent we had Kings, Nawabs, Raja, Zamindar etc who were the Indian Elite. They played along with the British and after they left continued to play. Hence the culture of the game continued and soon masses picked the game in all the 4 Test Nations of Indian Sub Continent.
In Malaysia there was no such elite and hence when the Britishers left suddenly no one was there to continue the tradition and we had an Broken Arrow.
With cricket again getting globalized and T20 the new format to expand the game, the game like most part of the world is seeing some resurgance. The MCA has also a vision to get Malaysia ODI status by 2020 and recent performances of Malaysia have been encouraging. They came 3rd in ACC trophy narrowly loosing to both the Finalists by single digits. Also the junior program has been rekindled. FInally MCA has got 4 sponsorships. Lets hope they regain the interest of Olden times

Fiji

Cricket was once a very popular game in the Island Nations. The Fiji team used to regularly play against the various teams from New Zealand and it was a event always in news. Infact the Indian and West Indian teams had played against the Fiji teams in Fiji on route to play Australia. However been a small nation and having smaller population meant that the level of cricket team would have been on lower side as compared to the test nations. This factor over time lead to less teams touring or inviting Fiji. Meanwhile Rugby started to gain in Fiji and Fiji had a good international standing in the same. Cricket's loss was Rugby's gain in Fiji.
Also the game of cricket was surprisingly played the indigenous community while the Indians preferred Soccer. Over time the locals realized they have built more suitable for Rugby and much easier for them to perform and while the Indian community continued with Soccer itself.
Over time the game of cricket has picked up very well in Pacific with PNG, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands improving every year while Fiji has seen a downfall. They have now lost the spot of number 4 (Behind Aus, NZ and PNG) to number with Vanuatu replacing them. Lets see if the game of cricket which has a resurgance in Pacific also has one in Fiji too.



Burma

Surprised to hear this name. Do people know that the Burma team had defeated the Ceylon team once in 1927 IIRC. Though both teams were made of Britishers but so was the case in every country at that time. The game was started and played by Britishers and then taken over by the higher class of local and then eventually going to the locals.
But in Burma the elite of locals were Indians. Indians formed a majority in capital Rangoon. The local Burmese really resented them. The Indians had taken the game, however over time the political situation changed. First the Japanese captured Burma in 1941. They started to discriminate against the Indians. The Indians started to leave. Then when British drove out the Japanese then it was almost certain that they will grant independence to Burma.
The Burma independence was not like the one in South Asia where the subsequent government maintained good relations. The British and Indians both were hated hence cricket also became a victim. Burma chose not to join the Commonwealth and hence ICC got out of question. Burma then further went into isolation and socialism and game of cricket, its clubs all started to lose out. Hence over time the game of cricket was killed
If Burma somehow had managed to go on the lines of South East Asia then surely the large impact of Indian Diaspora and its neighbours India and Bangladesh would have made sure that the game of cricket is alive and kicking and Burma would have been a different cricket power
Over time with globalization and Burmese who have studies abroad and in India, the game of Cricket has started to come back. A movie on lines of famous Indian movie "Lagaan" name "Bo Ba" was also made and was hugely popular. Presently probably Burma is the weakest of all cricket teams but cricket surely is making a comeback. Lets hope over time they come out as a strong contendor.

Some more nations where Cricket got a head start but could not capitalize were
1. Argentina
2. Netherlands
3. Denmark
4. Italy

If the game of cricket would have been alive and kicking in these nations then globally the scene could have been different. The hard work ICC has to do now is because 80 years was lost as cricket was kept in a cocoon. To cover these 80 years would take at least 20 to 30 more years to make cricket a truly global sport. Lets hope it happens in the best and most sustainable way.

Is it time for Hockey?

3 Million $ prize, 178 Players, 40 foreign players from around 10 countries, a club structure. What does it sound like? Football, wait I am talking about India, then it must be Cricket. No its not Football neither it is cricket, it is the national game of India, one in which it has won a record 8 Olympic Gold Medals, yes it is Hockey.

The WSH-World Series Hockey after a long silence after its initial announcement in December last year is set to played in Dec and Jan this year. The Nimbus had a launch program in Mumbai recently and where it also declared to have reached an understanding with FIH and the participating players would be safe as opposed to threat of bans earlier. The sport minister is also trying hard to have an HI-IHF merger and if it goes through then things will start to go in hockey’s favor after a long time.

The WSH is set to have 8 Franchise based on IPL model. 6 teams location have been declared as metros-Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai and the 6^th one is the Hockey powerhouse of India- Punjab (With Chandigarh, Jullundur & Amritsar as 3 locations). The rest 2 locations have to be decided from a shortlisted location of the left out metro-Kolkata, hockey’s second power location- Rourkela & cities and towns like Pune, Kanpur etc)

In the initial year the 8 franchise will play on Home and Away model playing 56 league matched followed by 2 semi finals and a best of 3 finals. This would mean a total of 61 matches

But for the real question will WSH help hockey make a comeback in India. What does WSH offer as advantages to Hockey in India? According to me the few advantages are

1.       Raises the profile of the game- Local players, foreign players, big money, big prizes, Investment at stake for Nimbus who would want a return. More high profile means more attention and more attention definitely helps to drive more accountability. That is the thing missing in Indian hockey. It will not happen in 1 year and we see a turn around, but if WSH continues for 10 years this definitely will happen

2.       High Salaries to Players- Hockey though the national game had very poor salaries. In recent times the salaries came to respectable level but it was nowhere near to cricket or international standards of Hockey salaries in Europe.  The WSH has good level of salaries in lakhs and it is not limited to just 15 players of national team, rather it has a depth. Each team will have a squad of 21 players with 5 foreigners. This means 16 players per team and 8 teams, a total of 138 Indians being paid a handsome salary. This will give depth of money for the first time.

3.       Large talent pool- As written in previous point a total of 138 Indians will be in the squad. This would give the selectors a large talent to select from. Since these players will be under public knowledge due to high profile tournament, hence it will reduce the incidents like bribing to be in team  since earlier the knowledge of local tournament was virtually 0

4.       Valuable experience of Foreign players- Presently Indian hockey is like a frog in well. Loads of tournaments with local players and same style of hockey being played all over. This has brought stagnation and hence over time India lost its edge.  Like in PHL, WSH brings in even more foreign players. Professional coaches, foreign players will definitely give Indian youth a lot of valuable experience. This would enable them to be aware of the styles used at other places and good things they can pick and counter them when they play in International games.

5.       Professional coaching and set-up- Unlike the local tournaments of hockey, in WSH the players will be playing for franchise where results would matter. The franchise will bring in best of coaching staff and performances and not approaches in HI or IHF will matter. This would bring the best out of players and we will see a great tournaments

There can be many other advantages too. I have my fingers crossed that the murky areas of Hockey should start to become clear in India now. Over time I would like to see this tournament even more expanded. As former Indian captain Pargat Singh had said, India would require somewhere around 600 Turf grounds for game to real have a mass appeal as well as sufficient supply of talent.

Over time Hockey in India should aim for 800 grounds by 2020. The path should be well defined. The private investment should be a way to pave for this number including the infrastructure. The Government alone cannot take us to this number. Initial 4 years should be building the base- Increase awareness and popularity of game, setting the basic infrastructure, then the next 3 years should be used for explosion. Rope in investors, have a massive increase in infrastructure and then finally last 2 years should be used for consolidation

Over time Grade B league should also start. These would be more limited to the specific regions and owned in franchise form but at a much lower costs and players paid on much lower contracts. For example if Delhi is a Franchise of WSH with Delhi, NCR as its target base, the Grade B league for Delhi can be 10 teams from vicinity like – Najafgarh, South Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida etc. These franchises would create their local infrastructure and play tournament amongst themselves. The best players will have a chance to make it into the WSH. Local channels can be used to broadcast and local crowds can attend the matches. It is similar to the many Division 2 football leagues around the world.

2011- Start of WSH, 8 Franchises, around 60 Astro Turf Grounds

2013- 10 Franchises, 100 Astro Turf Grounds

2015- 12 Franchises, 160 Astro Turf Grounds

From 2011-15 the period of setting the base was formed. 14 Franchises and 160 grounds should help to raise the awareness of the game. After this the 3 years should be used for explosion

2016- 16 Franchises, 250 Astro Turf Grounds and 8 Grade B leagues with 10 teams each

2017- 18 Franchises, 400 Astro Turf Grounds and 18 Grade B league with 10 teams each

2018- 20 Franchises, 600 Astro Turf Grounds and 20 Grade B leagues with 10 teams each

After the explosion in teams, infra  the next 2 years will be for consolidation of game.

2019- 20 Franchises, 700 Astro Turf Grounds and 20 Grade B teams with 12 teams each

2020- 20 Franchises, 800 Astro Turf Grounds and 20 Grade B teams with 15 teams each

In the end we have 800 Astro Turf grounds, the required Infra for the game. With 20 Grade A franchise and 300 Grade B franchise and 800 grounds would mean that there would be enough opportunity for the youth to exploit the area of Hockey as a profession rather than using it as a entry point into the government jobs. This would do hockey a sea of good.

I know I take things too far, but if we do not dream how can we chase our dreams. Looking for some exciting times for Hockey and then I will update hockey on this blog too. Waiting for December for WSH.