Ashes to Ashes: The wait is over

Once again, the hype is almost over. The Ashes start tonight, and all over the UK, cricket fans are gradually adjusting their bodyclocks to allow them to live every ball of the latest instalment of England vs Australia.

When either Ryan Harris or Jimmy Anderson slings down the first ball of the first Test on Wednesday night, a little after midnight UK time, it will spell the end of an unusually short gap between Ashes series.

Not since before the Ashes were called the Ashes have two series between the two old enemies begun in the same calendar year. It may well be a sign of the times that the money from television companies have begun to dictate the fixture list, but it is in very real danger of saturating its own market with Ashes cricket.

Ever since I can remember, cricket attendances, except at the very highest level, have been in decline. Gone are the days of the 70s and 80s, when most county games drew a few thousand, and the bigger counties could sell their grounds out on a semi-regular basis. Now, even most international tickets are relatively easy to come by, unless the game involves two of the best teams in the world. In 2005, a lot of that changed. One of the most exciting Ashes series since Botham’s drew football-style fanaticism all over the country, with cricket dominating front and back pages, beating football on a regular basis.

It was soon after that series that Sky entered into a massive contract with the ECB and international cricket left terrestrial screens for the foreseeable future in Britain. While the mammoth sums of money put into cricket by Sky have no doubt strengthened the existing infrastructure in cricket, the over-commercialisation has its downsides. Sky have correctly recognised that while one day cricket is thrilling to watch, and a big hitter with live crowds, nothing matches Test cricket for intensity and excitement. The pinnacle of that in recent years has been some of the series contested between England and Australia, and for me, the Ashes has always been circled on my wall planner as something to look forward to.

The newbies to cricket though, will inevitably feel that the Ashes is something that happens every year, and that will take a lot of the gloss off the event. While the novelty of having 7 Ashes Tests in the same calendar year is yet to wear off, it would be a great shame, and will come as no surprise, if audiences drop and cricket returns to the dark old days of the late 90s, when interest levels had dropped below those of lawn bowls and Champions League netball.

I don’t mean to sound anti-Sky: without their capital input, a large number of the ECB’s grass-roots projects would never have made it beyond germination. Having said that, they are changing the game forever, and while I’m not an opponent of change, I am an opponent of change for change’s sake. The Ashes three times a year may be wonderful for a year, but the motives behind their staging certainly do not have cricket’s best interests at heart.

I’ll be writing for The Stand periodically as the Ashes go on, including an irreverent summary of each game as they finish. Check back here for more Ashes info. 

Images courtesy of brightonsbigscreen.com and The Guardian