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South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Pakistan Super League needs marketing, says Mark Nicholas
A separate panel will debate the question of whether cricket is 'cool' – and Nicholas believes there is work to do in that regard. 'The answer is, currently, it is not cool enough,' he said. 'In its shortest format, certainly in India, maybe with The Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League, and probably with SA20, there is an increasingly younger audience and more examples of kids saying to their parents 'I want to go to the cricket' rather than the other way round. 'It's getting cooler again and I would say India and the IPL has driven that. 'People throw stones at marketing, but good marketing is unbelievably powerful. 'I would say that here (England) with the Hundred, South Africa, India, they do it well. 'I did two weeks of the Pakistan Super League, and one outstanding observation would be that they don't market as hard or as successfully as some of the other leagues.' World Cricket Connects, which brings together influential figures from across all aspects of cricket, was Nicholas' brainchild and is expanding to a two-day event in 2025 after a successful start last year. A 13-strong World Cricket Connects Advisory Board, chaired by Kumar Sangakkara, has been established since the inaugural forum was held and one of its members, Mel Jones, has had a significant impact in helping Afghanistan's displaced women's team find opportunities to play in Australia. The MCC founded the Global Refugee Cricket Fund earlier this year and its initial focus is supporting the Pitch Our Future campaign - an Australian-led programme that empowers and supports players from the former Afghanistan Women's Cricket Team – after the topic was raised at World Cricket Connects. 'People wanted action, they were horrified by what had happened to Afghanistan's women's cricketers,' Nicholas said. 'Once it became obvious there was a way to support it through our foundation, we were very quick to do so. 'One of MCC's great strengths is that we give back to cricket to an extraordinary level, a level that cuts our surplus every year in half. 'I feel we should always try and help initiatives like that, that's exactly where MCC can fit. I really feel that was in our wheelhouse.'
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Nicholas hails Cummins as cricket's statesman
Cummins is to be interviewed on day two, June 8, as part of a session entitled 'The Commercial Opportunity of Sustainability', which also features a presentation from the Cricket for Climate group. That organisation was co-founded by the seamer, who regularly uses his platform to voice concerns surrounding environmental issues in cricket, and Nicholas believes his impact is only growing. 'Pat has got enormous respect both on and off the field from everybody,' he said. 'There is nobody in the game that would say a bad word about him or doubt him. There is nothing about him that looks false, he is the real deal. So, when he speaks, it is interesting. 'His heart is in climate control, without a doubt. He has always been environmentally aware, he is not talking from a sudden bout of care, this has always been in him. 'He is probably, right now, cricket's foremost representative. Now that Virat Kohli has stood down (from Test cricket), Pat Cummins has moved into that spot alongside Ben Stokes. 'If you were asking who the superstars are who command global respect, in a way that people listen to what they say, applaud their performance and they still stay top of the rankings, they are the three.' Themes including the state of the game, franchise cricket, women's cricket and 'is cricket cool?' will be up for discussion at Lord's, with panellists from a range of backgrounds invited to take part. Nicholas, who has been a regular contributor to Channel 9 over the years, is particularly intrigued to hear from Australian representatives regarding franchise cricket amid what he sees as a drop-off in the impact of the Big Bash. 'The Big Bash has gone quiet,' he said. 'It sure came in with a big bash, it was fantastic. 'But to me, from afar – and I haven't been in Australia full-time for seven years now – it needs to look at itself internally. Quite a few of the important Australians are going to be here, not least the new CEO (Todd Greenberg), so it will be interesting to see where they are with that.' A World Cricket Connects Advisory board, chaired by Kumar Sangakkara and featuring former Australia captain Mel Jones, has been established since the inaugural forum last year. Jones has had a significant impact in helping Afghanistan's displaced women's team find opportunities to play in Australia while the MCC founded the Global Refugee Cricket Fund earlier this year. Its initial focus is supporting the Pitch Our Future campaign - an Australian-led programme that empowers and supports players from the former Afghanistan Women's Cricket Team – after the topic was raised at World Cricket Connects. 'People wanted action, they were horrified by what had happened to Afghanistan's women's cricketers,' Nicholas said. 'Once it became obvious there was a way to support it through our foundation, we were very quick to do so. 'One of MCC's great strengths is that we give back to cricket to an extraordinary level, a level that cuts our surplus every year in half. 'I feel we should always try and help initiatives like that, that's exactly where MCC can fit. I really feel that was in our wheelhouse.'
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Nicholas hails Cummins as cricket's statesman
Cummins is to be interviewed on day two, June 8, as part of a session entitled 'The Commercial Opportunity of Sustainability', which also features a presentation from the Cricket for Climate group. That organisation was co-founded by the seamer, who regularly uses his platform to voice concerns surrounding environmental issues in cricket, and Nicholas believes his impact is only growing. 'Pat has got enormous respect both on and off the field from everybody,' he said. 'There is nobody in the game that would say a bad word about him or doubt him. There is nothing about him that looks false, he is the real deal. So, when he speaks, it is interesting. 'His heart is in climate control, without a doubt. He has always been environmentally aware, he is not talking from a sudden bout of care, this has always been in him. 'He is probably, right now, cricket's foremost representative. Now that Virat Kohli has stood down (from Test cricket), Pat Cummins has moved into that spot alongside Ben Stokes. 'If you were asking who the superstars are who command global respect, in a way that people listen to what they say, applaud their performance and they still stay top of the rankings, they are the three.' Themes including the state of the game, franchise cricket, women's cricket and 'is cricket cool?' will be up for discussion at Lord's, with panellists from a range of backgrounds invited to take part. Nicholas, who has been a regular contributor to Channel 9 over the years, is particularly intrigued to hear from Australian representatives regarding franchise cricket amid what he sees as a drop-off in the impact of the Big Bash. 'The Big Bash has gone quiet,' he said. 'It sure came in with a big bash, it was fantastic. 'But to me, from afar – and I haven't been in Australia full-time for seven years now – it needs to look at itself internally. Quite a few of the important Australians are going to be here, not least the new CEO (Todd Greenberg), so it will be interesting to see where they are with that.' A World Cricket Connects Advisory board, chaired by Kumar Sangakkara and featuring former Australia captain Mel Jones, has been established since the inaugural forum last year. Jones has had a significant impact in helping Afghanistan's displaced women's team find opportunities to play in Australia while the MCC founded the Global Refugee Cricket Fund earlier this year. Its initial focus is supporting the Pitch Our Future campaign - an Australian-led programme that empowers and supports players from the former Afghanistan Women's Cricket Team – after the topic was raised at World Cricket Connects. 'People wanted action, they were horrified by what had happened to Afghanistan's women's cricketers,' Nicholas said. 'Once it became obvious there was a way to support it through our foundation, we were very quick to do so. 'One of MCC's great strengths is that we give back to cricket to an extraordinary level, a level that cuts our surplus every year in half. 'I feel we should always try and help initiatives like that, that's exactly where MCC can fit. I really feel that was in our wheelhouse.'
The Independent
06-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
England make decision on Afghanistan clash at Champions Trophy after calls for boycott
England's Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan will go ahead as scheduled, England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson has confirmed. A cross-party group of more than 160 MPs and peers had signed a letter urging the ECB to boycott the game on February 26 as a moral objection to the Taliban regime's ongoing assault on women's rights in the country. ECB chief executive Richard Gould subsequently wrote to the International Cricket Council condemning the "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan, where female participation in sport has been effectively outlawed since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. However, Gould rejected the idea of the ECB making a unilateral decision to withdraw from their second group game of the eight-team Champions Trophy, calling for collective action from the ICC. England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler had said the game should be played, stressing "as a player, you don't want political situations to affect sport". Following a meeting of the ECB board on Thursday, Thompson confirmed while condemning the "appalling oppression" of women and girls by the Taliban, a "co-ordinated international response by the cricketing community" was the "appropriate way forward" rather than England opting not to play. "The board recognises there are different views and opinions on the issue of boycotting the match and has listened carefully," Thompson said. "We have been in close contact with the Government, the International Cricket Council, our England men's players and other stakeholders to discuss this matter, as well as considering how best the ECB can support those women cricketers who have fled Afghanistan. "Following this, we remain of the view that a co-ordinated international response by the cricketing community is the appropriate way forward, and will achieve more than any unilateral action by the ECB in boycotting this match. "We have also heard that for many ordinary Afghans, watching their cricket team is one of the few remaining sources of enjoyment. As such, we can confirm that we will play this fixture." Last month, Marylebone Cricket Club launched a global refugee cricket fund, which will back the Australian-led Pitch Our Future programme to assist Afghanistan's women in finding training opportunities, education and pathways. The ECB has donated £100,000 to the fund, which aims to raise an initial £1million to support the initiatives. Thompson added: "We will continue to press the ICC to take further action, including ringfencing a meaningful portion of funding to support female players from Afghanistan to be able to access cricket and considering recognising an Afghanistan Women's Refugee Team, as well as supporting and developing displaced Afghan women to thrive in non-playing roles such as coaches and administrators. "The cricketing community cannot tackle all of Afghanistan's problems, but we urge our international partners to stand together and demonstrate through our actions that we support the women and girls of Afghanistan, including those cricketers now in exile who just want to play and should be allowed to play the sport they love."
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Afghan women to get support from refugee fund
Female cricketers from Afghanistan are to become the first recipients of support from a Global Refugee Cricket Fund. The fund, established by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and its charitable foundation, will raise money for Pitch Our Future, a programme supporting exiled Afghan women's cricketers in Australia. More than 20 members of the former Afghanistan women's national team have been in Australia since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, because female participation in sport in the country has effectively been outlawed. On Thursday an Afghanistan Women's XI played an exhibition match in Melbourne, their first match as a collective since fleeing to Australia. The England and Wales Cricket Board has made an initial donation of £100,000 to the Global Refugee Fund. The fund is looking to provide refugees with access to facilities, offer education, promote advocacy and build both high-performance and community programmes. In 2020, 25 players were given professional contracts by the Afghanistan Cricket Board but after the Taliban returned and they could no longer play or train safely, they had asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) for permission to play as a refugee team. The request was denied. The ICC has now been invited to take part in a steering group that will ensure what the MCC is calling a "sustained and structured approach". Afghan cricketers play first match since fleeing Taliban Get cricket news sent straight to your phone
