GEORGE DOBELL: While delivering the 21st Cowdrey Lecture, the former England captain argued that the sport has "never been more popular or diverse" and people should be "rejoicing" that the sport has been "democratised"
Sir Andrew Strauss has heralded "the rise of franchise cricket" as "surely… one of the great steps forward" in the history of the sport.
While accepting that the growth of franchise cricket could leave "some old institutions creaking at the seams", Strauss argued in the Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's that such leagues enabled the sport to fulfil its primary, age-old purpose: "to connect, to entertain and to engage."
And with such leagues flourishing, Strauss argued that the sport has "never been more popular or diverse" and, rather than change being feared, people should be "rejoicing" that the sport has been "democratised".
No longer, he said, would the "future direction of the sport" be "decided in the meeting halls of the ICC in Dubai" but by "the purchasing power of those who follow the game."
"If you allow yourself to keep bound up in the thesis that the purpose of the game is to bring diverse people together, whether playing or watching and to allow cricket to educate and connect, then surely the rise of franchise cricket is one of the great steps forward," Strauss, the former England captain and director of men's cricket, added.
Franchise competitions are mushrooming around the world (Sportzpics)
"More players are playing in different parts of the world, experiencing new places and meeting new people. Yes, there is the danger of overkill, and some of the tournaments seem to engage more than others, but you could make that argument about international cricket, or county cricket with its endless treadmill, or even club cricket.
"In the past, it could be argued that certain interests, whether they lie in this room, or in the corridors of the ECB and other national governing bodies, or on the boundary edges of the county grounds, took precedence over others. This is no longer the case.
"No one, not even the BCCI, controls the game any more. There are too many people involved, too many variables, too much disruption and chaos for anyone to be pulling all the strings. In a sense, the game has democratised.
"While this is confronting and perhaps difficult to hear for some, I feel like we should be rejoicing this fact. The game now has both more freedom and more levers available to allow it to fulfil its purpose than ever before. There is genuine choice for players, spectators and followers alike. The future direction of the sport will be decided not in the meeting halls of the ICC in Dubai but rather by the purchasing power of the increasing number of those who choose to follow the game.
"The truth is that the game of cricket has never been more popular or more diverse. The cynics out there might turn towards India in that regard with its 800 million fans and the vast majority of all the revenues in the game and say that this extraordinary powerhouse is distorting the picture. That is untrue.
Strauss follows MCC president Stephen Fry in giving the Cowdrey Lecture (GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
"While the Indian juggernaut is only just gaining pace (its economy is due to pass that of the USA in 17 years' time), perhaps the real successes in the game currently lie far away from this.
"Let's take Afghanistan, for instance. In 2008, Afghanistan won the ICC World Cricket League Division Five title in Jersey. Just a year later, by 2009, they had furthered that by beating the likes of Uganda and Argentina in winning the Third Division title.
"They were given ODI status in 2011 and in June 2017, less than 10 years after winning their Division Five title, they were given full membership of the ICC and with it the golden ticket to play Test cricket. While that journey in itself is mind-blowing, just pause for a moment to reflect on the fact that 99 10 different countries have taken part in men's International T20 cricket and 63 for the women's equivalent.
"Which brings me to the rise of the women's game. There have never been more women and girls playing the game in this country than there are right this minute. We now have 80 full-time professional women's cricketers in England and Wales, and over 270,000 people attended the second season of The Women's Hundred.
The Hundred has injected fresh life into the women's game (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
"This growth domestically is being matched in other parts of the world with India, in particular, really starting to embrace the opportunity to grow the women's game with the overdue advent of the Women's IPL."
There might be some irony perceived in Strauss' comments about the growth of women's cricket. He is the 21st person to give the Cowdrey - or Spirit of Cricket - lecture. All 21 have been men.
Strauss also warned that the "traditional macho, hierarchical" culture of the game would have to change to be more inclusive in light of allegations of racism within the sport.
"As we move forward together as a game with players of different genders, races, creeds and beliefs coming together, so the traditional macho, hierarchical, perhaps at times verging on 'bullying' dressing room banter will need to be softened to a culture that is more tolerant, understanding, welcoming and embracing of difference," Strauss said.
"The events over the last 18 months, whether they come from Yorkshire or elsewhere have shown we have a lot of work to do in this area, but the Spirit of Cricket demands this."
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