FOREWORD // CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT
07
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT
DAVID RICHARDSON
When I sat down to write my CEO report last year, it was the eve of a summer of ICC global events in the UK and there was a real sense of anticipation for what was to come. I’m delighted to say the cricket certainly lived up to its billing.
OPPOSITE:
Chief Executive David Richardson addresses the media in Kolkata following the ICC Board meeting.
Firstly, we had the ICC Champions Trophy, where, after the worst possible start, Pakistan, stunned the world to beat India in the final. The event was a great success with more than 300,000 fans attending the games and a global unique TV reach of almost 600m across more than 200 territories around the world, showing the unique appeal of 50-over international cricket giving fans all the very best of cricket in one day.
Hot on the heels of the Champions Trophy came the ICC Women’s World Cup and I believe this was a genuine turning point for the women’s game. In April 2017, the ICC Board took the bold decision to televise every single game of the event and it is a decision that went down very well with cricket fans around the world. 180 million fans watched the final in front of a full house at Lord’s, which was also the most watched cricket match on Sky in 2017.
Over 79,000 tickets were sold, with 46% of ticket buyers being women and 31% of the crowds under 16. Critically, it also brought new audiences into cricket: 65% of match-goers were new to cricket and 45% of those were female.
The event garnered 55,000 news articles across 100 countries, front and back pages of all the UK national papers and #WWC17 was trending on twitter during the final. There is no doubt the quality of play combined with accessibility for fans to view marked a new dawn for women’s cricket and now we must work in partnership with our Members to maintain that momentum.
As 2018 broke, it was the turn of the future stars of the game to shine at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand and we weren’t disappointed. The standard of cricket was high, and it is safe to say the future of cricket is bright. The tradition of the U19 World Cup being the stage on which the future stars of the game like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Safraz Ahmed and Jason Holder are born is going to continue.
In March we enjoyed the most competitive ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier to date, the cricket was compelling and a great advert for the game. Congratulations must go to the Windies and Afghanistan for qualifying for next summer’s ICC Cricket World Cup and commiserations to those other teams which came so close. There was more coverage of the event than ever before, with 10 games being broadcast live in more than 200 countries as well as near live digital clips across 180 platforms, a significant improvement on the four games that were streamed live at the last edition of the event. In all, 30 million people watched these matches.
The debate around the 10-team ICC Cricket World Cup continues and I understand the arguments for both sides. But we are part- way through a broadcast cycle and associated contracts that takes us to 2023 and until then we must continue the investment in Associate Members and provide as many competitive opportunities as possible as well as merit based qualification pathways to ICC events.
The Development and Events teams are working to deliver this within our current framework so we can continue to drive greater competitive depth in the sport.
ICC Annual Report 2017-2018
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