MCL opening night highlights the obstacles it faces

Barnaby Read 10:29 29/01/2016
It was a seminal moment for the MCL.

With a nonchalant flick of the wrists, Virender Sehwag put Clint McKay’s first ball of the MCL tournament over the square leg boundary for six.

And with it, the latest T20 franchise announced itself to the cricketing world with a bang.

The early signs had been encouraging for the MCL’s opening night.

There was a smattering of people in the stands a full hour and a half before a ball was bowled and encouraging footfall outside the stadium for a cricket event in the UAE.

With a prime time slot on Thursday night and no PSL to compete with just yet, it was a night nearly five years in the making for the MCL’s investors and figureheads.

Their dream was realised with the vibrancy associated with T20 tournaments the world over that have captivated audiences.

The DJ was in position to pump the sort of smooth house music usually associated with lounge bars up and down Dubai and an extravagant stage was set up to welcome the tournament into the world.

An hour before the start saw the opening ceremony swing into gear and despite the best efforts of the on-stage MC and the work of ex-New Zealand bowler (and colour commentator) Danny Morrison there was little crowd to whip up into a frenzy.

An odd thing began to unfold as the opening music act was enthusiastically welcomed by Morrison but the silence offered in return was deafening.

An absent minded ball of tumbleweed or the sound of crickets would not have been out of place.

When the media centre was informed of the ceremony being moments away it said it all when one journalist responded with “but nobody’s here.”

It was early on in the MCL’s coming-out party and for anyone who has watched cricket in the UAE, near empty stadia is not unheard of.

The problem was that such a grand, flag in the ground moment for the tournament had to be played out as if nothing was off key, when it was so obviously out of tune.

As they say, the show must go-on and a sign of the draw this league of legends followed as Morrison gave a beginner’s guide to franchise cricket and the virtues of the tournament in supporting grassroots cricket in the UAE.

It was not Morrison’s booming voice that induced the first crowd cheer of approval, however, it was the sight of Sehwag on the TV screen, a masterful pan from the broadcasters that you can bet will fill empty air-time more than the pan to blue seats.

MCL CEO Zarah Shah had already told Sport360 that year one was about getting people on seats and you cannot fault organisers’ efforts with their marketing some of the best the UAE has seen from a sports brand.

“Financially we will be taking an extra hit now that the PSL is going on but we’re definitely ready for it. Our franchise owners are the same and they’ve always said they will stick with it and see what happens next year,” Shah told Sport360 in the weeks leading up to opening night.

“We’ve been surprised by ticket sales as we’ve seen a good number of online sales already which is unusual for this part of the world. There is so much going on in the UAE that people are spoilt for choice so they tend to leave it to the last minute and buy tickets on the door. All the guys at the stadiums have told us that in 90% of tickets in Sharjah are sold on the day while it’s about 40-50% in Dubai.”

And with no PSL to compete with on night one, it was a seminal moment for the MCL to not only gauge the rest of the tournament but also tap into the community of UAE cricket fans.

A source at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium told Sport360 that 11,000 complimentary tickets had been made available but shifting them was an arduous task.

This will always be the biggest task for the MCL and just one game in it would be unfair to tar the tournament with the same brush and throughout the evening numbers did increase to a level that should be of comfort and encouragement for all involved.

What cannot be doubted is the enormous professionalism and the efforts gone to by Shah, her father and husband who form the brains behind the operation.

They also owe a great deal of gratitude to the numerous members of staff on the ground that flew across the Ring of Fire turf to ensure a smooth operation.

Every minute detail was covered.

Fireworks, shooting flames, music, eye-catching branding, cheerleaders and a stellar cast of ex-pros reflected the ambition and investment that has been plundered into the operation and it provided a truly slick looking affair.

Everything had the hallmarks of franchise T20 cricket that spawned this unique take on the format and as the razzmatazz unfolded the few hundred spectators in position become more and more responsive and as the start rolled around that attendance rose to a far from disheartening – yet far from filling out the 25,000 capacity – region of 5,000 or so fans (no official attendance figure has been given at the time of publishing).

Sehwag was the obvious draw for many of the Indian fans in the stadium and at the coin toss his thoughts on being put into bat were easily drowned out by fans cheering in appreciation of his face on the TV screens.

And this is just what the MCL wants.

Gemini Arabians beat Libra Legends by 78 runs

  • Gemini Arabians (234-3)
  • Sangakkara (86), Levi (64), Hodge (46*)
  • Libra Legends (156-8)
  • Ten Doeschate (53); Kyle Mills 2-27, Murali 2-27, Rana 2-29

It is the nostalgia of fans that it calls upon and it must be said that there is an obvious thirst for this product, especially when it’s delivered with such precision.

While Jacques Kallis, one of the finest players in history, was not greeted with such revelry as Sehwag, the sight of Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Indian flags all being waved side-by-side in unison, and with gusto, showed just how this and the PSL can resonate with the diverse expat population of the UAE.

For franchise cricket making the first steps of a planned long-term foray in the Emirates, this is an overwhelmingly positive sign and once the action unfolded and a Sehwag, Richar Levi, Kumar Sangakkara and Brad Hodge inspired Gemini side piled on 234-3, this shiny, polished product rolled back into the country with encouraging impact.

The IPL did briefly swing by in 2014 and even that tournament struggled to fill stadiums despite its immense popularity, recognisable brand and cast of leading cricketers. It must be noted that Dubai was marked a sell-out for each game but empty seats did prove those claims to be wide of the mark.

In all, Thursday night was an encouraging debut for the MCL and the quality of the product it has created should encourage viewers on TV or those waiting to see what it’s all about before popping along to do just that next time around.

Twenty20 cricket is a perfect fit for the UAE and the night and day difference between crowds at Pakistan vs England Test matches and ODIs and T20Is at the end of last year was clear evidence of this.

It may not be for the purists, it may not be for people not fond of club music in a cricket stadium, but all the signs are there that this can reach out to new fans of the game and for that, the MCL must be applauded for its perseverance and confidence in its product, even when “nobody is here”.

If they continue with this momentum, however, that journalist’s amusing, honest and concerned response will have been forgotten in a flash.

And if Sehwag & co. continue in this fashion, then everyone to have invested such vast amounts of time and money in the MCL will likely be repaid in kind.

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