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p66 :: Sport
Dukes balls now available in South Africa
THE DUKES ball, which many South African cricketers encounter
when they play County cricket in England, is now available in
South Africa from Opal Sports. It is also the ball that the Proteas
play with in test matches in England and the West-Indies.
What’s more, a special ball that will be ideal for the harsh
playing conditions in many parts of South Africa, is currently
being developed and tested … and the South African ball will be
made right here, as a joint venture production with Dukes.
Having perfected the art of cricket ball making for more than 250
years in Kent, England, Dukes have the skills to adapt the traditional process
to create new products for specific playing conditions and to meet the
demands of the modern game.
Therefore, while they know that the original hand-stitched cricket ball is
still the ideal, they also “invested a lot of time and resources to develop a superior
range of machine-stitched balls for countries with very harsh
playing conditions, like Australia and South Africa,” say Dukes.
They have already produced balls with long lasting covers that
will withstand the hard slogging of ODI cricket and developed an
exclusive process to ensure very good shape retention in balls -
whilst keeping the right “feel” on the bat.
Founded in Kent, in 1760, Dukes have joint venture production
facilities in Australia and Pakistan, in order to meet their objective of
producing the right product, in the right place, at the right price.
Dukes’ Special County "A" cricket ball is used exclusively for test matches
in the UK, as well as all first class county cricket matches, while the Dukes
County International "A" is used in most ECB accredited Premier League
matches. Dukes, however, have a big range of cricket balls for all levels and
type of play – including junior and training balls.
Cricket market cont from p64
Even if these brands are sold from car boots
and don’t occupy retail shelf space, every sale
is one that affects the rest of the market and
retailers’ profits.
Another supplier questions whether all these
new brands are accredited by the ICC, which
they have to be if the equipment is used in
matches. It can take a long time to get this
accreditation, he says, because the ICC is very
strict that all equipment must comply with all
their regulations. The brand also has to be affiliated
to the ICC to ensure that it is a proper
cricket manufacturer, not just a cool drink
brand using the bat for marketing purposes.
The traditional cricket brands further face a
challenge from the big international athletic
brands who have a lot of money to buy top class
players to lend credibility to the brand. For example,
the signing of players like David Miller
and Justin Kemp, as well as the sponsorship of
four of the six franchises, got New Balance retail
space because it established that the brand
was a serious player in the cricket market.
Signing a top international player could, however,
cost £80 000–90 000 (roughly R1.5-m),
which is beyond the scope of local brands.
Local policies
Ironically, local cricket politics present some
of the challenges to the growth of the South
African market. CSA has some strong development
programmes in place ... but, these programmes
can only continue to produce new
local heroes as long as the money is available,
say an administrator who wishes to remain
with
It would make a vast difference
if we can get 130
000 black children playing
cricket
New cricket clothing range
BRT Teamwear, Kevro Sports’ off-field sporting solutions brand
is getting ready to launch a new competitively-priced cricket
clothing range at the end of April. This range will consist of
shirts, trousers, and pull-overs; all developed in conjunction
specific technical features. These features include moisture
management (a special technology which makes the microfiber
soft and helps drain moisture from the body) and mesh
inserts (inserts that help improve airflow assisting with the
control of body temperature). This exciting new in-stock sporting
solution will be available to all resellers at the beginning
of May 2014.
anonymous.
Currently, 23% of CSA’s funding goes into
development. Most of the funding, however,
comes from sponsorship, and there is no attraction
for sponsors in grassroots development,
where there is no glitz and glamour or
TV coverage, CSA told the Parliamentary Committee
on Sport.
This point was sadly demonstrated by the
collapse of cricket development in the Border
and Griqua regions: after the six big franchises
were formed about seven years ago, these areas
were left out in the cold. With no more big
matches to draw spectators, no more sponsorship
fees, money to maintain facilities and
keep development programmes going, dried
up. These regions used to be the cradle of
black cricket development, but now the development
programmes have petered out.
This could have been the spectre awaiting
South African cricket had the ICC proposal
gone through without us in its original format:
with no test matches or funding from the ICC
to finance cricket development, the game
might have started losing its appeal in a decade
or two. Which, could still be achieved by
CSA policies, another commentator fears.
The quota rule that at least two black players
(not coloured or Indian) must be selected
for franchise teams, and three per team in
amateur matches, could have a long-term
affect, he says. This means that 17% of each
franchise team must be ethnic black ... but
there are only two franchises who have more
than 17% black players in their squads: the
Highveld Lions with 30% and the Warriors in
the Eastern Cape with 20% black players.
This means that the other four other franchises
have to select the available black players,
whether they are injured and irrespective
if there is another better player to fill the
spot. In future, any of the 120 positions that
become available at franchises will have to be
offered to black players, in order to meet the
player quotas.
He is therefore concerned that this could
discourage future cricket heroes from considering
domestic cricket as a career option
— and encourage them to go overseas for opportunities.
The South African cricket market is small —
outside school structures there are only about
150 000 registered cricketers playing for 900
clubs, he continues. If we can get cricket established
in the black communities, the size
of the market could double. It would make a
vast difference if we can get 130 000 black
children playing cricket ... but we need funding
for that.
The Sunfoil trust currently provide school
bursaries for black children to attend good
sport schools, but at present the structures
don’t exist to support black players outside
the school system.
Creating a cricket culture takes time. Top
coloured and Indian players like Hashim Amla,
Vernon Philander, Alviro Peterson, etc. are the
products of communities with long-standing,
strong, cricket traditions.
He is also concerned that too many new,
unknown players, in a team might affect attendances
at matches. Fans like to watch
well-known players in winning teams — as
demonstrated by the full grounds when national
team players join their domestic teams.
But, tomorrow is another day, to paraphrase
Scarlett O’Hara. Today, there is still lots to be
optimistic about.
Sports Trader :: 2014 March