BBC exclusion a big wake-up call for cricket, says Joe Root
The exclusion of a cricketer from the list of nominees for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year comes as a surprise, especially in a year that saw many of the English cricketers set new benchmarks for the team, as well as for the cricketers globally.
James Anderson broke the English record for the most number of Test wickets set by Ian Botham, Alastair Cook broke Graham Gooch’s record for the most number of Test runs for England, and the currently no. 1 ranked Test batsman Joe Root has amassed 2131 runs across all formats this year for England, which is also a new English record.
In the wake of these recent events, it has come as a wake-up call for cricket, says Root, and that cricket must buckle-up to increase its popularity amongst the masses. One major reason behind this, it is believed, is the absence of cricket from free-to-air live television, as well as the inadequately high prices of tickets for those who wish to visit the stadium to watch the game.
The news of deteriorating numbers from the grounds, as well as absence of cricket from newspapers, has already been there, and this BBC snub comes as a clear evidence of cricket diminishing from the eyes of the public.
Having said that, it must also be remembered that England was, and perhaps still is considered to be one of the venues where Test cricket, or cricket in general, garners huge public interest.
Hence, this incident downplays the role of the forefathers of the game in building up and developing the stature of the game in their own backyard. "Maybe it is a bit of a wake-up call for cricket and maybe it is slightly sad for the sport," Root told ESPNCricinfo.
While Root understated his own non-appearance from the list, he did believe that some of his team-mates had done tremendous things for England and for cricket in general.
"The 12 nominees have done amazing things in their individual sports this year and they deserve all the plaudits and recognition they get.”
"But within cricket, you look at all the things that Stuart Broad has achieved this year, you look at James Anderson breaking Sir Ian Botham's record for the most Test wickets for England and Alastair Cook breaking Graham Gooch's batting record for the most Test runs. So I'd probably be down the list in cricket, anyway.”
"All we can do as players and ambassadors of the game is try to set an example, playing in the right way and make it as entertaining as possible for people watching."
There have been 12 nominees for the award, and while it can be safely concluded that each of those have performed exceptionally well in their respective disciplines, the absence of a cricketer, in a year that saw England regain the Ashes, raises a big question mark.
In recent times, day-night Tests, pink balls and All-Stars League have been some of the initiatives taken by the cricketing fraternity to popularise the game as well as keep the public glued, but the basic things such as availability of cricket on television and the affordability of tickets for those who wish to watch the game must be the prime issues to be addressed.