Missing that vital cog

As yet another 'invasion' halted play at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium, a disgruntled player yelled at the intruder: "This is a serious cricket match, you're not supposed to be inside like this."
However, the man carrying his daily groceries and walking merrily had a ready reply much to the surprise of the player.
"What match is this? There are no signboards," exclaims the culprit who was clearly taking a shortcut on his way home. He then walked off the centre nonchalantly but left behind a point, however naïve.
In this world where image matters so much, advertisement boards around a cricket ground does put an impression on the mind of the onlooker. One cannot deny that what happens in the middle is the substance, but a bit of garnish definitely adds to the flavour. But that garnish was missing from the Dhaka leagues this year as the sponsors went missing in the Premier League. Even the Twenty20 competition failed to draw any money from the corporate houses. Without doubt it was a disappointment since cricket is the biggest sport in Bangladesh and the Premier League its biggest drawing card in the domestic arena.
Without sponsors, the board had to provide all the finances including the large payments they make to the various clubs (according to the position), umpires, groundsmen, logistics, etc. With the aid of a sponsor, the board could have augmented the facilities during the match that went badly missing this season in all league competitions.
Cricket in Bangladesh should be the easiest sport to sell but even the lure of international stars playing for big clubs was not tempting enough for the sponsors. What could be better for a sponsors' logo in Mashrafe's chest when he was smashing sixes for Abahani? Sadly, external factors have a part to play when money is involved and it was no different in the case of the sponsor-less Premier League.
According to Bangladesh Cricket Board's marketing committee chairman Aziz Al-Kaiser Tito, the time between the committee distribution after the board elections and preparation for the Premier League was too little.
"We were given the committees at a time when the tournament was really close," said Tito. "And there was the countries' general elections (in December 29) at that time so it was difficult for the sponsors to come forward.
"You must also remember that it is a hard time for even the big companies due to the global economic downturn," said Tito who added that it is also the board's duty to show off the competition in better light.
"It should be treated as a product and when we ask someone to pay for the product, it must give something back to the sponsor.
"If I go to a big corporation, they will ask for television coverage but apart from BTV showing the Twenty20 semifinals and final, there is no other coverage," said Tito who also hinted at better cricket standards as another way to attract attention. "I have been to a lot of Premier League games this season but hardly anyone comes to watch," added Tito.
Tito said that diluting the importance of the competition is another problem as many tournaments are being proposed outside the calender.
"The Premier League must be given due importance. We have a first-class competition (National Cricket League) and this tournament. These two should be the marquee events. Definitely other competitions are also important since we need our players to be exposed to a lot of matches," he said.
Tito however assured that they have already started working on developing the product 'Premier League' and next season it would be much different.
Sponsor names were synonymous with the leagues in the days gone by. Even today, the school competition is referred to as 'Nirman' after the construction company's dedicated sponsorship of school cricket. Among the cricket players of the 1990s, First Division is still known as Milners. The school competition these days have a stable sponsor in Standard Chartered Bank and that is definitely encouraging. The national cricket academy also have a financer in Grameenphone who also provide for the national side but hardly anyone comes forward for the domestic game.
If not as good or dedicated, the cricket board must ensure that a sponsor come through and stick with the tournaments for a considerable time.