September 20, 2006	Wednesday	Sha'aban 26, 1427

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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19: Asia remains a vast area of untapped commercial possibility for cricketing authorities but all the elements are in place for this to change. That's the way Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief executive Syed Ashraful Huq sees the future for a sport he believes is on the cusp of being accepted like football in the region.

While cricket is nearly a religion in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, other parts of Asia are still coming to grips with why anyone would want to play a game for five days before getting a result.

But the mindset is changing, and countries like Afghanistan, Nepal, Thailand, and Kuwait and Oman in the Far East, are leading the way.

“We are at a very interesting stage in cricket in Asia,” Huq said.

“The vast majority of the commercial values of the game are generated by Asia, predominantly India and its global diaspora, yet there are still vast areas of untapped resources.”

An indication of how much money there is in the game is that the Indian cricket board, one of the richest sporting associations in the world, has almost entirely funded the ongoing DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia.

They are reportedly paying appearance fees of one million dollars each to Australia and the West Indies to play, and shelled out US$500,000 to erect new floodlights at the Kinrara Oval, a neutral venue in Kuala Lumpur.

A Delhi construction company is sponsoring the tournament with the entire event broadcast live by Zee TV.

It has primarily been arranged to cater to the public in India, which grinds to a halt when its superstars play, but the ACC and Indian authorities also want to bring the sport to developing cricketing countries.

Like India, China has a huge population and is seen as the next big frontier, both in cricketing terms and for commercial opportunities.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed is accompanying Huq to Beijing and Shanghai this week to assess where China is at and where it can go.

“The potential benefits and commercial revenues from its presence in the cricket world are enormous,” said Huq.

“As soon as China breaks through, I foresee the total global revenues for cricket increasing by up to 30 to 40 percent.”

Other Asian nations also offer possibilities.

“Countries like Afghanistan, Nepal and Thailand have emerged with strong, indigenous cricketers,” said Huq, pointing out that an Afghan side toured England earlier this year.

“If they continue their current rate of progress they could provide stiff opposition to the worlds professional cricketers inside five years in the case of Afghanistan, a bit longer in the case of Nepal and a bit longer in the case of Thailand.

“These are countries where thanks to the ICC and the ACC Development Program, cricket has caught on in a big way.”

He also sees growth opportunities for the Twenty/20 version of the game, which has attracted sell-out crowds in other parts of the world and whose fast and furious action could be the hook to getting fans on board in Asia.

“Its in an evolving stage still and I think one can have too much of it, but its strength is not just that its a more convenient package of highlights, but that its a great equaliser,” he said.

“The gap between a top team and one below it is narrowed in this format to the extent that some major upsets could occur if Davids were put up against Goliaths.

“A result like that, in all its photogenic glory, and cricket wins new converts instantly.”—AFP