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There was an unusual buzz around the Asian Institute of Technology Cricket Ground (AIT) on Friday (December 2). You would be forgiven for believing that the hustle-bustle was to get the scheduled India vs Nepal game going. After all, the unpredictability of Bangkok's weather was on display. The early morning drizzle had already delayed the toss by 15 minutes, clouds were lurking around even though they looked far less threatening, and the outfield still sported a wet patch here and there.
But even as the two teams went about their business - the morning drills, the warm-ups and the team meetings - members of the ground staff were busy putting together a giant scaffolding behind each of the sightscreens.
Come Sunday, Thailand will become the first country to live telecast a game of Women's Asia Cup.
The tournament has seen five previous editions, four of which were in a Test-playing nation, but none, or a part thereof, was televised. The format underwent an overhaul to involve more developing participant countries. Now a T20 challenge, the tournament was awarded to China as a part of the same plan but still, the broadcasters stayed away from the less profitable product that was women's cricket. With a revamped format, as the Asia Cup returned after a four-year hiatus, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had made up its mind. If not more, at least the knockouts games of women's competition need to be televised and the 2016 edition's final seemed as good a time as any to kickstart the new tradition.
"It is quite big for us," says Saurabh Dhanuka, the marketing manager for Cricket Association of Thailand. "It gives us a good opportunity to show that Thailand Cricket can host internationals; that we have the facilities, we've got the manpower, we've got the experience. And we welcome all other countries to please come," he adds.
"There have been a lot of countries who have played here and they know a tournament like this can be hosted here. But now, the Test-playing nations will come to know that there exist the facilities, that the people here know what to do. (They will consider) that it was within the budget, there were no serious complaints, so maybe we can also go and have a tournament there."
Thailand, as Dhanuka stresses, is not a new host to various classes of cricket-playing nations. Exactly a year ago, the eight-team qualifying event for the 2015 ICC Women's T20 WC was hosted at its two grounds - AIT and Terdthai Cricket Ground - in Bangkok. ACC admitted that having seen the ICC awarding a tournament as big as the qualifiers to Thailand prompted them to consider it's candidature. The women team's recent success - they won the Asian region qualifiers and have constantly challenged stronger teams like Malaysia, China and Hong Kong - further simplified the decision-making process.
"Thailand is amongst the top teams, after the Test-playing countries, in our region," notes Sultan Rana, the events manager of ACC. "So, they were to be a part of this tournament. Now, having a home team in the tournament serves the purpose of promoting women's cricket. We knew that they had the grounds. (We awarded them the Asia Cup) because we realised they have the expertise to run the tournament. After all, they had organised the ICC qualifiers last year," he adds.
The telecast, however, was a last-minute call with the intricacies of the deal being finalised only in the week leading up to the tournament. Calls were made - to the broadcasters and the organisers - lengthy discussions ensued and despite all of it materialising only at the eleventh hour, the game is now on. Though not before inviting a major shuffle in the schedule.
The final was to be held on December 5, a Monday, and was later advanced by a day for Sunday. A host of people was left struggling to find out what the correct dates were.
"I wouldn't say it was a last-minute decision but it materialized only at the last moment. It was always in the plans. That is why we had to change the date," Rana reveals. "We had a word with the organisers and the broadcasters. Sunday, perhaps, you get more viewership.
"You have to look at the schedule from their point of view too because they want viewership. More the number of eyeballs, more money they get. Our interest was that the match should be televised but obviously the broadcaster has his own angle. So, it is a mutually agreed decision."
But only those involved know that there has been a last-minute change in the tournament venue as well. The heavy rains that lashed the city in the weeks leading up to the tournament, had forced the organisers to move the initial stages of the competition, and subsequently all of it, to AIT ground instead of a more-preferred TCG, which also serves as the home of the local team.
"This telecast will put us on the world map," says marketing manager of Cricket Association of Thailand Saurabh Dhanuka (third from left). Credit - ACC
Inside a college campus and otherwise a football ground with a track and field around its circumference, the venue has been in use for various league and practice games in recent times.
"We've done the ICC qualifiers here last year, so we were confident that AIT will be able to take the load. And here we are," Dhanuka clarifies. "I'll be honest; somewhere in the week before the tournament began only did we get the green light (for the telecast). The infrastructure, the equipment, the requirements, the team - it has all come together in the last week itself. So, regardless of what venue it was going to be, we were prepared to put this together.
"Everything is on track and... on 4th (December), we will be perfectly comfortable to roll this.
"It was a lot of work to move stuff and plan, logistically speaking... but purely from a live telecast point of view, AIT seems to be a better venue as well. There's more greenery here. From the spectators' point of view, there are a lot of students around (who belong to Asian countries). The final is on a Sunday, the exams are over and it's India vs Pakistan."
The broadcaster, Star Sports, too has put things together at a short notice, flying in the equipment and the crew. The 16-camera step-up that was installed on Saturday morning underwent a trial run during the afternoon game of the double-header. There haven't been any complaints or disappointments thus far, despite the local staff being new to the intricacies of televising what is still seen as a foreign sport.
Are there butterflies in the stomach, handling the expectations of a perfect debut in a game as high-voltage as an India-Pakistan clash? "No, not really. We are pretty excited," Dhanuka dismisses the thought. "(The telecast) will be a good tool for us to dissect and use for the future. After this, there would be no question marks over whether Bangkok can host cricket or not. This will clear everyone's doubts.
"Well, the doubts have been quite cleared in the Asian region, because we have done so many tournaments, seminars, courses and camps previously, but this is next level. This is like hosting a World Cup for us at the moment. This will (help us) invite more international tournaments to Thailand (as well as) to promote the sport among locals," he notes.
"This will also pull in sponsors hopefully, for the national team. People, when they see the telecast, will realise if they would have been sponsoring the national side, their logo would have been on the jersey and that they could have had hoardings in the ground, it'll be covered on the social media. (Telecast will help them) understand the magnitude of this."
Former India captain Anjum Chopra and Athar Ali Khan, who is now a selector for the Bangladesh Women's team, are amongst the notable names who have been roped in as commentators. The stage is set, for both Women's Asia Cup and Thailand to make their television debut. The icing on the cake would be arch-rivals India and Pakistan facing off in the title clash, which pleases all parties involved.
It remains to be seen how smoothly it all goes on the day, but what is more encouraging is the fact that women's cricket has seen two new international venues added in under a month's time. The telecast only comes as a further boost to its growing popularity. Be it in a remote village of Andhra Pradesh or on the outskirts of a tourist hub like Bangkok, women's cricket is steadily becoming a sustainable, and an entertaining, product on its own.
Thailand gears up for maiden live telecast of Women's Asia Cup - Cricbuzz
But even as the two teams went about their business - the morning drills, the warm-ups and the team meetings - members of the ground staff were busy putting together a giant scaffolding behind each of the sightscreens.
Come Sunday, Thailand will become the first country to live telecast a game of Women's Asia Cup.
The tournament has seen five previous editions, four of which were in a Test-playing nation, but none, or a part thereof, was televised. The format underwent an overhaul to involve more developing participant countries. Now a T20 challenge, the tournament was awarded to China as a part of the same plan but still, the broadcasters stayed away from the less profitable product that was women's cricket. With a revamped format, as the Asia Cup returned after a four-year hiatus, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had made up its mind. If not more, at least the knockouts games of women's competition need to be televised and the 2016 edition's final seemed as good a time as any to kickstart the new tradition.
"It is quite big for us," says Saurabh Dhanuka, the marketing manager for Cricket Association of Thailand. "It gives us a good opportunity to show that Thailand Cricket can host internationals; that we have the facilities, we've got the manpower, we've got the experience. And we welcome all other countries to please come," he adds.
"There have been a lot of countries who have played here and they know a tournament like this can be hosted here. But now, the Test-playing nations will come to know that there exist the facilities, that the people here know what to do. (They will consider) that it was within the budget, there were no serious complaints, so maybe we can also go and have a tournament there."
Thailand, as Dhanuka stresses, is not a new host to various classes of cricket-playing nations. Exactly a year ago, the eight-team qualifying event for the 2015 ICC Women's T20 WC was hosted at its two grounds - AIT and Terdthai Cricket Ground - in Bangkok. ACC admitted that having seen the ICC awarding a tournament as big as the qualifiers to Thailand prompted them to consider it's candidature. The women team's recent success - they won the Asian region qualifiers and have constantly challenged stronger teams like Malaysia, China and Hong Kong - further simplified the decision-making process.
"Thailand is amongst the top teams, after the Test-playing countries, in our region," notes Sultan Rana, the events manager of ACC. "So, they were to be a part of this tournament. Now, having a home team in the tournament serves the purpose of promoting women's cricket. We knew that they had the grounds. (We awarded them the Asia Cup) because we realised they have the expertise to run the tournament. After all, they had organised the ICC qualifiers last year," he adds.
The telecast, however, was a last-minute call with the intricacies of the deal being finalised only in the week leading up to the tournament. Calls were made - to the broadcasters and the organisers - lengthy discussions ensued and despite all of it materialising only at the eleventh hour, the game is now on. Though not before inviting a major shuffle in the schedule.
The final was to be held on December 5, a Monday, and was later advanced by a day for Sunday. A host of people was left struggling to find out what the correct dates were.
"I wouldn't say it was a last-minute decision but it materialized only at the last moment. It was always in the plans. That is why we had to change the date," Rana reveals. "We had a word with the organisers and the broadcasters. Sunday, perhaps, you get more viewership.
"You have to look at the schedule from their point of view too because they want viewership. More the number of eyeballs, more money they get. Our interest was that the match should be televised but obviously the broadcaster has his own angle. So, it is a mutually agreed decision."
But only those involved know that there has been a last-minute change in the tournament venue as well. The heavy rains that lashed the city in the weeks leading up to the tournament, had forced the organisers to move the initial stages of the competition, and subsequently all of it, to AIT ground instead of a more-preferred TCG, which also serves as the home of the local team.
"This telecast will put us on the world map," says marketing manager of Cricket Association of Thailand Saurabh Dhanuka (third from left). Credit - ACC
Inside a college campus and otherwise a football ground with a track and field around its circumference, the venue has been in use for various league and practice games in recent times.
"We've done the ICC qualifiers here last year, so we were confident that AIT will be able to take the load. And here we are," Dhanuka clarifies. "I'll be honest; somewhere in the week before the tournament began only did we get the green light (for the telecast). The infrastructure, the equipment, the requirements, the team - it has all come together in the last week itself. So, regardless of what venue it was going to be, we were prepared to put this together.
"Everything is on track and... on 4th (December), we will be perfectly comfortable to roll this.
"It was a lot of work to move stuff and plan, logistically speaking... but purely from a live telecast point of view, AIT seems to be a better venue as well. There's more greenery here. From the spectators' point of view, there are a lot of students around (who belong to Asian countries). The final is on a Sunday, the exams are over and it's India vs Pakistan."
The broadcaster, Star Sports, too has put things together at a short notice, flying in the equipment and the crew. The 16-camera step-up that was installed on Saturday morning underwent a trial run during the afternoon game of the double-header. There haven't been any complaints or disappointments thus far, despite the local staff being new to the intricacies of televising what is still seen as a foreign sport.
Are there butterflies in the stomach, handling the expectations of a perfect debut in a game as high-voltage as an India-Pakistan clash? "No, not really. We are pretty excited," Dhanuka dismisses the thought. "(The telecast) will be a good tool for us to dissect and use for the future. After this, there would be no question marks over whether Bangkok can host cricket or not. This will clear everyone's doubts.
"Well, the doubts have been quite cleared in the Asian region, because we have done so many tournaments, seminars, courses and camps previously, but this is next level. This is like hosting a World Cup for us at the moment. This will (help us) invite more international tournaments to Thailand (as well as) to promote the sport among locals," he notes.
"This will also pull in sponsors hopefully, for the national team. People, when they see the telecast, will realise if they would have been sponsoring the national side, their logo would have been on the jersey and that they could have had hoardings in the ground, it'll be covered on the social media. (Telecast will help them) understand the magnitude of this."
Former India captain Anjum Chopra and Athar Ali Khan, who is now a selector for the Bangladesh Women's team, are amongst the notable names who have been roped in as commentators. The stage is set, for both Women's Asia Cup and Thailand to make their television debut. The icing on the cake would be arch-rivals India and Pakistan facing off in the title clash, which pleases all parties involved.
It remains to be seen how smoothly it all goes on the day, but what is more encouraging is the fact that women's cricket has seen two new international venues added in under a month's time. The telecast only comes as a further boost to its growing popularity. Be it in a remote village of Andhra Pradesh or on the outskirts of a tourist hub like Bangkok, women's cricket is steadily becoming a sustainable, and an entertaining, product on its own.
Thailand gears up for maiden live telecast of Women's Asia Cup - Cricbuzz
