Quipu returns from Dubai
After covering the England v Associate XI for QuipuTV in Dubai, Mike Stanger brings us up to date with his latest blog on their return to Scottish soil.
So now we know that very few people would spend the equivalent of a packet of cigarettes to be able to watch three days of England's finest cricketers warming up against a select team of the best Associate-level players.
This was undoubtedly a very disappointing result for Quipu TV on our ambitious visit to Dubai earlier this month. Despite any technical problems on the first morning, everyone enjoyed our coverage of the rest of what was a very good game of cricket by any standards, even if too few paid to watch it. They missed some outstanding performances, from the likes of Afghanistan's Mohammad Shazad, Namibia's Christi Viljoen and our own Majid Haq.
It was the first time any of us at Quipu TV had been to the ICC's Global Cricket Academy venue, and we were mightily impressed with the whole set-up. There are two circular ovals, impeccably looked after, along with the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, by Aussie curator Tony Hemmings.
The GCA square is constructed with lively Australian loam in one half, and low-bounce Pakistani soil in the other. Hemmings also nurses a variety of other soils among the 20 or so grass nets to one side of the ground.
And, between the ovals and the ICC's global headquarters - an unassuming office block a couple of hundred metres away - there is the imposing, sweeping architecture of the Global Academy's new indoor school. Here, the most amazing technological aids are available to challenge cricketers, along with the now-obligatory strength and conditioning laboratories and other state-of-the-art facilities.
The buildings are not yet complete, but there's no doubting they are world-class. The only disappointment of the GCA development is the way in which the pavilion buildings are squeezed into the narrow isthmus between the two ovals. With so much space available nearby, it is a surprising shortcoming.
The best viewpoint of the game is from the tented flat roof of the pavilions, and we were allowed to position our cameras up there, although not our commentary position - this space was reserved for the England players, we were told. In the event, very few England players were to be found there, and the Quipu crowd would not have been in anyone's way.
As it was, we had to content ourselves at ground level in the shade of a couple of large umbrellas, although the view of the action was restrictive. This make-do-and-mend location, however, had one outstanding benefit: being located adjacent to the public toilets - an essential for those of us who were on duty for eight continuous hours a day!
We had mustered a crew of seven, a mix of experience and youth with former STV producer Tom Cara, three young University of West of Scotland graduates and a former television producer from Scotland, now resident in Dubai.
Our cosmopolitan in-house commentary team was bolstered by the expertise of professional cricket writers from Fleet Street and more local news outlets, including former Essex and England player Derek Pringle, and K R Nayar of the Gulf News. We were also favoured by a succession of knowledgeable ICC executives, whose insight into the global game provided unique in-depth analysis of what we were watching.
We would like to think that what they saw of our small-scale outside broadcast operation left a strong impression. Quipu TV is dedicated to covering Associate-level cricket, because we believe it deserves it. Mainstream television companies generally have their hands full following the 10 Test-playing nations. But we believe there is plenty of cricketing talent elsewhere, along with an enthusiastic fan base that wants to watch, even if they don't yet wish to pay for the privilege!
We needed 1,300 viewers to cover our costs. In the end, we attracted only 326 stalwarts, which is a pity, because it threatens our ability to contemplate future forays of this kind. We desperately want to return to Dubai to cover the World T20 Qualifiers in March, and the ICC have granted us the rights to do this. Given that the pay-per-view route was such a flop and the advertising and sponsorship market for what we do is as yet undeveloped, however, the not-inconsiderable costs of such a trip have to be paid for somehow.
Quipu TV will continue to search for answers to these conundrums. Thanks to Jack's ceaseless marketing efforts, we forged a very good relationship with Shanghai-based n-force sports, our broadcast sponsor in Dubai earlier this month. We need more such organisations - and enlightened individuals - to understand that we are working to provide a valuable service to Associate-level cricket.
Meanwhile, thanks to one generous individual, Quipu TV next month will be covering live the 21 games of the men's EuroHockey Indoor Trophy tournament from the brand new Napier University sports hall in Edinburgh. Featuring seven of the top club sides in Europe, including forward-thinking hosts Inverleith, this is exactly the kind of international sporting event to which our low-cost operation is suited.
