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England women’s cricket chief Clare Connor unveils bold plan to take the sport mainstream

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By Seb Joseph, News editor

December 6, 2016 | 5 min read

With just under a year to go until the Women’s Cricket World Cup, England’s head of the sport Clare Connor believes the build up to it is a chance to generate more female interest in players and matches that are primarily watched by men.

ICC's women's World Cup cricket campaign

Cricket bosses are looking to drum up awareness for next year's World Cup.

As surprising as it sounds, upon closer inspection the fact that most women aren’t necessarily keen on watching a sport that isn’t among the most accessible to the masses is clear. Their apathy toward cricket is made even clearer given the ICC’s research found a higher number of women will watch the men’s Ashes tournament, rather than the women’s equivalent.

“All the research tells us that more men watch women’s cricket,” Connor explained as to why cricket bosses are so keen on spreading diversity across the sport. “We have an opportunity with women’s cricket to bring new revenue, new fans and new participants to our sport…You want cricket to be accessible and we want women and girls to feel that this is a sport for them.”

As tricky as this may be, Connor thinks there’s a way forward; unlike the male version, women’s cricket has the potential to attract a more diverse following if its marketers can successfully leverage stars of the game who are more accessible. “It’s up the national governing bodies and our content marketing teams to tell those stories and try and get some of those names recognised for being different,” added Connor.

“We have to alter perceptions in every area of our sport not just players. It’s about coaching: it’s about being a volunteer and working in cricket. We cant be closed off because we’re limiting the opportunity for the sport if we’re only talking to men and boys.”

There are early signs that this view is starting to get through to people. Ticket sales for next year’s tournament, which cricket bosses have pledged will be the best attended and most successful ever, have already beaten previous records, with more than 5,500 people grabbing the chance to watch some of the world’s top players face off at Lords, according to the ICC. It’s a feat made more impressive given the week-long ticket ballot took place in October, the first time this has taken place for the women’s event.

Connor attributes part of the success to the HSE Cake created “Who Runs the World” campaign, which spanned video, posters, paid and social media channels. An apparent play of the 2011 Beyonce hit of the same name, the campaign is viewed by cricket bosses as somewhat of a stepchange in using female empowerment to generate awareness.

Building on this momentum is paramount if cricket chiefs are to show potential sponsors that the sport is growing. For all the talk of women’s cricket “having its time in the sun,” it will be forever in the shade unless sponsors come on board. “Cricket and women’s sports in general are a huge growth area that’s only going to get bigger,” said Connor. “It’s not saturated yet in terms of sponsors. In the men’s game there’s not a chance you’re going to be able to get involved in a sport like cricket with an investment of £100,000.”

Part of Connor’s confidence stems from the opportunity that comes from hosting the Netball and Hockey world cup tournaments in the following two years after cricket’s event. Having that closeness of events should create a groundswell of interest in the UK that all three of the sport’s governing bodies will try and tap, in part through a combined strategy that is still being thrashed out.

“We’re trying to build out this unique opportunity that we’ve got three women’s world cups in the space of three years,” said Connor. “We’re trying to look at a way that we can be stronger together in terms of our drive to get more girls playing sports and building the profile of these events.”

Women’s sport has arguably never enjoyed as high a profile in the UK as it does now; from Sky’s recent deal with England Netball to screen all home tests to Channel 4 replacing the BBC as the home of live Women’s Euro 2017 football, there’s a lot more money being spent on these untapped areas as broadcasters and advertisers look for something different. Sponsorship and sports marketing is traditionally expensive to do right and so marketers are increasingly looking for alternatives that can still deliver value.

Under Armour’s decision to sign Chelsea and England international footballer Eniola Aluko highlights the paradigm shift. She is the sports brand’s first female ambassador in the UK and is likely to bare similarity to how the England cricketers are being marketed in terms of inspiring other women in their struggles.

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