Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191 
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on May 31, 2019 19:01:11 GMT
"But just look at the franchise names you turned down!" Cilla Black might have said, upon learning that Surrey weren't overly taken with any of the suggested brandings to date. (I don't suppose Kent have got much of a say in it). If you haven't seen them, the best ideas the ECB's marketing consultants have had so far for the Oval-based team are:- London Fuse, London Rebels, London Union, and my favourite (i.e., the lamest, in a strong field) ... London X. I sort of wish they'd gone for that one. Being from Thanet I'd have found it an intriguing challenge to try and persuade myself to give the ghost of a toss about the fortunes of London X in the Hundred.
Of the names that have been revealed already, the consensus seems to be that the Nottingham one is the most fatuous. Difficult to argue with that. Somehow Houston Rockets seems a perfectly reasonable name for a basketball team. And it doesn't hurt that NASA's Mission Control is based there. Whereas, Trent Rockets just sounds silly, regardless of any rocketry connections that Nottingham can lay claim to. I must admit that when I think of Nottingham I think of (a) lace, and (b) gun capital of the UK. I think both are old news now, but that's the point of heritage. Trent Guns would be a better name and would help to tell the story of Nottingham. It wouldn't matter that it sounds like the name of the chap who played bass for King Crimson in the late 90s. Very few mums and kids would know that.
Of course back in the capital it's knives that are the weapons of choice nowadays. South London Switchblades is probably a catchier name than whatever the Oval franchise will end up with, but if it ever came up during a free-association whiteboarding session it would probably have been rejected on grounds of taste (even though several T20 Blast teams are named after things whose only purpose is to kill people).
At the very least, the Hundred teams ought not to have names that have previously been used by other counties. Is the lexicon of sports franchises so limited that Birmingham Phoenix have to recycle Yorkshire's Sunday League team name from the 2000s?
These are the marketing svengalis behind the Hundred team branding:- www.futurebrand.com/
Futurebrand's website is packed with suitable drivel to amuse and infuriate, if you like that sort of thing (I know I do). My eye was taken by an opinion piece titled "Blandness is the enemy of brands. How to avoid it.", which seems decidedly cheeky in the circumstances. Elsewhere they talk a lot about the importance of customers building a strong emotional connection with a brand. I think they might have their work cut out here. Perhaps Futurebrand realised that from the outset, and decided not to put their very best people on this one.
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Post by joe on May 31, 2019 19:14:57 GMT
These companies are rarely picked at random at this level. You’ll probably find that Ed Smiths brother-in-law is on the board of directors at Futurebrand.
How about The Nottingham Sheriffs? .
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jun 1, 2019 0:19:44 GMT
I'm guilty of reducing the discussion of the Hundred team names to the level of a late-evening pub conversation. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Actually I do think the names are important, in what I like to call 'the Hundred space'. They've got to attract people who think teams with names like Hampshire County Cricket Club are nothing to do with them (while also hopefully retaining existing cricket fans). So they've got to be got right. In truth, the names were always going to come in for a fair bit of ridicule no matter how good they were. People (like me) are like that. But those who are sceptical about the Hundred don't need the team names to be crap for the world to make sense. I'm sure most of us would be capable of acknowledging that the ECB have come up with some names that are original, memorable, dynamic-sounding, witty even, and so on - had they done so. It needn't stop us dissing the Hundred.
In fact, the derision for the Hundred brandings has been utterly universal as far as I can see. OK the only people commenting on them at the moment will be cricket people, but still it's not a good sign. Practically everyone on the online cricket scene is finding that p-taking and bewilderment are the only responses available to them, however much they might have hoped to be able to respond to the brandings in a more intelligent and constructive fashion.
Joe, I forgot about Robin Hood! I quite like the Sheriffs name, in a counter-intuitive way. The Hundred is meant to be wilder and zanier than the Blast, so since Nottinghamshire's T20 side already has the Outlaws cool it would be funny if their Hundred team name evoked the taxman-like figure of the Sheriff(s).
On the subject of singular things that are pluralised in team names (and vice versa), the Southampton franchise has been bugging me ever since it was revealed. If the spirit in London Spirit is a human quality then shouldn't Southern Brave be Southern Bravery? Because the 'Brave' bit has unfortunate Native American connotations. I'm fairly sure that 'brave' has long been regarded as offensive in that usage, in the way that a colonial type might show patronising admiration for a 'noble savage'. Perhaps I'm interpreting Southern Brave wrongly, but if I am, I won't be the only one.
London Spirit seems to be making everyone think of Gordon's gin. Actually that's not a bad idea (I've got a bottle in the freezer), but it can't have been the intention.
Welsh Fire just makes me think of holiday cottages getting torched. Kids won't know about that (I doubt it's on the History syllabus), but their mums might.
Then there's the Rockets of course. And the Leeds Superchargers. That's just a bit cumbersome. (Why not Leeds Twin Carburettors?)
As for Birmingham's Phoenix, aside from it being pre-loved by Yorkshire the phoenix is just an off-the-shelf mythical creature at this point. It's such a worn-out image that I don't think most people will even make the back-from-the-dead connection any more. People are as bored of phoenixes as they are of unicorns.
Well I'm just one respondent. Forgetting that I'm an avid cricket fan, those are the thoughts that the team names put into my head. I'd love to see some of the positive market research that has emboldened the ECB to go ahead with those brands. Actually, since we're only going by trademark applications at the moment, it'll be interesting to see whether all of these names survive until the official announcement on 20th October. Derby mums and the like should probably hold off on embroidering 'Trent Rockets' all over their kids' clothing for now.
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Post by flashblade on Jun 5, 2019 7:42:34 GMT
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jun 14, 2019 12:10:58 GMT
I think this might be how it went over at Futurebrand (the ECB's marketing consultants for the Hundred), as they slumped despondently on beanbags and tried yet again to brainstorm a suitable name for the Old Trafford franchise.
Creative A: "Sorry guys, I'm out of ideas. It's so hard to come up with something original."
Creative B: "That's it! You're a genius! Manchester Originals it is!"
Creative C: "Turning our paucity of ideas into solution delivery - that's a game-changer!"
www.standard.co.uk/sport/cricket/manchester-originals-hundred-name-revealed-for-team-based-at-old-trafford-a4167446.html
"It is understood that the research in Manchester revealed a passion for the city’s famous culture of sports, arts, music and industry." Imagine that.
Just the South London one to go then. (Tom Harrison would probably call The Oval a 'pocket of resistance').
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Post by flashblade on Jun 14, 2019 13:03:00 GMT
I think this might be how it went over at Futurebrand (the ECB's marketing consultants for the Hundred), as they slumped despondently on beanbags and tried yet again to brainstorm a suitable name for the Old Trafford franchise.
Creative A: "Sorry guys, I'm out of ideas. It's so hard to come up with something original."
Creative B: "That's it! You're a genius! Manchester Originals it is!"
Creative C: "Turning our paucity of ideas into solution delivery - that's a game-changer!"
www.standard.co.uk/sport/cricket/manchester-originals-hundred-name-revealed-for-team-based-at-old-trafford-a4167446.html
"It is understood that the research in Manchester revealed a passion for the city’s famous culture of sports, arts, music and industry." Imagine that.
Just the South London one to go then. (Tom Harrison would probably call The Oval a 'pocket of resistance'). Just when you think it can't get any worse . . . EDIT: It just did: 100 matches to be classified as List A. Even T20 matches are not List A. |
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Post by coverpoint on Jun 14, 2019 13:19:39 GMT
I think this might be how it went over at Futurebrand (the ECB's marketing consultants for the Hundred), as they slumped despondently on beanbags and tried yet again to brainstorm a suitable name for the Old Trafford franchise.
Creative A: "Sorry guys, I'm out of ideas. It's so hard to come up with something original."
Creative B: "That's it! You're a genius! Manchester Originals it is!"
Creative C: "Turning our paucity of ideas into solution delivery - that's a game-changer!"
www.standard.co.uk/sport/cricket/manchester-originals-hundred-name-revealed-for-team-based-at-old-trafford-a4167446.html
"It is understood that the research in Manchester revealed a passion for the city’s famous culture of sports, arts, music and industry." Imagine that.
Just the South London one to go then. (Tom Harrison would probably call The Oval a 'pocket of resistance'). It should be classed as MM (Micky Mouse) matches. |
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Post by flashblade on Jun 14, 2019 13:23:28 GMT
I'm beginning to relax. I think there must be some insiders at the ECB who have decided to sabotage this monstrosity.  |
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jun 14, 2019 14:10:04 GMT
Just when you think it can't get any worse . . . EDIT: It just did: 100 matches to be classified as List A. Even T20 matches are not List A.
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jun 14, 2019 14:36:33 GMT
I'm beginning to relax. I think there must be some insiders at the ECB who have decided to sabotage this monstrosity.
You might have seen elsewhere in the Times article you linked that it looks as though the counties might be trying to sort of sabotage it a bit. When considering how much of the annual 1.3 millions will represent net income to the counties, there will be unguessable sums deriving from reduced sponsorship and Blast attendances and so on that should be deducted. We might also have to include the cost of bribes paid by counties to their players in exchange for them forgoing the Hundred. The ECB might have moved on emotionally from the domestic 50-over cup, but the counties don't seem quite so ready to let go of it.
"A number of counties are planning to risk the wrath of the ECB by offering pay rises to players as an incentive to keep them out of the Hundred auction ... the counties are taking [the One-Day Cup] seriously and want to be competitive. Senior county players are also thought to have misgivings about the Hundred, as playing for one of the eight new franchises may require them to move to another part of the country for several weeks for little financial reward, with contracts starting at £25,000. As a result the offer of an increased salary from their county may persuade some to give the new competition a miss."
I must admit I didn't see that coming. Interesting! |
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jun 14, 2019 22:49:36 GMT
A while ago I registered for updates from the most boring website in the world (www.thehundred.com), and today I received my first email. After a month of silence the timing seemed as though it might be significant. Perhaps the ECB, realising that kids have got to find out about Manchester Originals sooner or later, had decided to blab the whole thing in all media; and the seven team names that are known so far would be confirmed in the email (together with some other tantalising titbits to keep me engaged).
That was naive of me. The email update contained as much information as the website did on launch day (and indeed still does). That is to say, close to none, but padded out with the Hundred's now-familiar crude, headache-inducing dayglo graphics. "Seven cities ... 8 new teams ... Cricket at its action-packed, intense best ... Teams will be made up of overseas and England stars, plus the best home-grown talent".
That last claim won't stand much scrutiny. Still, there was intel to be divined - of a sort. For the first time (that I'm aware of) the ECB are canvassing cricket fans about the Hundred. They've put almost no effort into it, but it's interesting nonetheless that the only communication that's so far been sent to Hundred website subscribers contains surveys aimed at people who already like cricket. Possibly this is a fallback position in case the New Audience For Cricket turns out not to exist. Maybe have another look at those existing cricket supporters. Could still be useful.
One of the surveys was to help them send me information tailored to me. Filling it out took a fraction of the estimated two minutes: "How often do you go to the cricket ... Who do you go with ... Who do you support ... Have you got children?". That was it.
The other survey asked "Of the top-performing players in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup so far, and of the top performing players from the ICC Women’s World Cup in England in 2017, who would you like to see bat and bowl in The Hundred?*"
Gosh. I never thought I'd have a say in it. Anyway the asterisk denoted "*Top 10 ranked players populated from batting strike rate and bowling average from the most recent ICC Men's and Women's World Cup, accurate as of 5.30pm on Friday 14th June 2019."
Hardik Pandya is about 3rd in the batting strike-rate rankings but he's been quietly overlooked, presumably on account of being Indian. The ECB are obviously resigned to no players being released by the BCCI to play in the Hundred. Perhaps the timing of this email update is significant after all. If they'd left it another week, Virat Kohli might have become the star of the World Cup. And not only is he Indian, he's also told the ECB where they can stick their Hundred. And if Kohli had already become the star of the World Cup after just two completed matches, then I'm sure this 'survey' wouldn't even have existed as it might have produced an embarrassing answer.
Information is hard to come by with that lot, so it's quite nice that today's mail-out reveals more than the ECB had intended. They seem less certain than they once were that they can do without existing cricket fans, and they're evasive about the BCCI's prohibition on players participating in rival franchise leagues. Perhaps subsequent updates will tentatively introduce the likely absence of England players until the knockout stages. Ditto other overseas players (in addition to Indians) with conflicting commitments or preferences, and domestic players who have been bought off by their own counties.
Surveys are here if you want.
r1.surveysandforms.com/m/1b2sx2a0-ce3x7895-A615VLE6F0?utm_campaign=70204_The%20Hundred%201406&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ECB&dm_i=582Q,1I64,15VLE6,4JEE,1
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Post by gmdf on Jun 15, 2019 9:59:50 GMT
I'm beginning to relax. I think there must be some insiders at the ECB who have decided to sabotage this monstrosity.
You might have seen elsewhere in the Times article you linked that it looks as though the counties might be trying to sort of sabotage it a bit. When considering how much of the annual 1.3 millions will represent net income to the counties, there will be unguessable sums deriving from reduced sponsorship and Blast attendances and so on that should be deducted. We might also have to include the cost of bribes paid by counties to their players in exchange for them forgoing the Hundred. The ECB might have moved on emotionally from the domestic 50-over cup, but the counties don't seem quite so ready to let go of it.
"A number of counties are planning to risk the wrath of the ECB by offering pay rises to players as an incentive to keep them out of the Hundred auction ... the counties are taking [the One-Day Cup] seriously and want to be competitive. Senior county players are also thought to have misgivings about the Hundred, as playing for one of the eight new franchises may require them to move to another part of the country for several weeks for little financial reward, with contracts starting at £25,000. As a result the offer of an increased salary from their county may persuade some to give the new competition a miss."
I must admit I didn't see that coming. Interesting! I was horrified by this - it makes nonsense of cricket statistics... But it seems it isn't quite as reported, as this thread of Tweets says (click on the 'forward arrow' at the end to see the whole of the conversation including the important posts!):
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jun 27, 2019 20:39:23 GMT
So the ECB and Surrey finally hammered out a deal and arrived at a name for the Oval-based franchise that both parties could live with. But there are no winners here. Surrey got their way and there's no reference to London, but in return they had to yield to the ECB's insistence that the name must be crap:- Oval Greats. Still I'm sort of looking forward to the first local derby between our two counties (mine being Kent) in support of our respective franchise czars Hampshire and Surrey. Already I can hear Charles Colville bellowing "a very warm welcome to the Augean Bowl for this crucial Hundred fixture between the Brave and the Greats!"
I'm aware that sports franchise names aren't to be taken literally, but portraying a team as being full of 'greats' feels quite boastful in a way that it isn't when you say your team comprises rockets, for example, or superchargers. (Or, indeed, super kings). And of course the greatness of the players the Oval Greats end up bagging in the draft is yet to be determined.
Somehow it reminds me of the indignity that Penguin Books subjected themselves to when they acceded to Morrissey's demand that his autobiography be published under their Penguin Classics imprint. "A book could be published as a Penguin Classic because it is a classic in the making", a Penguin bigwig found himself saying. Perhaps Surrey (and Kent!) would say that their eventual squad could already be regarded as nascent greats (where such players as they sign aren't established as being great on arrival).
As avowedly city-centric projects go, the Hundred feels kind of apologetic. Of the eight franchises, only four are actually named after cities. And one of those is a single-county operation: 'Manchester Originals' is just a needlessly divisive way of saying 'Lancashire'. Apart from that, the teams are named after a vaguely-defined stretch of coast, a specific cricket ground, a whole country, and a river. (Now, river-based T20 ... that would have been eye-catchingly different, while alienating fewer fans through regional city rivalries and retaining a format that's been thoroughly road-tested).
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Bazpan
2nd XI player
Posts: 191
County club member: Kent
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Post by Bazpan on Jul 4, 2019 21:16:21 GMT
Wisden are reporting that Steve Elworthy is to become the ECB's new Head of Special Projects. "It is expected that one of Elworthy’s key roles will be the deliverance of the ECB’s new competition, The Hundred". I like that choice of word, 'deliverance'. Of course technically you can use it where you would normally say 'delivery', but no one does. The way it always gets used is more along the lines of the online Free Dictionary's definition:- "rescue from moral corruption or evil; salvation", which seems quite apt (if an improbable outcome in this instance).
There have been some additions to the Hundred website, including some actual news (though nothing you won't have read elsewhere): confirmation that Simon Katich has been appointed as coach for the Manchester Originals. He dutifully refrains from getting them stuck with that name by saying "I am incredibly excited by the opportunity to lead the new men's Manchester-based team". Just keeping their options open in case an even better name occurs to them, I suppose. (There are rumours that Leeds Superchargers might change their name to the less provocative Northern Superchargers, which would reduce to three the number of city-based franchises actually named after cities).
There are some other new bits on the Hundred website, including an overwrought (though uninformative) preview of the player-selection process.
www.thehundred.com/news/1257404/get-ready-for-the-men-s-player-draft-?utm_campaign=76327_Draft%20Article&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ECB&dm_i=582Q,1MW7,15VLE6,53MG,1
"The men's Player Draft is coming soon - Are you ready? ... Player Drafts have become big news all around the world. Now it’s time to bring all the thrills and spills to this country ... A WHOLE NEW TEAM. ALL AT ONCE ... Selecting one or two players is one thing. But the men's Player Draft means picking an entire team. In one go ... Picked from a host of English stars, international big hitters and the most exciting up and coming players ... WHAT'S THE LOWDOWN? ... Three international icons. England stars and home-grown talents. Each team will pick a boundary smashing squad of 15, ready to play cricket at its fastest, wildest best. Who will make the grade? ... WHO'LL BE THE STEAL? ... The most inspired picks will come from out of nowhere. The ones others have ignored in favour of a household name. Who will use bat and ball to make themselves the hero of an entire city? ... FEEL THE DRAMA ... When the heat is on, who’ll keep their cool? Watch teams make split-second choices that could make or break their entire competition. A cheeky bid here. A surprise choice there. Can you second guess which players will go where? ... HOLD YOUR BREATH ... The men's Player Draft will be a wild ride. But it’s not just one day. Speculate. Predict. Dream your team. The suspense will build and build as the big day approaches ... EVERYBODY’S INVITED ... Tune in. Log on. Be part of it."
Well, are you ready? Personally I'm going to try and ignore the suspense building and building, and postpone my own state of readiness until the big day itself. It can't be healthy to maintain this hyperventilating level of anticipation for another 16 weeks.
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Post by flashblade on Jul 5, 2019 7:11:02 GMT
This would be amusing if it wasn't so wrong. A feeble attempt to manufacture synthetic excitement from a zero base.
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