February 2010 - Queensland Cricket

INDOOR CRICKET13From page 12“I had some people makean offer on my businessand I thought ‘well, whynot?’. I was probablylooking for achange and this isan exciting era forindoor cricket frommy point of view.”Donnelly has hit theground running, especiallynow thatmost of the hurdlesinvolved with themerger have beenovercome.“Initially we had toconvince the centreowners this was thebest direction for thesport. Once that happened,the centreowners could see theshort and long termbenefits, and theywere excited,” he said.“The problems onlycome with the technicalities,like with legaldocuments and contracts…sorting that sideout. We’ve moved pastthat, now it’s a matter offinding our niche withinQC.”There are benefits in themerger for the outdoorgame in regions that experienceextreme heat orrainfall, with indoor centresproviding a refuge andAustralia’s World Cup winning team (top) with a sample of the high-poweredaction that can be seen at indoor cricket centres around Queensland.space to play or learn thegame. It also has the benefitof keeping older playersactively involved in thegame, with Masters competitionsin five-year incrementsfrom 30 to 45 yearsand above.“They get to play in Statechampionships and have aWorld Cup for each agegroup,” Donnelly added.Indoorcricket hasalready enjoyeda hugespin-off fromthe merger,with the IndoorWorldCup stagedin the Brisbanewesternsuburbof Darra lastOctober attractinglivecoverage on FoxSports andthe final being broadcast onABC radio.“It was the biggest and bestWorld Cup by a long wayand Cricket Australia’s involvementcertainly ensuredthat,” Donnelly said.One of the notable statisticsto emerge from the championshipswas that CricketAustralia’s website received13 times more hits on theIndoor Cricket World Cupsection than they did forthe Champions League T20competition that was heldaround the same time.“CA thought that was absolutelyamazing. We getright down to the grassroots level and spread.”Donnelly said.Donnelly is keen to build onthat in the busy yearahead, with the SuperLeague competition startingon 6 March. “Indoor cricketwas huge in the late 1980sbut it peaked and then fellaway,” he said. “It neededto be developed and handledbetter than what itwas. We needed to get intoschools and look after ourjunior base better thanwhat we did.