Cricket SA loss is about swings and roundabouts‚ not cricket

Alarm bells would have rung in some minds at Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) declaration of a loss of R158.81-million at their annual meeting at the weekend.

Was the game in this country on the skids financially?

Might it be a strictly amateur pursuit one of these years‚ up there with archery and croquet?

Did this mean stars and future stars would leave South Africa in search of places where they would be paid to play?

None of the above.

CSA make money from tours only when they host India‚ England or Australia‚ and they bank a little when Pakistan are the visitors. But the books take a hit whenever any other team are in town.

New Zealand and Sri Lanka toured last season‚ hence the loss.

All of which is tied to the fact that cricket’s major revenue stream the world over is the sale of broadcast rights.

And the rights for games played by India‚ England and Australia‚ regardless of the quality of the cricket those sides play play‚ are worth significantly more than any other team’s.

Happily‚ for CSA‚ they can expect two visits by India and Australia and one by England every four years.

So‚ with the Indians and the Aussies due to tour this summer‚ things should look brighter at CSA’s next annual meeting.

Accordingly‚ they’ve projected a profit of R539.392-million for 2018.

Call it the swings and roundabouts of cricket economics.

“Apart from the annual budgets and actual results‚ CSA prepares budgets and operates its business on the basis of a four-year financial planning cycle to take account of the decidedly variable revenue flows that arise from the divergent inbound international tours to South Africa each year‚” CSA’s latest annual report says.

“The four-year cycle allows CSA to plan programmes more sustainably and evaluate its finances more meaningfully. "This is why annual results should be viewed in the context of the four-year cycle.”

- TimesLIVE