Recent research by Matchpint and Sky Sports revealed that 94% of sports fans prefer the atmosphere of their local for watching their favourite sports contests rather than sitting at home on their own. Now, thanks to Guerilla Cricket, on-trade drinkers can become an integral part of the action.
The alternative internet cricket commentary service is taking its show, which is commentated on via the TV pictures, on the road during this summer’s England v India test series and wants to agree partnerships to broadcast from pubs / breweries in the host cities — London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Southampton.
The Guerilla formula has proven a hit with online cricket enthusiasts in 193 countries. It’s ball-by-ball with your mates, covering all England international matches and much more besides. It’s high-brow, it’s low-brow, it’s laughter, it’s song, all in the company of a knowledgeable collective of comedians, journalists, musicians, and an MCC committee member.
Taking this extraordinary cocktail of irreverence, comedy, collaboration and sporting expertise to public venues has already proven a success at the likes of the capital’s Groucho Club, the meeting place of the nation’s media elite, from where part of this winter’s Ashes from down under was broadcast.
Jeff Connon, the club’s general manager, said the programme “added a new dimension to the club and brought us a new audience with their entertaining coverage”.
Founders
Guerilla Cricket is the brainchild of Nigel Henderson and Nigel Walker. The co-founders are, respectively, a former Times sports journalist and author, and a former sound director on the BBC’s flagship property programme Homes Under The Hammer.
Recently, the team has been joined by David Brook, the marketing guru responsible for masterminding Test cricket’s move from the BBC to Channel 4 in 1999.
Nigel Henderson says the format is a great opportunity for pubs and brewers to showcase their establishments, not just locally but countrywide and around the world as well, and, with the action taking place between 11am and 6pm, it can help increase custom in quieter hours.
He said: “Customers can listen to the commentary, interact with it — as our listeners do — via Twitter, and sing along to the jingles. There is also the chance to try out your own commentary skills — we’ll run regular competitions and quizzes to that end, so a drinker could pop in for a quick one and find his or her voice being heard on a beach in Barbados or a bank in Brazil.
“We also have a Facebook Live feed, and a broadcast-quality camera, which opens up all sorts of possibilities for product placement, sponsorship and advertising. And our audience are huge lovers and students of beer in its many forms.”
Anyone interested in discussing hosting the Guerillas should contact them via guerillacricket@gmail.com
