87 percent fans want T20 in Olympics, reveals ICC study
Dubai, June 27: An International Cricket Council's (ICC) survey on Wednesday revealed that 87 percent of global fans want the inclusion of T20 cricket in the Olympics even as the sport's world governing body claimed that the gentleman's game has over one billion fans across the globe.
The survey, carried out in the 12 Full Member countries, and China and the United States -- the latter two because they've been identified as non-traditional markets with huge potential for growth, showed T20I as the most popular format with 92 percent interest whilst ODIs are close with 88 percent interest.
"It is the first global market research project ever undertaken in the sport and having more than one billion fans in the surveyed age category of 16-69 alone, with an average age of 34, is undoubtedly an exciting and strong position from which we can drive the sport forward," ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said in a statement.
"There are opportunities to grow in both our traditional markets, where the focus will be on attracting more women and girls, children and families, to the game, as well as non-traditional cricket playing nations where there is clearly both interest and opportunity.
"A global growth strategy for cricket is currently being developed and this research is a significant cornerstone of that, guiding our decision making and providing us with a benchmark to measure progress as we look to drive long-term growth of the game," he added.
The research also identified more than 300 million active participants over the age of 16, ranging from occasional social players to the elite level, this number is likely to grow significantly if under 16s are counted.
These participants highlighted the fun and sociability of the sport as well as the health benefits.
The breakdown of cricket's three different formats in the research showed two-thirds of fans over the age of 16 who were interviewed are interested in all three international formats of the game.
Close to 70 percent fans are interested in Test cricket with fans in England and Wales showing the strongest interest in this format (86 percent), South Africa lead the interest in ODI cricket (91) and Pakistan in T20I cricket (98).
It also revealed that the 50-over World Cup and the World T20 are more popular tournaments than the bilateral series and domestic T20 leagues with 95 percent fans expressing interest in the major ICC tourneys.
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59 percent voter turnout in first phase in J-K, polling peaceful: CEO
Jammu, Sep 18: A voter turnout of about 59 percent -- "the highest in the past seven elections" -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said.
However, these are tentative figures and may rise after the final reports are received about postal ballots, and from remote pockets like Marwah, Wadwan, Dachhan and Machail in Kishtwar, the officer said.
Briefing mediapersons here after polling ended at 6 pm, Pole said the elections -- which covered 24 seats in seven districts -- ended peacefully without any untoward incident.
There are reports of some minor incidents of scuffle or argument from a few polling stations but "no serious incident" occurred that could have forced a repoll, he said.
Over 2.3 million voters were eligible to cast the ballot to determine the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 Independents.
"The polling percentage of 59 percent is highest in the past seven elections -- four Lok Sabha polls and three assembly elections," he said, attributing the increase in the voter turnout to various factors including improved security situation, active participation of political parties and candidates and a campaign by the department.
He said Kishtwar district recorded the highest 77 percent turnout, while Pulwama district witnessed the lowest 46 percent.
Doda district recorded a turnout of 69.33 percent, Ramban district 67.71 percent, Kulgam district 61.57 percent, Anantnag district 54.17 percent and Shopian district 53.64 percent.
In the 2014 assembly elections, the district wise poll percentage was: Pulwama 44 percent, Shopian 48 percent, Kulgam 59 percent, Anantnag 60 percent, Ramban 70 percent, Doda 73 percent and Kishtwar 76 percent.
In Kishtwar districts, he said, the Padder-Nagseni segment recorded the highest 80.67 percent voting followed by Inderwal (80.06 percent) and Kishtwar (78.11 percent).
In the nearby Doda district, Doda west segment recorded 75.98 percent, Doda (70.21 percent) and Bhaderwah (65.27 percent).
In Ramban district, Banihal segment recorded 71.28 percent and Ramban 67.34 percent, he said.
Among the seven constituencies of Anantnag district, Pahalgam recorded the highest voter turnout at 67.86 percent, followed by Kokernag (58 percent), Dooru (57.90 percent), Srigufwara-Bijbehara (56.02 percent), Shangus-Anantnag (52.94 percent), Anantnag West (45.93 percent) and Anantnag 41.58 percent, Pole said.
In Pulwama district, the CEO said, the Pulwama segment witnessed 50.42 percent polling, followed by Rajpora 48.07 percent, Pampore 44.74 percent and Tral 43.21 percent.
In Shopian district, the Shopian segment recorded a voter turnout of 54.72 percent and Zainapora 52.64 percent.
In Kulgam district, D H Pora recorded a turnout of 68 percent, Kulgam 62.70 percent and Devsar 57.33 percent, Pole said.
He said seven districts of south Kashmir had been traditionally low poll percentage constituencies and in some of the past elections, the percentage had not even crossed the single digit.
Asked about a social media video purportedly showing a policeman losing temper and aiming his gun before being overpowered by his colleagues outside a polling station in Kishtwar, he said the district election officer and the returning officer concerned have taken note and issue was resolved amicably.
PDP and BJP candidates were involved in an argument at the polling station.
Pole expressed hope that the remaining two phases on September 25 and October 1 will also see high polling percentage.
Meanwhile, the election commission expressed satisfaction over the long queues of voters at the polling stations showcasing the entire world, the deep trust and confidence of the people of J&K in the democratic exercise.
The polling was held across 3,276 Polling Stations in the seven districts and 24 special polling stations set up for migrant pandits in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
According to officials, 31.42 percent of the more than 35,000 eligible kashmiri migrant voters exercised their franchise. While 27 percent cast their votes at 19 polling stations in Jammu, 40 percent at four polling stations in Delhi and 30 percent at one polling station in Udhampur.
In each of the seven districts where voting was held in the first phase, the voter participation exceeded the participation during the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, the election commission said in a release.
The performance builds on the trend witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir which saw a voter turnout of 58.58 percent at polling stations, highest in the last 35 years.
Voting began at 7 am and proceeded steadily through the day. Men and women, the young and old, some too frail to walk and others patiently waiting their turn, queued up outside polling booths across Kashmir Valley and Jammu.
Security forces fanned out to ensure that there was no trouble. The day was largely without incident except for reports of clashes between political workers in some areas of Bijbehara and D H Pora.
