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adidas score at Lord's
If anyone thinks cricket is in the doldrums, it is certainly time to think again. adidas don't do flops, and their partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced mid-April in the historic Long Room at Lords, to the accompaniment of a fast moving professional presentation on screen, and in the very visible presence of the likes of James Anderson, Ian Bell, Alastair Cook, Tim Ambrose, Ryan Sidebottom, plus players of England's women's squad, including Isa Guha and Charlotte Edwards, surely points to their belief that the game is going places.
It will inevitably result in more media coverage, more interest at grass roots as well as club level, and, fingers crossed, some better results. Better results on the field, whether in tests or twenty-twenty games, by sun or by floodlight, quickly filter down to hero worship, team following, and from the retailer's point of view, increased sales.
In a well-rehearsed prelude to the show, an enthusiastic room full of reporters and photographers were reminded that anything approaching the equipment that we take so much for granted today was unthinkable in the early days of the game. To wear pads, for example, was next to cheating, only becoming acceptable in 1930. Gloves were made of rubber with strips of webbing. And helmets? Well, surely not. As to clothing, time has stood still for decades. Many times the retailer has had to assure Mums coming in to buy their budding batsmen the obligatory ‘whites' that shirt, trouser and sweater were actually ‘cream' and that ‘flannels' were no longer, well, flannel.
So what's new, apart from the impressive logo? In a nutshell, the answer is ‘everything'. adidas, whose current tag line is ‘impossible is nothing' claim to have put into their efforts an unending supply of Pride, Enthusiasm and Passion in their pursuit of the attainment of excellence. They promise to ‘deliver today what others are waiting for tomorrow' assuring us that the England Test Team will be the ‘best equipped in the world.' Their product technology promises to aid the player's performance, contributing, we were told with excitement, to a culture of success at all levels from playground to Test Arena. adidas will link with schools' cricket initiatives (in which I trust retailers will participate) and ECB will benefit from every sale.
Oh, I hear you sigh, that all sounds remarkably like some clever marketing talk but is there any substance to it? Gladly, a resounding 'yes'. Players will be more comfortable when playing in the heat, thanks to revolutionary cooler, drier, lighter fabric. Lady players will be glad to know that they are no longer to be expected to wear adjusted men's garments, but clothing designed from scratch to allow for their vagaries of shape. Cricket is now a game dominated by threes. There are the three stumps at each end. adidas has three stripes (originally placed on the side of boots to support, only later becoming perhaps the best of all known trade marks). There are the three lions on the ECB logo. There are three colours involved in the new kits, starting with the brilliant white with red piping for the Tests, representing the colours of England and Wales, creating a strong identity. Blue is the predominant colour for one day Internationals, and a striking red shirt will be worn for 20-20 matches. And a final trio, relates to specific adidas technologies. Number One, ForMotion embraces a 3D design and includes extreme stretch zones permitting the garment to move in harmony with the body even when performing the most strenuous athletic manoeuvres.
No.2 is ClimaCool, which allows body vapour to be released preventing sweat forming, and enables the player to stay dry and give peak performance. And thirdly , FlowMapping technology which, thanks to radical cuts and again taking advantage of 3D designs, supports and enhances every movement, particularly significant when a bowler runs up, then sprints toward the crease before releasing the ball.
When all is said and done, adidas cannot guarantee results on the field. But if confidence is added to talent, reassurance to skill, and an ‘impossible is nothing' can add to the morale of a team proud to wear the kit, then there's likely to be three cheers for adidas as they embark upon a new innings as partners to ECB. As to retailers who are intent on making cricket score for them this season, hopefully they too will have reason to thank adidas for injecting performance technology into our England Cricket Teams as they enhance their performance with some record runs at the till.
It's time to play.
