Now that the summer is over with more time to spend reading about cricket, the question arises how better to engage the audience. In a world of social media where clicks equal money, how do you grab the fleeting attention of the internet browser. The above, apocryphal, headline is an example of one designed to draw the reader in. It would probably today be described as fake news and would go along with a made up story designed to garner support or attack an opponent.
Of course newspaper headline writers have been doing this for decades and there are plenty of examples from the traditional print media. Certain newspapers got a reputation for dramatic and provocative headlines. The New York Post became famous for its headlines which included such gems as ‘Mob Cop Sex Fury’, ‘Headless Body in Topless Bar’ and, on the death of a Soviet leader, ‘Head Red Dead’. But can anything beat the headline from the now defunct News of the World, ‘Nudist Welfare Man’s Wife Falls in Love with Chinese Hypnotist from Co-op Bacon Factory’.
Anyone who has got this far down the article will be wondering what this has to do with cricket. Well not a lot really. The most arresting headline you are likely to find on the Cricket Leinster website is one with ‘dramatic win’ in the title. So perhaps we need to adjust our style [or at least our headlines] for the Twitter generation. Readers are invited to send in their suggestions [printable].
For those with an interest in cricket there are no shortage of excellent articles and writers. Craig Easdown of Cricket Ireland regularly pulls together a list of articles from around the world. Some that you may have missed over the past few weeks are included below.
Irish Sport Social Media Report – June 2018: Read here
T20 cricket used to drive tourism promotion: Read here
Delany: ‘Incredibly exciting time for Irish women’s cricket’: Read here
Interview With Rob Cassell: Dynamics Of Fast Bowling: Read here
David O'Connor tells John Manning why he is retiring from the council for a new role at Cricket Ireland: Read here
'We need to get a volume of cricket into our young players' (Porterfield, Balbirnie, Holdsworth): Watch and read here
ICC Board brings in tougher Code of Sanctions: Read here
Ireland claim last ball victory over Bangladesh (ICC): Read here
Ireland have a lot of work to do to improve our low ranking among T20 thoroughbreds (Indo): Read here
Reality bites for Ireland (The Times): Read here
The World is Watching – cricket following stats: Read here
Why is Girls’ Cricket thriving in schools - at the same time that the boys’ game is declining? (UK): Read here
Ireland’s cricketers to play at least 140 matches under new FTP (Irish Times): Read here
What does the future of the game look like? (Tim Wigmore): Read here
The Club Debate: How do we solve club cricket’s teenage drop-off?: Read here
Accepted that none of the above have particularly arresting headlines, but there is plenty of reading and food for debate if you are stuck in the dressing room and the rain is coming down.