Mark Schwarzer

Forever.

The agenda setters last night.

The demise of opening round will be mourned by no one in the southern states.

It progressively proved a failed experiment over its three years of operation.

You identified it quickly and told the league in no uncertain terms.

What started as a well-meaning idea to compete with the NRL in New South Wales and Queensland played out as a disjointed and flat start to a season.

You need to launch big, not in dribs and drabs.

The cost of northern exposure was the exclusion of the heartland in Victoria, South Australia and WA, where the majority of people watched the games.

Instead of unifying the constituency, it caused fracture and resentment.

The resultant early season buys proved as irritating as they were disruptive.

Having your team go missing for 16 or 17 or 18 days once the season started would pass muster at no marketing agency in the world.

It is self-evident that to get the pop at the launch of the new adventure, you need 18 fan bases engaged in nine matches.

And the bigger, the better.

It facilitates excitement and critically the re-establishment of rituals.

and it was a formula that had served the game well.

There is no coincidence that round six just brought the biggest crowds of the season.

Finally, nine games in the right configuration, but it took until mid-April.

Next season is a one-off.

The 150th celebration test match will have clear air from the AFL, which is hugely significant for its stature and prospects.

It didn't feel guaranteed that cricket would be granted March 11 to 15 without competition.