There’s not a greater example of how countries can come together under one banner: FairBreak Global founder, Shaun Martyn

The game of cricket has seemingly entered a new age of evolution bridging the gap between men's and women's cricket. Keeping in mind the advent of various T20 leagues across the globe for men's cricket, it was inevitable that it will surely impact the females who dream to don their jerseys to play between gazillion fans on the 22 yards. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that with time several cricket boards started shelling out a lot of money thereby encouraging the T20 leagues for women as well.

As a result, fans got involved in women's cricket more than ever before and several competitions started to bloom in majorly last two to three years. Talking of the latest in the list has been the iconic and most thrilling Women's Premier League (WPL) from India. Several players admitted during the inaugural tournament that it will be the pathway to the modern age of women's cricket.

However, there's one league which is a league apart from various leagues in the form of 'FairBreak Global', which surely reignites the concept of T20 cricket, albeit, in a different light. With a plethora of players from almost every cricket-playing nation ready to grab the chance to play in T20 leagues, many associate cricket players rarely get the chance to first make it to the auction list and thereafter be picked up to represent a franchise. And this is where Fair Break comes forward to break that stereotype and provide a platform to the lesser-known yet immensely talented players to bask in the glory on the 22-yard strip.

Interestingly enough, many may have thought that this journey must have started after getting inspired by the ongoing leagues around the world. But the answer to that is No! The story of how the idea and visualisation of this unique league shaped up are quite fascinating in itself. Around 15 years ago, a man noticed that players in Australia who play corporate matches were not paid enough for the potential they show while on the field. As a result, he started paying them to encourage the talent and the cricketing community alike. This man was none other than the founder of FairBreak Global, Shaun Martyn.

The phenomenal impact of the FairBreak Global League

Now talking of Martyn, not only did he initiate this move to expand the horizons of cricket but also went on to write some books with the former legendary Australia women's captain and player, Lisa Sthalekar. Thereafter, to provide space for women to bloom in cricket, Martyn went on to establish a league named, the Women's International Cricket League (WICL). Soon after, big leagues like the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) through Cricket Australia and the Super League by ECB started,  which further revolutionised how women's game was perceived earlier.

In this time of flourishing women's cricket, it comes as no surprise that soon these boards and leagues started considering the WICL as another rebel league and radical to their idea of the T20 cricket world. But with the idea of giving a chance to lesser-known yet talented players to take the field with the idea of a global community playing together prevailed for Martyn. Interestingly enough, while making a documentary named, 'Fair Break', he thought of adopting it to rebrand the already existing WICL. Eventually, this smart move paid off in what we see today as the FairBreak Global League which is ongoing in Hong Kong after garnering success in the UAE.

In the same vein, describing the journey of the league, the founder of FairBreak Global, Shaun Martyn, deems it as not easy yet worth it as it is impacting cricket players from lesser-known countries and communities alike. Rightly so, as during the ongoing league, the Falcons team fielded 11 players from as many different countries as a team in a match which is just incredible.

"I always felt it would make a difference but when I find that players from more remote areas, they’ve used the money to go back and build their own home, and change the education status of their families and their children. The two things that I think are crucial is the quality of the cricket has to be very high. And then what impact that has had on communities. I suppose the other thing that the sporting diplomacy around what we do," Martyn was quoted as saying by the NewIndianExpress.

"I mean, we had a game here this week where the Falcons team was fielding 11 players from 11 different countries. I mean, there’s not a greater example of how countries can come together under one banner to support each other," he further continued.

Now, after getting recognition from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to host the event twice annually, the FairBreak Global League has surely made its mark and has come a long way in its sports diplomacy. However, Martyn feels that the challenges are not yet over. He feels that now maintaining the quality of cricket and hosting scale to raising sports diplomacy awareness are the new set of challenges along with getting more corporate backing.

"I certainly feel more pressure than I did even to get it off the ground now, to maintain the quality and the standards that we’ve set. What we need now is more corporate support and corporate backing for what we’re doing. And I think that’ll come, I think the more awareness there is of what we’re doing and the difference it makes and we’ve seen it in the quality of the players as well," Martyn concluded.