The internet was a godsend for stat-loving cricket fans, and Cricinfo brilliantly exploited the sport's global appeal, rapidly becoming the world largest cricket website under the auspices of Wisden.
Former Cricinfo CEO Tom Gleeson (pictured), a likeable and ubane Zimbabwean with a real passion for the game, oversaw much of the website's impressive growth.
But then Wisden sold it to ESPN, the Disney-owned sports network, for around £30m in 2007 and one can't help feeling that the site lost some of its amateur charm in the process. A business that grew out of love and enthusiasm for the game has now become just another feather in the cap of a global broadcaster and publisher. Whilst interviewing Gleeson (now VP digital media for ESPN's non-US division) for a New Media Age profile I got a sense of that wistful nostalgia for Cricinfo's early days, although he was far too professional to admit it openly, especially in front of his PR minders.
It wouldn't surprise me if Gleeson headed off for pastures new before too long.
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