Editorial: Cricket fun at what cost?

For a brief moment Clarke de Malmanche thought he had won big. Video/Sky Sport

An orange t-shirt-wearing cricket fan dives on another spectator, an altercation threatens to break out and now a marketing promotion is under review.

It's all fun and games till someone gets hurt, so it goes.

Tui's Catch-A-Million is designed to be bit of fun and add another piece of entertainment to a day at Blackcaps cricket matches.

It is a simple concept; wear a promotional Tui t-shirt and take and one-handed catch in the crowd and you'll be in receipt of $50,000 cash.

But now concerns over spectator safety have arisen following Wednesday's game in Mt Maunganui with participants hurling themselves at fences, other spectators (including families) and even ground speakers chasing the white ball.

Many, including current and former Blackcaps, have said it is only a matter of time before someone - at worst a child - is seriously hurt.

It's not really worth it for what is essentially a marketing campaign to turn fans into walking billboards in order to sell beer and get more people into the ground.

It can be entertaining, makes great TV and even good news stories when someone snares a catch.

No one wants to be a killjoy but when what is meant to be fun gimmick requires a safety message be broadcast at the ground every 15 minutes to keep fans safe it's probably time for a rethink.

Blackcap Jimmy Neesham tweeted during Wednesday's Twenty20 at Mt Maunganui that: "Someone will get badly hurt and it will look like the dumbest thing ever in hindsight".

Both New Zealand Cricket and DB Breweries say have safety concerns and are reviewing the competition ahead of Saturday's match against Pakistan in Wellington.

Maybe it's time for NZC and DB to say 'it was fun while it lasted' and come up with something new.