Low turnout for Australia-India Test series a major concern

Ajit Vijaykumar 10:00 18/12/2018
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  • The quality of Test cricket in the Border Gavaskar Trophy has been of the highest order. Both Australia and India have given it their all over 10 days across Adelaide and Perth and both sides should be very proud of the heart shown by all players.

    There has been no shortage of drama as well, with batsmen getting hit on the body and helmet regularly by some very hostile fast bowlers. And if that isn’t enough for the average cricket fan, there is the explosive clash between captains Virat Kohli and Tim Paine that has gotten out of hand and is likely to get uglier in the remaining two Tests.

    But the action on the field hasn’t been witnessed by a full house as yet in the series. The opening day of the first match of the series in Adelaide was witnessed by just over 23,000 fans which is less than half the capacity. The reason given was India’s refusal to play a day-night Test at the ground which had become a staple at the ground. According to estimates, around 15,000 more fans would have turned up for the opening day if it was a pink-ball Test.

    The trend continued in the second Test of the series with the new Perth Stadium well below half full. The 60,000-seater venue barely had 21,000 fans on the first day and officials had to close the upper tiers so that fans would have to sit on the lower deck and ensure TV shots didn’t show empty seats. That number fell to around 5,000 for the fourth day of the Test.

    Whatever reasons organisers provide, a blockbuster series like Australia v India failing to attract near capacity crowds should send alarm bells ringing in cricketing circles. Australia and England were seen as the two centres where Test cricket routinely attracted capacity crowds. In fact, a crowd attendance of more than 50,000 for day of Tests is not uncommon in most venues in Australia.

    But the ball tampering controversy earlier in the year and the subsequent bans on Steve Smith and David Warner seems to have ruined the cricketing appetite of many Australian fans. WACA chief executive Christina Matthews put the blame on Cricket Australia and the controversies for the low turnout.

    “I don’t think it’s the team, I think Australian cricket as an entity is on the nose and a little bit of trust has been lost,” Matthews told SEN radio. “What happened in South Africa was kind of an insult to everybody and how they feel about the game.”

    Whatever the reason, cricket fans in Australia haven’t rallied around Test cricket. That’s a shame because the cricket is top drawer.

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