Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

A much talked about subject. This season there have been plenty of empty seats. Is International cricket dying in this country?

Well this evening I did something I haven't done in ages - I watched my 1970's cricket test matches DVD. When England played Lord's (yes Lord's) in their test series in 1974 there were loads of empty seats. It was different for the Aussies which seemed to bring full houses but India - with some big names in those days - did not seem to be a big draw.

When a modern day test match ground with a capacity of say 17,000 only brings in 15,000 on a particular day, the talk seems to be about the 2000 empty seats. Maybe we should stop being negative and be glad of the 15,000 who did turn up. After all it is a big number.

So let's not worry about who doesn't turn up cos 15,000 is still a decent crowd. As I've seen for myself, empty seats at an English test match venue are nothing new.


Thoughts?

We live in a world where many only want to watch winners and until England start winning getting full grounds will be tough outside London.

60 quid to watch this game. It's outrageous considering its relative location to everyone else. Old Trafford have the next test and they at least have tickets in the "party stand" for £45.

I suppose Hampshire calculated they could make more money selling tickets at £60 than lower and hoping for more sales, though.

£70 at Trent Bridge.

The loss of the weekend as the core of the match complicates pricing.

Ticket prices hugely effects the crowd. £70 wipes out a huge amount of the potential audience.

I think there was a swell of feelgood support centred around the Fletcher years, and the re-emergence of an exciting, winning team that struck off decades of bad results, home and away. And that period wore the ticket prices fairly lightly and built up support through C4 coverage. But the last four years of attritional cricket, the eight years loss of the game to Sky and the current bad feeling surrounding the post Ashes period has soured the mood. Sending us back to the crowds we see on VHS when English cricket was a joke.

Recovery will be difficult. There was always potential for the game to reconnect with the public when it was on terrestrial tv. Less certain now. Participation in supporting the England team live over the past few years has felt a bit like subscribing to watching it on tv. You join it at a point where it just about feels affordable, but each year it grows in expense, and each year that loyalty is stretched further. In an economic slump, more people will have to say no.

I passed up the SL ODI at the Riverside because they charged £60 a ticket.

I would probably have paid it to see India in a test match but the SL game was more than it cost to see Australia in a ODI two seasons ago. SL have some great players but I felt it was just too much.

The fault of course lies with the ECB for their bidding and pricing process. It's time they came down to earth. I think Dean Wilson of The Mirror was saying how the ECB were trying to charge more for the next round of bidding and the counties told them straight that they couldn't do it. So either the ECB back down or the entire test series in future will be held in London.

I thought the bidding process had gone and games were offered partly as a reward for being good hosts, and partly based on rotation. I'm quite confident I read that.

I thought it had but not according to Dean Wilson.

having a 5 test series against india and not having a test at edgbaston which would have been a complete sell out seems a bit stupid imo

instead they have 2 tests in london

Edgbaston is nearly always full, unlike other grounds, that I won't mention. Makes no sense not to have a test there, again.

The London Tests sell out.

Hampshire have been dealt a poor hand here. But the empty seats won't get them an Ashes Test.

The Oval, Lord's, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge sell well. Maybe they should get the big games, and everyone else rotates.

A rotation basis is the sensible option. ECB gives a test match to a county, advises them on the price to charge, then when the profits are calculated just take 50% each.

Surely the ECB have plenty of money. Nowhere near the BCCI granted but they do all right from TV rights alone.

The ECB is supposed to be sitting on a huge amount of cash.

Considering Giles Clarke doesn't take a salary I'd like to know where the rest goes after the Counties get their cut. It can't all go into grass roots development.

Chance to Shine is a charity, and the Government pays a lot of money into that.

Maybe Paul Downton is on £30,000,000 a year.