Low numbers in the second city fires another warning shot at Test cricket...
Chris Stocks says worrying low crowds over the first two days at Edgbaston need to be addressed to safeguard the Test game
We have become used to seeing sparse crowds at Test matches across the world. Yet seeing so many empty seats during the first two days of this match at Edgbaston was particularly troubling.
Yes, Durham and Headingley attracted fewer spectators during the May Tests against Sri Lanka. And yes, crowds of 15,500 and 16,000 on the first two days in Birmingham were not bad.
Everything is relative, though, and what is most pertinent in this case is that Edgbaston’s official capacity is 24,500 and so more than 17,500 seats have gone begging these past few days.
What’s also worth remembering is that this is the pivotal match of a series deadlocked at 1-1 against marquee opposition, and in high summer to boot.
This is not to denigrate the efforts of those at Warwickshire, who have done their best to boost ticket sales. Indeed, with the majority of tickets priced at £31, cost cannot be used as an excuse for a lower-than-hoped-for turnout.
No, this is another sign that the popularity of Test cricket is indeed falling – whether that’s because of the lack of visibility of the game on free-to-air television or the continued rise in the popularity of Twenty20.
Edgbaston will be sold out today and so part of the reason for slower sales on days one and two can be attributed to the Wednesday start. But I’ll get to that later.
This is Birmingham, England’s second largest city and home to a huge Asian population, who you would have thought would be particularly engaged by this Test.
Edgbaston is also the largest cricket ground outside of London. And there may be the problem. While attendances for matches in London are strong, there is a different dynamic outside of the capital.
Surrey have sold out the first three days of the final Test at The Oval already, with the expectation that day four will also follow suit. Lord’s also regularly sells out Test matches – even against less attractive opposition.
The gap between the capital and the rest of the country is also underlined by the huge crowds that have watched Surrey and Middlesex in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast.
Last Thursday, Middlesex’s fixture against Essex at Lord’s was a 26,336 sell-out. The previous week’s London derby against Surrey also saw the Home of Cricket full to its capacity.
Surrey themselves have sold out four home T20 Blast matches this summer.
This is not replicated at Test match venues across the country – Warwickshire (or Birmingham Bears),Yorkshire, Durham, Cardiff, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire all selling less than 50 per cent of tickets for their home T20 games this summer.
That’s part of the reason why the England & Wales Cricket Board want to push
In England, more can be done to make the spectator experience more attractive. Only Lord’s allows fans to bring alcohol into the grounds
through a city-based T20 franchise competition even though a majority of counties are opposed to the idea.
Edgbaston is not alone. Crowds for the second Test at Old Trafford, which started on a Friday, tailed off badly after day one. Geoffrey Boycott, speaking on TMS, said of the day four crowd in Manchester:“Every time there’s an empty seat in Test cricket that should focus the administrators’ attention. I used to get this many come and watch me net.”
Administrators in other parts of the world have even more reason to worry than the ECB. Pakistan, forced to play home Tests in the neutral UAE, attract miniscule crowds, even for matches against England.
The ongoing Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle has suffered from poor attendance, despite large numbers of visiting tour groups from Down Under. One colleague attending the second day estimated a crowd of 5,000 at the 18,000 venue.
India’s current series in the Caribbean has also been beset by poor spectator turnout over the first two Tests in Antigua and Jamaica, prompting West Indies Cricket Board chairman Dave Cameron to remark:“We need to do a lot more in terms of entertaining people at the ground. Right now, a lot needs to be done. We need to have Wi-Fi in the grounds, we need to be able to cater for children in a better way.”
In England, more can be done to make the spectator experience more attractive. Only Lord’s allows fans to bring alcohol into the ground. Other grounds, banking on bar revenue, should follow suit.
There could also be more done to engage those in the ground with what’s happening on the field. Scoreboards, almost now exclusively electronic, constantly switch to adverts during breaks in play – just when fans want to check the score.
Also, why aren’t pitch reports, tosses and post-match interviews broadcast properly so those at the ground can hear what’s going on? Often you have more idea as a fan of what’s going on when you watch on TV. No wonder people are staying away. This, though, isn’t a problem for limited-overs matches, which routinely sell out across the globe. It’s a sign that Test cricket is struggling and more needs to be done to promote it. Two divisions, day-night matches and four-day Tests are two ideas. Will they work? Four-day Tests would allow matches to start consistently on the same day – in England the traditional Thursday – even when there are back-to-back games.Yet would shortening Tests risk turning off more current fans rather than attracts new ones? These are all questions that need to be asked. And the reason administrators are paid so much is because they have to answer them effectively – and fast.