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Affordability the key to Test attendances

How to enjoy the summer of cricket as a fan. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Expert
29th April, 2016
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When Nottinghamshire reached the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup – English domestic cricket’s 50-over competition – the other year, admission to the game was £10 for adults.

And while this may seem a strange thing to remember, a tweet from a member of the media with, to put it nicely, a soft spot for the aforementioned club, tweeted something along the lines of: ‘Class not greed’.

It may be that this was founded in the knowledge of more expensive tickets on offer in other parts of the country for similar games or maybe simply because sporting loyalty has no filter but anyway, it struck a chord.

But it was one of the replies which carried the most weight as an anonymous social media enthusiast retorted: ‘Empty seats don’t buy beer’.

Nottinghamshire’s decision to cut their prices wasn’t down to the fact they operate in a more gentrified manner than their contemporaries and nor were the other clubs with home ties being particularly avaricious given they generally charged more for Twenty20 games.

In very basic economic terms, they were hoping to boost their attendance by making a day at the cricket, and a midweek one at that, more appealing.

And this brings me to, rather appropriately, another tweet, this time by fellow Roar columnist Vithushan Ehantharajah.

On the subject of Test match ticketing for the upcoming Australian summer he offered: ‘Fair play to Cricket Australia – even their most expensive family ticket for a Test next summer (2 adults + 2 kids for $203) is great value’.

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He followed this up with a link to the governing body’s website for details at all seven of the venues should you wish to have a perusal but a quick glance will confirm that there are some very attractively priced tickets should you want to take in some international cricket over the summer months.

There is scope to pay more should you want a higher grade so you won’t be looking at $50 across the board but that will always be the case as a day baking in the sun will naturally cost you less than sheltered seats with a private bar in close proximity.

But the headline should be taken by the fact those who might ordinarily be priced out of the market will have plenty of opportunity to watch their national team in action.

Year after year, and certainly ever since Twenty20 cricket found its way on to the schedule, the size of Test match attendances has been bemoaned with the obvious question, that of the format’s very existence, usually not too far behind.

It isn’t an overnight solution by any means and in some instances, or countries if that is a better way of looking at it, the horse may have well and truly bolted but if you don’t try then you will never know.

In Australia’s case, the Big Bash has been such a resounding success that to fail to act would have been a case of corporate neglect. Filling huge stadiums time and again with a new audience is one thing but keeping those same people keen and eager to come back for more is another.

If Twenty20 is a means to an end and not just a cash cow then the next logical step is to shepherd those who have been attracted through the Test match gates.

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As someone who has kids of an age where cricket is just beginning to cross their radar, it won’t be too long until they want to go to a game and Twenty20 is the obvious destination.

But the traditionalist in me, and I suspect a great number of families who go to the Big Bash will be similar to that which lives under my roof, would like to see them graduate to the longer formats and this is more likely to happen if it’s affordable.

England may not be the best example because Test match tickets, as a rule, are hideously expensive and I’d certainly baulk at coughing up at the current rate, but Cricket Australia has made a start and it augurs well that they are willing to act on it.

A stadium that’s full at half the price has to better then a half full stadium at full price and those seats without a backside on them, to paraphrase an earlier quote, won’t be going to the bar.

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