Cricket authorities are hopeful stiffer penalties and the shorter Twenty20 format will prevent crowd trouble in Friday’s clash between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG, which could be the biggest-attended match of the season.
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) and Cricket Victoria are anticipating at least 60,000 fans at Friday night’s game, a crowd that size would surpass the Boxing Day attendance of 59,206.
Both organisations are confident there will be no repeat of the trouble at the WACA Ground on Sunday night, when a spectator tackled Pakistan fielder Khalid Latif during the fifth one-day match.
A 37-year-old man has been charged with assault and trespass leading to assault over the incident, and will appear in court on February 16.
Spectators face fines of up to $7,000 for running on to the ground at the MCG, whereas the fines are $500 at the WACA Ground.
MCC chief executive Stephen Gough and his Cricket Victoria counterpart Tony Dodemaide agreed the heavier penalties deterred potential trouble-makers.
They were also hopeful the Twenty20 format would assist security staff, as a game played over three hours rather than eight meant the cricket could keep fans’ attention.
“When you have nailbiting games you don’t want to miss a ball and it keeps the interest, so the shorter format does work in our favour,” Gough said.
Dodemaide said: “It is a condensed game and you don’t want to turn your back on the play too long, so the three hours would tend to hold the fans attention longer, and we’ve found the format appeals to families to attend.”
A decade ago the MCG was rated among the world’s worst cricket venues for interruptions in play, trespassing and poor crowd behaviour, which at one stage jeopardised the future of international matches being played there.
But authorities believe the introduction of steeper fines for trouble-makers, and measures such as reserved seating and the need for wrist bands to purchase alcohol have contributed to a decline in indiscretions.
The surge in popularity Twenty20 has experienced this summer was underlined when 43,125 fans attended a domestic game between Victoria and Tasmania at the MCG on January 15.
The MCG has attracted big crowds for Twenty20 internationals the past two years, as 62,148 watched Australia and South Africa play last year, while 84,041 attended the game between the home side and India in 2008.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
As wife Alyssa Healy watches on, Mitchell Starc was back in form, taking three wickets in an over including the dangerous Tim David, to…
Joe Root was showing some brotherly love, giving his younger sibling Billy a chance in their county match.
Australia have reclaimed top spot in the ICC's Test rankings, replacing India. Despite not playing since winning 2-0 in New Zealand in March, Pat…
Yashasvi Jaiswal was looking comfortable at 67 off 40, until this moment when he hit the ball into his own stumps!
The Aussie made his 50 off 37 balls, for his fourth half-century of the season as his Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to beat Rajasthan…
Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. This quote is often attributed to Albert Einstein, but nobody knows if he…
