On Tuesday night at The Gabba, I got to witness first-hand how the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash League is rejuvenating cricket. One smooching old couple at a time.
With the backdrop of a Mexican wave and the discography of Jet, LMFAO, and the unlikely crowd favourite of Greek folk song Zorba, the “kiss cam” beamed images of forced PDA onto The Gabba big screen while cheering fans wearing KFC buckets as headwear instead of heart attack containers kept one eye on the unfolding Big Bash action below.
The umpires wore canary yellow, the players wore green and blue pyjamas and as Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden appeared to be talking to themselves and/or invisible cricket fairies, we saw as many big hits as we did dropped catches.
This was Twenty20 cricket. This was the Big Bash League. And by god it was a hit with the fans.
As many would know I moonlight as an usher at The Gabba. It’s one of those lingering uni jobs that I actually like. Before the game we were given an estimated crowd figure of 23,000. Then in our pre-match briefing that estimate went down to 21,000 after lower than expected ticket sales, and sections of the stadium were closed off as a result.
But even with the Shane Warne factor, no-one could have predicted the overwhelming final attendance.
Almost 10,000 people walked up to buy tickets on the night, sending the ticketing systems bat-crazy, and causing line-ups, seating confusion and a lot of people missing the first innings. Understaffed, it was an usher’s worst nightmare. With the general admission area packed, the previously closed off sections were opened and filled within minutes.
The total number at the game? 29,241. The largest crowd at any Big Bash fixture so far this season.
During four days of Australia’s test match against New Zealand, not once did The Gabba reach such an attendance.
Keep Brendon McCullum, throw in a couple of legendary retirees, the Australian Twenty20 captain, and some Australian ODI and Test irregulars and hey presto, you’ve got a whopping crowd.
It’s just how live cricket is meant to be.
Obviously match organisers were not prepared for such a turnout, but among the chaos it was a positive boost for the sport. Once everyone found their seat, it was hard not to get into the spirit of the abbreviated, flashier, smash and dash fun that is the Twenty20 Big Bash League.
Everywhere, there’s so much more happening.
Bowlers have to have an impact from word go, batsmen are forced to launch it even when it’s not there to hit, and good fielding is a must. The atmosphere is intense and the ability to respond to the jibes of a psyched up crowd separates those with solid technique to the ones without it, as Dernbach found out after dropping a sitter off McCullum’s bat. The Heat fans’ reaction was a raucous, ear-busting applause second only in volume level to the moment Liz Hurley popped up on the big screen, when wolf-whistles were added for good measure.
On the ground, and off the ground, Big Bash is one big entertainment binge.
Big Bash is a smash. Case closed.
Renegade
Guest
Point 4....you've got to be kidding, the asian community come out in full force for the cricket. (indians,sri lankans, pakistanis, etc) Male-white sport lol
Brendon
Guest
Good point. But the Big Bash bashers have their agenda and they're going to twist whatever piece of information about BB to denigrate it. I'm not a fan of the Big Bash itself but I can see its usefulness. 1. Raise revenue for cricket in this country. With the AFL getting huge, new TV and the NRL about to do the same cricket needs money to stop this country turning into a 2 sport town. 2. Cricket will have a pay tv exclusive product during the summer. 3. Break CA's financial reliance on Indian money and Ashes tours. 4. Open cricket up to more people. Cricket, like rugby, is a male-white sport. Go to a test or ODI and spot the non white person or woman.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
That site is desperately unfunny.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
For someone purporting to be above the wit of your average bogan, that piece was completely devoid of any wit.
langou
Roar Guru
I'm with ya Sheek, stick to your guns mate I think this is a great description of T20 cricket http://thingsboganslike.com/2010/02/11/83-twentytwenty-cricket/
langou
Roar Guru
I I think everyone needs to cool down and wait until (at least) the end of the season before trying to declare the bash a success or failure. If we go at this rate we will have a "Bash is a Success" article every time there is big crowd, contrasted by a "Bash is a failure" article every time there is a small crowd. That’s thirty-three articles
Junior
Guest
When attempting to draw inferences between large numbers and superior quality, it is important to remember that Mariah Carey sold 200 million albums.
sheek
Guest
Steve, You may well be right. But I'll reserve judgement for a while longer, especially until all the hype & emotion has died down, & reassess then.
Brendon
Guest
Sydney is the strongest cricketing city and still gets good support for ODI and test matches. Where the Big Bash is good is areas that aren't cricketing strongholds like WA and QLD.
Chris
Guest
Ofcourse there will be a novelty for a few years all new leagues go through this like A-league , IPL etc But that doesnt mean it'll die off the important thing here is to not to look for instant success but long term success i hope there will be some name/colour changes but thats it i love the new comp and the city format. Sydney is traditionally a very poor place for crowds its because its either there spoilt with internationals or NRL has a culture of tv audience or transport. @MJ crowds have not been poor buddy its domestic cricket afterall advertisement has been massive on foxtel and big bash being on foxtel doesnt mean its a failure. Cricket needs to stop focusing on international cricket so much its like the socceroos playing 30 matches a year.
Tom Dimanis
Roar Pro
Twenty 20 cricket makes Test cricket look good. Fantastic that we have big crowds though. Awesome.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Ok - I get it now! (although I'm a bit perturbed that anyone on the Roar would be referring to 16rpms and 78rpms) As Steve Tyler famously sang: I'm gonna get out my big...10 inch...record...of my favourite blues
sheek
Guest
Very good - go to the top of the class!
Rabbitz
Roar Guru
Two. One on each side.
Jayo
Guest
I was there at the Gabba for the game, and while the cricket was good, it was effectively ruined by the other garbage thrown in with it. Songs being played between EVERY ball and an overbearing crowd announcer killed the very thing that should have been the centre piece. The game and the players. In one ridiculous moment, while waiting for a third umpire decision, the announcer was calling for the crowd to get behind the player run-out. Like it was going to affect the outcome of the umpire decision? The game of cricket, regardless of the form, builds it's own excitement, the rest of the glitz effectively killed any natural building of this crowd excitement and noise. Relentless music, gimmicks, kiss-cam, and a horrible crowd announcer. If the game cannot maintain the crowd interest for the shortest form of the game (as it should have with it's high quality), what hope is there of ever getting any of these T20 fans to watch the other forms of the game.
Seiran
Guest
Melanie, good work on the ushering at the match. My wife mentioned to me during the match that the ushers were looking a little understaffed and stressed. That being said, my wife was there with a broken foot, and the ushers did a fantastic job of making sure she got to her seat ok, even though they were clearly under the kosh and probably had more important things to do......like stop people drinking in the no drinking section nearby. lol. I really enjoyed the match. The atmosphere was good, and everyone seemed to be well behaved and were enjoying themselves. Hopefully CA will look at introducing a stand alone window for the Big Bash so all the aussie players can get to play in the comp. This will ensure the game will continue to pull in large numbers once the past heroes of Warne and Hayden etc, have gone.
Renegade
Guest
As i said....the value of your wicket - which is pretty obvious! You could lose 9 wickets for 177 runs in a T20 and be pleased.....the same scoreline in a test or ODI is deemed a failure.
MJ
Guest
I disagree, the BB certainly hasn't been a success. In reality the crowds have been poor. In my opinion 29,241 for the first game of the season is poor. Advertising, promotion and awareness has been substandard. I work in an office of 25 blokes and there were cricket followers that didn't even know the game was on. The other big factor is the games are on foxtel. Many people have no access to any of the other games and therefore have no interest in the competition as a whole. I certainly am not interested in going to a game where I can't follow the rest of the competition.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Re the NBL - if you ever got stuck sitting next to a big horn of the jazz band you sometimes got at games - you too would never return!!
sheek
Guest
Brett - hhhmmmmmmmmmm.......... (Yeah, & Barry Richards is an even older fogey than me!)