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’.
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.
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.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
English tickets are insanely priced. I want to go and see the Lankans play at Lords but the cheapest is a restricted view at 45 quid! And you just know that it won't be sold out.
BrainsTrust
Guest
The only conundrum I see is the desperados who are sucking on the tit of the big bash marketing spend. Then they come on here and try to pretend that test cricket is dying but the reverse is happening. Big Bash is the cheapest sporting event I have seen. 50 bucks for a season ticket. How is it possibly making money. Is Big Bash run on the cheap, with all the fancy gimmick like fireworks, no its costing Cricket Australia a fortune. Test cricket there are no gimmicks, the ticket prices were high, and people pay for each day they attend. Test cricket makes bumper money when its England and India and that pays the bills in cricket,. Its still makes good money other years, while Big Bash I would imagine is the big money loser. Sheffield Shield salaries have been slashed so Sheffield SHield is costing less now than before. When Cricket Australia was given hardly an TV revenue they were still paying for the Sheffield Shield. So who can explain the massive spending spree in Cricket Ausrtalis annual reports with the introduction of the BIg Bash. The money has been obviously spent on the BIg Bash, massive amounts of money.
Paul Potter
Roar Guru
Well anon, I could never accuse you of being inconsistent. I agree with you on the ticket prices, but for a different reason - that the ticket sales are only a fraction of the game's revenue stream compared to what they used to be due to TV deals, etc. That's not to say that they are completely irrelevant, but that it is not the most important part, and having higher ticket prices is not worth the trade off in lack of atmosphere. There have been times all through Test cricket's life where five-day Tests were thought to be too long for anyone in a modern world. Tests were once three days long for that reason. And they've been wrong on every occasion. This is not to say five days is without a doubt the ideal length, but that there is a reason that Tests are five days long at the moment. I'll say it until I'm blue in the face: A good game of cricket is a good game of cricket, whether you are referring to a Test, one-day match, or a Twenty20. I wonder if the points system being trialed might help, by trying to attach more relevance to every match of cricket, and therefore teams might be more likely to play attacking Test cricket. Jury's out - only time will tell.
Johnno
Guest
Just coz it's cheap, doesn't mean people will attend to a boring product. Sheffield shield is basically free, do I see anyone at the games, ah no, just a man and a his dog. Test cricket is a global sport in decline, I see only a future for Aust/India/England. All the other 7 test playing nations have issues of Test cricket sustainability. And 5 days for a result, wait up people born from 1990-onwards, the 99% majority don't have time to wait around for 5-days for a results, whether it's pink ball test cricket, or daytime test cricket. 5-days for a result, I mean c'mon, it has no appeal to people born 1990-onward the majority. Simply making it cheap, won't bring them in. I find golf boring, if I was given free tickets to the US masters, I'd just sell em on e-bay I find gold boring, and the majority of people who are sports fans and that includes cricket fans, find test cricket boring. Some of you, need to get out of your cricket bubble, Test cricket lacks appeal to 99% of sports fans, and most cricket fans born 1990-onwards. I only see a future for 3 teams as test cricket nations. Rugby league ha s bigger chance to expand beyond the "Big 3" to get competitive sides, than Test-cricket. Test-cricket is like horse polo, for a new country to learn, very expensive, and other than the Big 3 who have hijacked cricket anyway, none of the other 7 test cricket playing nations are sustainable, some need to get out of there bubble. No one cares about test cricket in the real world, wake up some of you. Free or only paying $2. It's headed the way of turning into a niche sport like Horse Polo, fencing or rowing, or students having medieval sword fights in a park on a sunday afternoon lol
Camo McD
Roar Guru
Great stuff here from CA. It's interesting the contrast in accessibility of cricket between Australia and the UK. In Aus, the summer internationals and Big Bash are shown live on free to air TV. The games are played in fairly large stadia and as a result the game enjoys relatively mainstream interest and coverage. In the UK unless you want to shell out for Sky or £60+ for a ticket you will not have seen England live in action for over a decade. I'd say it's pretty much a niche sport these days. Would've loved the ECB to show some initiative several years ago and get some big T20s / ODIs taken from Lords and played at a big stadium, perhaps the Olympic stadium where you could offer cheap tickets and pack the place out.
anon
Guest
People attend T20 because it exciting, there's plenty of action, you see incredible shot making, it's entertaining. Test cricket is none of those things that's why people don't attend. Simply, sitting in the sun all day getting skin cancer, spending $50 on a ticket, then another $50-100 on food and beer, for the pleasure of watching test cricket, is just not worth it. When you're there you have overzealous security quick to stamp out any attempts by the crowd to entertain themselves. You have to sit through the lunch break and tea break. Why bother? On top of that the only teams that take test cricket seriously are England and South Africa. Going to a test match made sense even 10-15 years ago, but the world has moved beyond test cricket. I have entertainment on demand at all hours in high definition. I can jump on a plane and be in Asia for a few hundred dollars. The restaurant and pub options in Australia today didn't exist 15 years ago. There's too many entertainment options available to waste an entire day at a boring day x of test cricket and spend $100-200 or the "privilege". If anything they should be selling test cricket tickets for $10-20. At least for weekdays. It's madness that Cricket Australia think they have a premium product.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
You wouldn't prefer to see Pakistan or even NZ than India? At least Pakistan and NZ might force a few results...
Craig Swanson
Guest
Like your post E-Meter
sheek
Roar Guru
It's an age old conundrum. You can work on a small profit margin with large volume (customers) or screw your customers with a huge profit margin. In which case, they'll eventually go elsewhere. Even sooner if the right alternate competition emerges. I've always believed if you worked on a small profit margin/large volume, & looked after your customers, you will win in the long run. That is, make a tidy sum of money for yourself. But apparently that's not the way everyone thinks. As the old saying goes, "Screw me once, shame on me; screw me twice, shame on you."
E-Meter
Guest
Remember CA's 'Where's Daryl?' campaign last summer. Simply the most hopeless thing you'll ever see. Daryl was at home on his comfy couch eating king prawns and drinking premium beer, watching us give it to test heavyweights, the West Indies.
VivGilchrist
Guest
Price is a major issue. A family GA ticket for BBL at Adelaide Oval is @$50. Double or triple that price and you'll see what typically resembles the SCG ( a half empty stadium).
Swampy
Guest
Sri Lanka and NZ are able opponents at times and certainly on a par with India - who've been nothing short of hopeless in Australia. I'd be keen to see Pakistan here as they have some exciting talents. Their more aggressive style of play is often better suited to Australian conditions also.
Brian
Guest
I dont think price is the issue as much as context. Crowds still turn up to the Ashes because they care. The other tests lack context and meaning to the point where touring teams are just filling in tv contracts.
The Bush
Roar Guru
When has India ever won here? They're as useless in tests in Australia as any other side. I actually think Pakistan might go better.
TB
Guest
Personally it's not the money for me more the opposition. The first test in Brisbane always seems to get the dud tests as the MCG and SCG have the premium opponents. This year I had no interest in seeing NZ play test cricket in Brisbane, although I doubt I would have turned up for the Windies either. The only teams I am keen to see play test cricket against the Aussies are: England South Africa India Everyone else is a pretty predictable result.
mds1970
Roar Guru
More people are attending cricket than ever before; but whereas the cricket attendance in the past was virtually exclusively to the internationals, the audience is now split between the internationals and the domestic T20 league. And the reality is that the T20 has been better value for money. Last summer for about the same price, I could go to one day of the SCG Test or get a Thunder BBL membership. Making the Test & ODIs more affordable will go some way towards addressing that imbalance. Whether it sees some form of drift from the BBL back to the internationals remains to be seen; but I'm sceptical it will.