It must be hard for the South Australian Cricket Association to count the numbers of people coming through the gate when they've got their head buried in the sand.
Their ostrich approach to the crowd crisis enveloping one-day international cricket this season can not hide the fact that the 50-over international game has lost all credibility with the Australian sporting public and that crowds will continue to dwindle while the game is left to stagnate.
SACA released a statement after it was confirmed that the smallest crowd ever for an Australian one-day international match at Adelaide Oval, just 8378, had turned out to watch the second ODI between Australia and the West indies.
"We did not expect this match to be a sell-out. The fact that this number of people have come out in the heat on a work and school day is testament to ODI's popularity."
Too right it's a testament to its popularity but as opposed to the SACA's spokesperson's bizarre spin on the appalling crowd, it's actually testament to the complete lack of popularity of the unloved middle child of cricket formats.
Adelaide fans are known for their passion for all sports, especially cricket, and during the recent KFC Big Bash, Adelaide Oval repeatedly sold out as the Redbacks made their way to the final, only to be beaten by Victoria.
But for Australia to turn out on a balmy Tuesday in the City of Churches and attract a crowd that was almost beaten by an underperforming Adelaide United A-League team a few days earlier is an utter embarrassment.
Cricket Australia's decision a few seasons back to scrap the tri-series format and introduce longer series against specific opponents was supposed to regenerate interest in the game but it hasn’t worked. The massive appeal of Twenty20 cricket has killed spectator interest in 50-over cricket.
The difference between the numbers at the Big Bash and the numbers at the match on Tuesday indicate that there are at least 9000 cricket fans in Adelaide who snubbed the 50-over international format.
Sure it was hot, and it was a work and school day but the very point of spending millions of dollars getting lights put in at the Adelaide Oval was so that day-night cricket could give South Australian fans a chance to watch international cricket on a more regular basis.
But the interest is simply not there. There are a number of reasons, among them the cost of attending a game but the main issue is that very few people in this country see international 50-over cricket as a worthwhile concept any more.
Twenty20 provides more action and interest in half the time and if the match ends up being a dud, then at least you have only wasted a maximum of three hours. Tuesday's game was effectively over when Chris Gayle was trapped lbw first ball, but the 8378 fans had to wait another six hours to see it come to its inevitable conclusion. That's not entertainment, that's torture.