The Big No-Show. The Great Cricket Crowd Vanishing Act

SCG Crowd

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Steve Smith's heroics in both Canberra and Melbourne, Morne Morkel's vicious spell of bowling the in the second Perth game and the class of AB De Villiers are just some of the memorable moments that should've seen the crowds flock to the cricket.

But they simply didn't come and instead, the TV coverage showed us bay after bay after bay of empty seats.

Cricket Australia may well be trumpeting the ratings success the series has been thanks to live coverage on Channel 9, but even they have admitted its concerning, with chief James Sutherland saying the governing body will conduct its own research into the issue.

The fact the World Cup is just around the corner compounds the problem.

The average crowd from the five game series was just 12,173. In contrast, the first seven rounds of the A-League have had an average gate of 15,747.

A decade ago, if someone said there would be a day when football enjoyed better crowds than the cricket they would've been laughed out of town. How times have changed. On Friday night at the MCG, a stadium designed to hold 100,000 people boasted just 14,177. Across town at the A-League, Melbourne Victory pulled in 23,740 for their clash with Brisbane Roar.

The only impressive turnout throughout the series was in Canberra, where 10,583 turned out at the 13,550-capacity Manuka Oval on a Wednesday night. But to be fair, how many times does Canberra get a high-quality international cricket match?

To put these crowds in perspective, England's five-match ODI series against the Aussies last year pulled an average of 30,696.

Maybe it's the crowded fixture list right at the start of the summer of cricket. Maybe it's the scheduling itself, with weeknight games that finish late in the middle of exam periods for students and a hectic time of year for everyone else with Christmas around the corner. But the real issue is with ticket prices.

An adult wanting to spend their Sunday afternoon at the SCG watching a dead rubber had to pay a minimum of $50.98 for the privilege.  The cheapest adult ticket to next weekend's Sydney derby at Pirtek Stadium is just $22.40.
 

This simply doesn't add up.

The fan experience is also turning people away, 

Gone are the days where you could sit in the sun, take part in the Mexican wave and throw around a beach ball. These days, anyone who partakes in such offensive activities is told in no uncertain terms to leave by groundstaff who are quickly becoming known as the summer's fun police.

Why then wouldn't you sit at home and watch the game on TV. It's broadcast against the gate, so you can kick back at home, grab your phone and dish dirt on everyone through Twitter without any danger of the fun police nabbing you. 

At the same time, the personalities of yesteryear that made coming to the cricket that much more exciting are gone too. The likes of Andrew Symonds, Warnie and Bevvo have been replaced by the egotistical Glenn Maxwell, the punchable David Warner and Australia's most disliked cricketer Shane Watson. I know who I'd rather watch.

As we move deeper into the summer, it will be interesting to see where the crowds go from here. Will they turn out for the Test series against India and the upcoming Big Bash league, or will they continue to stay away?

It will be sad if they do, but if something isn't done what used to be such a big part of Australia's sporting culture may continue to die a slow death.
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