Cricket Australia is worried.
Only 14,177 people turned up to watch Australia play South Africa on Friday and the crowds elsewhere were just as bad.
Sure, there was a sell out in Canberra but that just reflects how desperate people in Canberra are to get out of their houses and stop talking to their families.
So what is Cricket Australia going to do? They’re having an investigation.
Sounds expensive and I imagine rather pointless.
You can’t really get the people who created the problem to investigate it. It’s like appointing the murderer to investigate their own crime. Their heart’s not in a conviction.
Not that I’m saying Cricket Australia has murdered cricket. Attempted manslaughter at best.
So to save them some money, here’s why the crowds have been so poor.
Saturation
When I was young, cricket arrived out of nowhere every summer and I was thrilled.
There was a very clear test series and a three-way one-day tournament.
Every game was special and meant something.
Now cricket in all its forms is on all the time and it’s a bit hard to know which ones to care about.
If the recent Pakistan v Australia series in the United Arab Emirates is anything to go by, the players don’t know either.
By trying to make as much money as possible, Cricket Australia is making every game irrelevant.
There are so many trophies, it’s like kindergarten where everyone gets a prize.
It’s meaningless.
The only series that I look forward to now is The Ashes.
Sometimes in life, less is more.
Who are these people?
The constant rotating of players is one thing but then having almost three different sides makes it pretty hard to make stars of anyone.
Tuning in or turning up to see a bunch of people you’ve never heard of, playing in a pointless game, is a tough ask.
Now people like myself can keep up but because I’m one of those sad people that has absolutely no life.
If you rely on only us, you get crowds of 10,000 people.
Shane Watson
I’m not sure exactly how but I’m pretty sure a lot of it is Shane Watson’s fault.
The Channel Nine commentary team
The Channel Nine commentary team are enough to turn anyone off anything. They focused on seagulls a fair bit on Friday night and now I hate seagulls.
Their inane chatter, cringe worthy ‘humour’ and ‘friendly banter’ ruins many a good game.
On top of this, they are so insular in their commentary, often telling in-jokes that they make any casual watcher change the channel.
How does this affect crowd numbers? It probably doesn’t but I really enjoyed writing this section.
Insane selection decisions
There are too many to name them all here (Steve Smith in the first game of the series springs to mind) but the selection decisions make the Australian team very frustrating to follow.
Granted this is not a new phenomenon but it adds to the general malaise that cricket suffers from.
Ticket and food prices
When you gouge the very people that are the lifeblood of your sport, they tend to resent it. Weird, right?
The AFL learnt this the hard way and now it’s cricket’s turn.
Every now and then you have to forego short-term profit for long-term growth.
It’s not like you’re a business, you are custodians of a sport that doesn’t belong to you.
When you’ve got 14,177 people in a stadium that seats 100,000, you may be charging a bit much.
Making it difficult for people to attend games due to the high price of tickets and food never seemed like a good strategy and now you have proof.
Annoying players
Now, some of the Australian players I really like but the majority come across as arrogant or moronic.
I’m not saying they are (I’m more writing it), but appearances matter.
You can get away with this if you’re playing dominating, exciting cricket. This lot aren’t.
Being likeable is a trait people want in their teams. It’s hard to barrack for a bunch of people who you would make you move house if they bought the house next door.
Conclusion
So there you are Cricket Australia, some free advice for you to ignore. Like all these things it’s not all that complicated.
You’ve just let the pendulum swing a bit far towards ‘profit’ and away from ‘fans’.
Just need to rebalance it a bit.
COMMENTS
Natalie
Nov 22, 2014
I know this is a humourous post but geez Titus, I think you're genuinely spot on.
Luke
Nov 22, 2014
After Cricket Australia finish their investigation we need a royal commission in to how and why James Brayshaw has ended up in the ch9 commentary box.
Chris Smith
Nov 22, 2014
Has any sport ever anywhere implemented the 'less is more' principle? If so, did it work?
A very enjoyable read.
Gavin
Nov 22, 2014
Great insights as to why Cricket is fast becoming irrelevant beyond Indian shores. The scary thing is that CA "actually think" cricket in Australia is thriving. Imagine if CA actually tried to take a wrecking ball to cricket in Australia instead of achieving a similar outcome via misguided, egotistical and irrational decisions.... If CA wants to make cricket relevant again, maybe they should look across at the FFA who have taken a game that no one cared about a few years ago to a thriving National Competition which actually listens to its fans.
Nathan_Wind
Nov 22, 2014
Have you heard of the NFL? The domestic competition with the highest average attendances by a country mile? They have 32 teams, but each team only plays 16 regular season games. The NFL hasn't tried to milk everything out of the schedule. Granted, that game has some other big problems to deal with, but spectator apathy ain't one.
David Evans
Nov 22, 2014
Titus,
You are absolutely correct and have encapsulated what I and I'm sure many cricket lovers have been thinking for a long time. You have to ration the good things in life otherwise they just become wallpaper (like cricket now) and there is nothing to look forward to. Less is very definitely more. Great article, well done and thanks.
Nick
Nov 23, 2014
Even though you were joking, the Shane Watson part is definitely a factor as to why I don't care about cricket as much as I used to. He's clearly a selfish wanker, and ever since he became part of the team (and particularly when he replaced Symonds), I don't want to see him do well, and to an extent the entire team. Then when they made him captain in the same tour he already quit, it was a disgrace on so many levels.
Ben
Nov 24, 2014
This really hit home for me.
I remember staying up 'late' with my Dad to watch the conclusion of an exciting one dayer. Each game seemed to mean something and we looked forward to watching them. Now it's pretty much just the Ashes that hold any interest. I'd much rather take a picnic lunch down to the local cricket these days.
Gator
Nov 24, 2014
I think the A- League and the EPL have killed cricket in the area where I live. The local junior cricket club offered my son and his mate a bat and full kit for them to play. If I recall two of their answers correctly they were:
"Cricket is for nerds."
"Footy is for winter and soccer for summer."
Pitty the kids are thinking like this some of fav. childhood memories where playing cricket with my mates till dark (pretending I was DK Lillie), watching cricket on the TV and at the G.
I suppose we can't compete when the see the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo and Messi on TV living playboy lifestyles.
Jenny
Nov 24, 2014
Perhaps give prizes for catches in crowd..no OHS will ruin another bit of fun.If you can suffer watching the pajama cricket have it on mute.My selections for tests.drop clarke and watson, both past their usedby date.
ben 2
Nov 24, 2014
Here are some comments:
1. Matches are finishing TOO LATE! 11pm finish on a Sunday night is too late for a lot of people, especially families who might have school the next day. Should try and finish the match by 9:30pm the latest (This is when footy and soccer finish) Try a ODI during the day time.
2. Should have played an ODI in Adelaide. Adelaide always has proportionately excellent crowds.
3. The Triangular series worked. People cared about the points table and wining the title meant something! What's played now is 'exhibition' / friendly games.
4. Settle the side down. Pick one side. If players have to be 'rested', then the team is playing TOO MUCH! People want to see Warner / Clarke / Haddin / Johnson / Smith. Why take your best assets away from the experience? What other sport 'rests' players?? Playing for your country is a privilege, not a backfilling role for another guy.
5. Commentators are too biased towards Australia. Where was the South African Commentators? Maxwell should have been heavily criticized for that effort last night, not a gentle pat on the back for 'the big show'. If an AFL player or Soccer player tossed away a golden opportunity and let there side down they would hear about it!
6. Play in Australian Bloody Gold!
curious
Nov 24, 2014
Titus, looking at all the comments you're onto something here.
For mine, the saturation point is spot on.
I used to want to watch every summer whether it was the West Indies flogging us, or England or Pakistan or even the Kiwis flogging us. Never mind the result, the opposition players were champions and putting on a good show.
But now, why turn up? We have a captain with a back so dodgy his kids will never ride it, the odd promising player but no champions, and oppositions that aren't around long enough to really enjoy them, even though there are champions there. South Africa were fantastic to watch in the last Test series, so we have them for some meaningless 50 over warm ups for the World Cup. As for India, well ever since the Andrew Symonds incidents I don't watch them. Just wasn't cricket.
Davorobo
Nov 26, 2014
Second that - I lived in the US for a couple of years and there was genuine excitement about each and every NFL game. A reduced season means every game is important and people scramble for tickets to be part of the action. I lived in San Diego (one of the smallest cities to have its own local pro team) and they never had a problem selling out the 70,000 capacity ground.
LittleGoffy
Dec 07, 2014
That there is still a strong emotional attachment to cricket has been decisively brought home by the intensity of grief following the Hughes' tragedy.
Nothing more true and important for Cricket Australia to remember than the 'custodians of a game that doesn't belong to you' point.
It's hard to find comedy when the 'whole' is bad - if it were just the commentary team, or just the prices, or just the madcap selection rituals, then easy laughs for everyone.
Knobber
Dec 18, 2014
Titus, you've blurred the line between comedy and reality a bit too much here.
Sad day when T O'R starts losing his sense of humour to those greedy scum at CA