Australia's T20 Revolution

[OzBomber]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/indian-investors-to-buy-australian-twenty20-teams-in-a-move-cricket-australia-says-is-bigger-than-world-series-cricket/story-e6frf3g3-1225944478712

Australia's version of IPL will have eight teams Two Sydney, two Melbourne, one Brisbane, one Perth, one Adelaide, one Hobart

Teams play each other twice before finals series

Tournament will be played over five weeks and will replace one-day games

Matches to be televised on Fox Sports and Nine and sold to India and other overseas networks

Starts January 2012 at all major city cricket grounds and possibly major regional areas

Gaps will be left in Australia's Test calendar to ensure all superstars will be available

Huge money will be offered by franchise owners to attract overseas stars

Sponsors will be offered naming rights of teams

Franchises will initially operate under a salary cap of between $2 million and $2.6 million

Could be interesting but it seems like they're killing off the International and Domestic One Dayers which is a shame.

One thing I ask for is that there is no overkill. I still think it would be better to just have 1 team per state.

Thoughts?

[albundysmate]

we still need odis for crying out loud,. if they only have just 20/20s as the alternative to tests. people will get sick of it very quickly

[alfy!]

Apparently NSW and Victoria have been offered around $30 million for 49% ownership of the new franchises, from Indian businessmen. Insane money.

[King Elvis]

We should tell them to piss off.

[jonesy86]

The biggest joke is that tickets for the Big Bash this year have gone up in price big time and are similar categories to ODIs.

Platinum - $30
Gold - $20
General admin - $15

[OzBomber]

The biggest joke is that tickets for the Big Bash this year have gone up in price big time and are similar categories to ODIs.

Platinum - $30
Gold - $20
General admin - $15

I still get in for free. :D

Unless they changed the rules on those Bushrangers cards. Either way, I can't sit on the 2nd level anymore. :( Amazig view of the action in those comfy seats.

[jonesy86]

Just had a look at the seating map...

Platinum - level 2 olympic stand

Gold - level 2 southern stand

Family Area - all of ponsford

General Admin - everything else except MCC Members

[OzBomber]

Ponsford stand it is then.

[albundysmate]

look if they're going to bring this in. they can't cut a massive chunk out of the international schedual

[chardonnay]

Who is behind this, not Cricket Aus it appears:

The state teams have reportedly threatened to set up a breakaway competition if the overseas investors are turned away.

NSW and Victorian administrators are understood to have been secretly negotiating with the Indian companies, through a prominent middle man, for 12 months.
"The states have taken it upon themselves because they believe Cricket Australia has been too slow to embrace the game," one source said.

Who are the players contracted to?

[R00StaR]

This sounds very messy and sounds like NSW and ViC admins have been bitten by the greed monster. We've already seen the Big Bash be a great success, so why is it so necessary for large investments? If this league is profitable then id much rather see profits going back into cricket than some investors pockets.

I doubt some break away comp would hold the same appeal for me.

[magic_johnson!]

Two from Melbourne, or one from Melbourne and one from Geelong? Two from Melbourne would be a pretty bad idea IMO. Two from Sydney also.

[Selective Retention]

I don't like this at all and I don't think the Australian public will buy into it. As if I would support a Hobart team, **** off ;)

It is very rare that anyone makes money out of owning sports clubs. These knobs can go blow their cash somewhere else. Surely hookers and cocaine is a big enough ego boost, leave the cricket alone.

The biggest joke is that tickets for the Big Bash this year have gone up in price big time and are similar categories to ODIs.

Platinum - $30
Gold - $20
General admin - $15

I went to that game at the G between Vic and Tas where they got 40k+ and the prices were $10 adults $5 kids. Huge rise.

[placebo]

I can't wait til T20's die a horrible death one day.

[chardonnay]

This sounds very messy and sounds like NSW and ViC admins have been bitten by the greed monster. We've already seen the Big Bash be a great success, so why is it so necessary for large investments? If this league is profitable then id much rather see profits going back into cricket than some investors pockets.

I doubt some break away comp would hold the same appeal for me.

Big downside, very divisive potential for Aus cricket:

"It's one of the big turning points in Australian cricket history," a CA spokesman said, claiming that chief executive James Sutherland believes "it's as big, possibly bigger than the (Kerry) Packer moment. It's important to get it right."

It was also suggested that Victoria and NSW should not be allowed to take part in the ownership debate as they have quite a few financial backers.

[nineteen eighty]

I can't wait til T20's die a horrible death one day.

I don't want to be morbid but I tend to think you'll pass on before T20 does. That's what they were saying about one dayers when they were introduced. There is too much money in T20 for them to be going anywhere but further strengthened!! You can either accept it and make the best of it or just continue to hope that they will go away...only to be disappointed.

[magic_johnson!]

I went to that game at the G between Vic and Tas where they got 40k+ and the prices were $10 adults $5 kids. Huge rise.
$5??
It's still pretty cheap. It won't detract people from going.

[frankrizzo]

Give it a few years and this will cut into the test schedule as well.

Once the Indian backers have their teeth in it's all over for our home summer of test cricket.

The comp will need to expand every year as more teams are added which means something else will have to go.

[tazzietiger]

Im against the 2 teams from vic and nsw. I enjoy the one team from each state T20 like it currently is. Im pro major investment in australia cricket comps though.

[Cleavy]

Im against the 2 teams from vic and nsw. I enjoy the one team from each state T20 like it currently is.

Seconded

[Johnson#26]

T20 cricket should be there for a laugh: two games + a final (highest aggregate score or whatever). Far too much stock is put into it.

[HSSB]

Pretty big the cash that is being offered for a team etc. But I love the Big Bash the way it is, will be f***ed if this happens

[Covvy]

Aussie domestic cricket it okay how it is. Please don't mess around with it.

[jonesy86]

Aussie domestic cricket it okay how it is. Please don't mess around with it.

Yeah, only tweak I'd make is cut the 1-day comp back to playing each other once and the T20 into home and away... oh and get rid of the 45 over rubbish and back to 50over cricket.

[TassieSaint]

Terrible idea in my opinion. City based teams full of overseas players? Completely new teams rather than states that have 100+ years of tradition (even if it isn't in this form of the game)? It seems so pointless to have a completely different set up for twenty20 to me.

[Hellgood]

Agree with most in here. Can't wait until the day the Perth Powerangers get to the Champions League :rolleyes: Yeah great fun, with Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Liam Davis etc. all playing for some other team. I'm really beginning to hate T20. What was wrong with the Big Bash? It was great, crowds were huge, state pride, young guns and one international player a side... that was absolutely perfect.

[Cousin Jed]

What was wrong with the Big Bash? It was great, crowds were huge, state pride, young guns and one international player a side... that was absolutely perfect.

CA weren't getting enough $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[King Elvis]

The BCCI has almost ruined Cricket, there is no ****ing way we should allow them any kind of ownership in our local comp.

Not just them, nobody.

[Belnakor]

Big downside, very divisive potential for Aus cricket:

"It's one of the big turning points in Australian cricket history," a CA spokesman said, claiming that chief executive James Sutherland believes "it's as big, possibly bigger than the (Kerry) Packer moment. It's important to get it right."


James Sutherland is clearly having delusions of grandeur. Not even in the same ball park as World Series. not even in the same galaxy. Who is this nob and how did he get into a position like that?

[ManWithNoName]

FFS one IPL's enough. That already got very boring very quickly. Let's not ruin a perfectly good competition by trying to do the exact same thing.

[R00StaR]

Id agree keep the states, but it may lack the numbers for a credible comp. Plus an influx of internationals makes up for having say 1 less team tour so theres scope to expand the teams and keep quality high. Particularly if we have the best players in the world player here yearly. Lets not forget the dollars international TV rights might bring in.

Id prefer the state set up and bring in 2 x NZ teams or something. While im not the hugest fan of 20/20 i do see its importance in generating dollars the great game needs to stay competitive with other sports.

[Homer Jnr]

If CA sell these franchises, how much of it will make it's way down to grass-root cricket? Will they then be able to send out people like Brett Lee, Shaun Tait etc etc to local cricket clubs in August and September to help them with junior sign-ons?

Or will this money be stored away and not seen by the kids?

[A Living God]

CA is doing a terrible job. If you wanted a case study on how not run a sports league then the IPL would be close to perfect.

The 20/20 competition should be a twelve club league with the clubs being completely separate from the State Associations. Each team will play every other team once then the top 4 teams will play in a final series for total 70 games over 7 weeks. The league would run from mid-January to the end of February

The Clubs should community owned on a strictly not for profit basis similar to the AFL clubs.

A new company will formed to run the league to be owned by CA, the State Associations and the 20/20 clubs. The operating profit from the new company would then be distributed as follows
$0 - $10m
State Associations: 100%
$10 - $20m
State Associations: 75%
20/20 Clubs: 25%
$20 - $30m
State Associations: 50%
20/20 Clubs: 50%
$30m+
State Associations: 25%
20/20 Clubs: 75%

For an operating profit of $50m the State Associations would recieve $27.5m and 20/20 Clubs would recieve $22.5m. As a point of reference the AFL's operating profit last year was $210m

[chardonnay]

CA is doing a terrible job. If you wanted a case study on how not run a sports league then the IPL would be close to perfect.

The 20/20 competition should be a twelve club league with the clubs being completely separate from the State Associations. Each team will play every other team once then the top 4 teams will play in a final series for total 70 games over 7 weeks. The league would run from mid-January to the end of February

The Clubs should community owned on a strictly not for profit basis similar to the AFL clubs.

A new company will formed to run the league to be owned by CA, the State Associations and the 20/20 clubs. The operating profit from the new company would then be distributed as follows
$0 - $10m
State Associations: 100%
$10 - $20m
State Associations: 75%
20/20 Clubs: 25%
$20 - $30m
State Associations: 50%
20/20 Clubs: 50%
$30m+
State Associations: 25%
20/20 Clubs: 75%

For an operating profit of $50m the State Associations would recieve $27.5m and 20/20 Clubs would recieve $22.5m. As a point of reference the AFL's operating profit last year was $210m

Should & will have different meanings in the English language.

Whaddayamean for crying out loud ... I think I'm with you, BUT maybe I'm not !!

[whats_at_stake]

Well if it is launching next summer there could be a chance of some of the Indian players staying on after the tour/before the ODI's.

Tendulkar playing for Melbounre would be nice.

[XFactor1979]

this will definitely affect cricket to the core

[Indian_Hotdog]

Agree with most in here. Can't wait until the day the Perth Powerangers get to the Champions League :rolleyes: Yeah great fun, with Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Liam Davis etc. all playing for some other team. I'm really beginning to hate T20. What was wrong with the Big Bash? It was great, crowds were huge, state pride, young guns and one international player a side... that was absolutely perfect.



It would be nice if more of you would have turned up for the games or watch on TV instead of whingeing on here.Else none of this would have happened.

[OzBomber]

It would be nice if more of you would have turned up for the games or watch on TV instead of whingeing on here.Else none of this would have happened.
Umm, what?

[albundysmate]

they can have a bew comp all i care. just don't take anything away from our international fixtures. no one wants that and the people that want to join in one this from india, can say it all they want that no one wants odis any more. because it isn't true. i know the australian public that love that love there cricket don't them them to chop anything from the international fixtures

[Indian_Hotdog]

Umm, what?

wake up and smell the coffee.Cricket is losing ground in australia with its sinking audiences a majority of whom are males over 40.

Kids are taking to other sports , viewership is down , attendances are flagging and you want cricket to remain as it is ? The ipod generation dont give a damn :rolleyes:

[XFactor1979]

whatever it is New South Wales wins the interstate rivalry against the Vics when it comes to cricket

We are not going to play Victorian players (from the disgusting state that plays AFL - ew), its NSW NSW NSW!!!!!


oh and stupidly enough, all you stupid victorians are supporting an extended NSW team on boxing day for the boxing day test match

NSW says thanks, and youre never getting it back!

[King Elvis]

wake up and smell the coffee.Cricket is losing ground in australia with its sinking audiences a majority of whom are males over 40.

Kids are taking to other sports , viewership is down , attendances are flagging and you want cricket to remain as it is ? The ipod generation dont give a damn :rolleyes:

Isn't Test Cricket better supported in Australian than anywhere in the world?

[OzBomber]

wake up and smell the coffee.Cricket is losing ground in australia with its sinking audiences a majority of whom are males over 40.

Kids are taking to other sports , viewership is down , attendances are flagging and you want cricket to remain as it is ? The ipod generation dont give a damn :rolleyes:
Oh, and how are your attendances at test cricket these days? That's right, now piss off.

We were always going to have shit crowds last summer. Besides the diehards, who the **** would want to go see Pakistan and West Indies. We'll get 50,000+ to every day of the Boxing Day test, sell out crowds at all the other grounds and next year we should get some strong crowds as well. No country is going to draw well against the shit sides.

[Indian_Hotdog]

Oh, and how are your attendances at test cricket these days? That's right, now piss off.

We were always going to have shit crowds last summer. Besides the diehards, who the **** would want to go see Pakistan and West Indies. We'll get 50,000+ to every day of the Boxing Day test, sell out crowds at all the other grounds and next year we should get some strong crowds as well. No country is going to draw well against the shit sides.

what part of my post is wrong , only stating fact ? If you think India has worse test crowds than Aus , I can only laugh.

[Caesar]

FFS one IPL's enough. That already got very boring very quickly. Let's not ruin a perfectly good competition by trying to do the exact same thing.
Christ yes.

I'll be boycotting the new comp. Not that it will make any difference.

[Caesar]

wake up and smell the coffee.Cricket is losing ground in australia with its sinking audiences a majority of whom are males over 40.

Kids are taking to other sports , viewership is down , attendances are flagging and you want cricket to remain as it is ? The ipod generation dont give a damn :rolleyes:
I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[hirdy_is_champ]

This is bullshit, I hate CA. Why couldn't these investors back the current 20/20 set up?? Are CA stupid, what makes them think people will jump onto some franchise that was invented 5 minutes ago, especially when state T20 gets a great crowd. Not to mention we don't have bloody 1 billion people in our country, so even if interest isn't that great a stadium still gets packed.

IPL is corrupt as well, are we gonna get the same thing here.
Also is the current state 2020 gonna go under now?

[Hellgood]

It would be nice if more of you would have turned up for the games or watch on TV instead of whingeing on here.Else none of this would have happened.


I went to two big bash games last summer... One of which the ground was absolutely packed and the other it was almost full.


what part of my post is wrong , only stating fact ? If you think India has worse test crowds than Aus , I can only laugh.

You serious? Didn't watch the first day of the Mohali test match, where there was absolutely nobody there except a bunch of school kids at fine leg? First day of the series... two of the best sides in the world... Tendulkar, Ponting, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Watson... I think the WACA would have been full, basically any ground would have been except the MCG, which would have got 70-80k on Boxing Day.

I think this is a big mistake. Look at the IPL, problem after problem, franchises being terminated, dull cricket. No connection between teams and their bases and on it goes. Why the f*ck do we want this here again?

[sherb]

what part of my post is wrong , only stating fact ? If you think India has worse test crowds than Aus , I can only laugh.
And if you are being serious, I can only laugh in return.

[Gough]

My first thoughts on reading about this were what is going to happen to first class cricket in Australia? For a country that once took all before them on the field, Australia is now ranked fifth in the world and for the first time in a generation, no certainty to win the Ashes at home. CA's response to this, lets play more T20 cricket. One of the backbones of Australian cricket's success over the years has been the strength of it's domestic competition, in my opinon Simon Katich's form can be put down to the fact that he still plays for NSW fairly regularly. It is seen as vital for Australia's Ashes chances that players get at least one, and in most cases two Shield games into them before the first test. CA is totally barking up the wrong tree on this one. First class cricket should be seen as the key to returning Australia to it's once lofty heights, not a form of the game that doesn't even resemble what I grew up watching.

[Indian_Hotdog]

You serious? Didn't watch the first day of the Mohali test match, where there was absolutely nobody there except a bunch of school kids at fine leg? First day of the series... two of the best sides in the world... Tendulkar, Ponting, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Watson... I think the WACA would have been full, basically any ground would have been except the MCG, which would have got 70-80k on Boxing Day.



Do you know anything about Mohali - it's history as a test centre , location from the city or anything else apart from seeing empty seats on TV and blindly stating that tests in India have lesser audiences ??

Why no mention of the Bangalore test - you would kill for a crowd like that in Aus day in day out for 5 days.

[OzBomber]

Do you know anything about Mohali - it's history as a test centre , location from the city or anything else apart from seeing empty seats on TV and blindly stating that tests in India have lesser audiences ??

Why no mention of the Bangalore test - you would kill for a crowd like that in Aus day in day out for 5 days.

Yeah because 20,000 avearage for 5 days in ONE test is better than 20-25,000+ (higher at SCG and MCG) for the whole summer? :rolleyes:

You're losing buddy, don't hit your head on the way out.

[King Elvis]

You just got schooled Indian Hotdog - our Test Crowds are better than yours, and we have 20,000,000 people living here, slightly less than the 1,000,000,000 odd that live in India. You guys stick to IPL with the stupid names and garish uniforms, we'll keep supporting the real stuff.

This is dumb by Cricket Australia, why would you let outside investors into your system when you don't have to?

I used to rate Sutherland, but between our retarded selectors, our spastic coach and this new competition, I think he's clueless.

[magic_johnson!]

Why no mention of the Bangalore test - you would kill for a crowd like that in Aus day in day out for 5 days.
Haha, the boxing day test should get between 350,000 and 400,000 this year, do you get that in Bangalore? :p

[Hellgood]

Do you know anything about Mohali - it's history as a test centre , location from the city or anything else apart from seeing empty seats on TV and blindly stating that tests in India have lesser audiences ??

Why no mention of the Bangalore test - you would kill for a crowd like that in Aus day in day out for 5 days.


Wherever an Australia - India test is played in Australia, the ground would be more or less full. The crowds in Bangalore were good, and I'm happy about that because it shows Indians are still interested in test cricket which is great, but to suggest that India gets larger crowds in Australia is just ludicrous.

[Indian_Hotdog]

Yeah because 20,000 avearage for 5 days in ONE test is better than 20-25,000+ (higher at SCG and MCG) for the whole summer? :rolleyes:

You're losing buddy, don't hit your head on the way out.



The only time your staduims are even close to full is during an Ashes summer not every summer so dont pull that line on me hah

[Indian_Hotdog]

You just got schooled Indian Hotdog - our Test Crowds are better than yours, and we have 20,000,000 people living here, slightly less than the 1,000,000,000 odd that live in India. You guys stick to IPL with the stupid names and garish uniforms, we'll keep supporting the real stuff.
.


Someone once said : The recipe for perpetual ignorance is to - Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.

Fits you perfectly elvis


Test crowds in the major test centres of Chennai , Bangalore , Mumbai, Eden Gardens and to an extent Delhi will outstrip attendances in any Australian ground in general with touring teams , maybe the Ashes exception.An Ind-Pak series usually pulls in more but it has been a while since we played them.

Aus has only 5 or 6 grounds.Even then , the grounds don't fill.

What you don't realise is India have been using a rotation policy where grounds in the most remote corners of India get games in an effort to spread the game.Mohali is one such venue which is not traditional.The only reason it gets a game is because IS Bindra - a crony at the BCCI wants his home ground to get matches.The stadium location itself is absurd , faraway from the city population with little to non existant transport to and from the stadium.

All this is just ground audience.The followers on TV , internet , mobile will put everything else to shame.Cricinfo went into meltdown on the final day of the Mohali test.

[Indian_Hotdog]

Haha, the boxing day test should get between 350,000 and 400,000 this year, do you get that in Bangalore? :p

Eden Gradens will pull in close to 500,000 when its renovation is complete.

And fancy comparing a test attendance in the middle of christmas holidays to one in the middle of a working week.I doubt you will get a 5th day audience like in Bangalore on a working day over there , maybe the pensioners will pop in :p

[MightyFighting]

Anyone seriously offering $30million for 49% of an Australian domestic cricket team must be a complete idiot.

[King Elvis]

The only time your staduims are even close to full is during an Ashes summer not every summer so dont pull that line on me hah

Or when we play the Indians, or the South Africans - you know, teams that actually provide a talented, skillful spectacle, where there is a genuine contest.

Also, again, twenty million people versus over one billion, so well done.

Test Cricket in Australia is extremely well supported.

[MightyFighting]

This is dumb by Cricket Australia, why would you let outside investors into your system when you don't have to?Exactly. People talk about "investment" as if it's free money, when these investors are in effect purchasing a portion of any future profits.

[Admiral Afterworld]

Imb4tYOk8GE

[nineteen eighty]

You just got schooled Indian Hotdog - our Test Crowds are better than yours, and we have 20,000,000 people living here, slightly less than the 1,000,000,000 odd that live in India. You guys stick to IPL with the stupid names and garish uniforms, we'll keep supporting the real stuff.

This is dumb by Cricket Australia, why would you let outside investors into your system when you don't have to?

I used to rate Sutherland, but between our retarded selectors, our spastic coach and this new competition, I think he's clueless.

Elvis - the reason CA and Sutherland are pursuing this is simple...$$$!!! I'm not saying that I agree with the approach but walking away from that truck load of cash would be difficult.

I'm not like most of the others on here as I like T20 cricket (love test matches and am bored of ODI) and do believe that simply stating that T20 will die in a few years is ignorant. I think it is here to stay and by the looks of it, will be the dominant form of cricket in 10 years time. Why do I say that...because of the revenue it generates.

Do I agree with it? No!

Do I believe it will happen? Yes!

[King Elvis]

I think T20 has a place, I think they're just handling it poorly.

They look at the declining crowds for Test Cricket, and instead of bothering to figure out what's wrong with Test Cricket (here is a hint, placid pitches made purely for 5 day Tests), they just assume people would rather watch T20, so they jump on it.

[Gough]

Well said that man. That is exactly why I find it so hard to believe that the SACA has agreed to dig up one of the best pitch squares in the world to accomodate AFL at the Adelaide Oval. Rarely is there a bad Adelaide test, and they are always well sipported, yet the SACA want to allow drop in pitches, something that has absolutely killed the quality of the MCG test.

[TheColeTrain]

Eden Gradens will pull in close to 500,000 when its renovation is complete.

And fancy comparing a test attendance in the middle of christmas holidays to one in the middle of a working week.I doubt you will get a 5th day audience like in Bangalore on a working day over there , maybe the pensioners will pop in :p

Are you all their mate.
Logic and reasoning does not apply, Indian test crowds are a complete and utter disgrace a country of 1 billion people and Australias crowds leave you for dead.
The MCG test alone nearly outrates the numbers you get for a Indian test series.
Then if you make a population to crowd ratio its damned embarrassing for the so called cricketing powerhouse.:rolleyes:

[ManWithNoName]

WTF's the point of building a stadium that holds 500,000? Seriously. I know India has different safety standards to Australia, but surely that can't be hygenic/safe.

[Indian_Hotdog]

The MCG test alone nearly outrates the numbers you get for a Indian test series.
Then if you make a population to crowd ratio its damned embarrassing for the so called cricketing powerhouse.:rolleyes:

Biggest attended test - India vs Pakistan Eden Gardens 1999 with 460,000 plus.Top that !

Unless you come to India and sit there in one of the traditional venues against the top 5 or 6 big nations , all you are is a couch potato trying to count the crowd numbers on a TV screen.

By the way , who is deleting my posts - couple of them are gone and none are off topic.Shabby moderators ?

[Indian_Hotdog]

WTF's the point of building a stadium that holds 500,000? Seriously. I know India has different safety standards to Australia, but surely that can't be hygenic/safe.



http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/picard-facepalm.jpg

[Johnson#26]

This is bullshit, I hate CA. Why couldn't these investors back the current 20/20 set up?? Are CA stupid, what makes them think people will jump onto some franchise that was invented 5 minutes ago, especially when state T20 gets a great crowd. Not to mention we don't have bloody 1 billion people in our country, so even if interest isn't that great a stadium still gets packed.

IPL is corrupt as well, are we gonna get the same thing here.
Also is the current state 2020 gonna go under now?

:thumbsu::thumbsu:

[DeadlyAkkuret]

We should tell them to piss off.

This, but it wont happen. I remember when people would say Australia's dominance was bad for the game, but India's dominance is worse. They act if as if they own the game, because they basically do.

[ManWithNoName]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/picard-facepalm.jpg
Intelligent, articulate resposne.

[Covvy]

To be fair the Hotdog guy, I think he means over the five days.

[whats_at_stake]

Intelligent, articulate resposne.

You misinterpreted what he had to say. He was saying the total attendance is 500 000 not 500 000 for every day.

Now whilst I disagree that Indian Tests are better supported by fans then in Australia I will agree that ODI's and Twenty20's are near jam packed over there.

Cricket in Australia is in going backwards massively (from television figures down 24%, less kids taking it up etc.). I am suprised no one posted this but this article appeared in the Age on the weekend.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/cricket-knocked-for-six-20101030-1789w.html

The Twenty20 expanded Big Bash could be crucial although I am not a big fan of the number of games. Should just be playing each other once.

The Test Championships is very important for the future of cricket as is the ODI World Cup which will hopefully breathe some life back into the
format.

EDIT: Only 16 000 came to the ODI last year- what the hell is happening? I remember the days when cricket used to generate so much interest.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-sport/cup-weather-and-form-have-cricket-nervous-20101101-17abk.html

[King Elvis]

Stake - when we play shit teams, we get shit crowds; not surprising.

Look at the threads here when we play Eng/SA/Ind versus when we play WI/Pak/NZ; there are hundreds if not thousands of posts made when we play the first three, and hardly any when we play the second.

When the game isn't a hard-fought contest, it's boring. I love the Cricket, clearly, but I'll be watching a hell of a lot more of it this Summer than I did last Summer (and will go to all 5 days of the Adelaide Test), because it actually means something.

Throw in the shit pitches, which nobody except Ricky Ponting seems to think is an issue, and the reasons for the demise of Test Cricket is pretty obvious.

Throw ODIs into that mix as well - most Cricket fans (the people who will actually go to the games every year, not just once every now and again) would rather see a close, hard fought contest where both teams have to scrap and fight to 250-odd because the bowlers are on fire, than watch two teams batting on a road and notching up 350 each.

Oh, and throw disillusionment with the selection/coaching/admin of Cricket Australia at present. I don't exactly enjoy watching us losing games we should win because we pick players like North and Hussey (bless him) regardless of whether they deserve to be in the side or not.

[Cleavy]

James Sutherland didn't win me over with his spiel about the new comp on Inside Cricket. Plus he had the reddest eyes I've ever seen.

[whats_at_stake]

Stake - when we play shit teams, we get shit crowds; not surprising.

Look at the threads here when we play Eng/SA/Ind versus when we play WI/Pak/NZ; there are hundreds if not thousands of posts made when we play the first three, and hardly any when we play the second.

When the game isn't a hard-fought contest, it's boring. I love the Cricket, clearly, but I'll be watching a hell of a lot more of it this Summer than I did last Summer (and will go to all 5 days of the Adelaide Test), because it actually means something.

Throw in the shit pitches, which nobody except Ricky Ponting seems to think is an issue, and the reasons for the demise of Test Cricket is pretty obvious.

Throw ODIs into that mix as well - most Cricket fans (the people who will actually go to the games every year, not just once every now and again) would rather see a close, hard fought contest where both teams have to scrap and fight to 250-odd because the bowlers are on fire, than watch two teams batting on a road and notching up 350 each.

Oh, and throw disillusionment with the selection/coaching/admin of Cricket Australia at present. I don't exactly enjoy watching us losing games we should win because we pick players like North and Hussey (bless him) regardless of whether they deserve to be in the side or not.

Whilst I agree the opposition matters and plays a role I will still say crowds have been declining for years (and lower television figures reflect this). Only five years ago cricket was the nation's favourite sport and in healthy shape- now it has fallen massively. I used to get so excited with the summer and would watch a Test on all five days on television- now days I watch cricket a lot less (but do follow scores) and even playing cricket I am less excited.

What is most concerning about the dire straights is the fact that less kids are playing (as the article I quoted earlier states). I am not sure on exact figures but am sure they are out there but on a anecdotal level five year ago my local cricket club had 2 U12's, 2 U14s, 2 U16s and 5 senior teams. Now we have 1.5 U16 and at best one U14 and struggle to form 4 senior teams.

Cricket is at a cross-roads and sadly Twenty20 may be the saviour.

[Selective Retention]

Plus he had the reddest eyes I've ever seen.

He'd just come from sitting in on a selector's meeting.

Crowds like today are going to accelerate the process. No one is at the one dayer. If it was a T20 starting after work hours they would get double the crowd, easy. From a business sense it's a no brainer to switch to T20.

[stmookeyj]

Crowds like today are going to accelerate the process. No one is at the one dayer. If it was a T20 starting after work hours they would get double the crowd, easy. From a business sense it's a no brainer to switch to T20.

The product in the ODI is still there, probably superior to T20. It would make better business sense to do 2 things....

(1) Schedule it in a better timeslot rather than just throw it in willy-nilly before The Ashes

(2) Drop the prices. Why sell tickets at $35 when it isn't worth $35? Sell them for $20 (all seats, not just the good ones), and throw something in that will get the people half interested. Even T20 games will become unaffordable to the average punter soon enough (There was an article in the Courier Mail [CLICK HERE] (http://www.couriermail.com.au/money/money-matters/battlers-left-with-only-18-a-week-on-average-as-queenslanders-feel-pinch-on-living-costs/story-fn3hskur-1225947513169) saying the average worker won't have enough for ANY entertainment if they're paying off a mortgage).


Besides, the crowd at the game in Perth on what was a better time slot (Sunday Night) was disappointing (16K) and the ratings were below 1 Million (those games were getting about 1.2 Million last year). If these are the figures for a so-called 'savior' of the game, then I'd be VERY worried for the future of the game as a whole.