A couple of days ago we received this rather interesting piece from Andrew Bowker, a regular attendee at England test matches. It raises a couple of interesting points and gives professional cricket journalists something of a challenge. So if you’re reading Mike, Derek, Paul etc, are you up for it?
Anyone who loves Test Match cricket would have been extremely concerned by the poor attendances at the Ageas Bowl last week. This follows on the heels of poor attendances at Headingley for the Sri Lanka test, and leaves the ECB and the counties involved scratching their heads about how to generate more interest in live test cricket outside the strongholds of Lord’s and The Oval; the London grounds continue to attract large crowds regardless of the touring team.
As someone who attends between four and seven days of test match cricket a year at my own expense, (and who is fortunate to do so), I am sympathetic to those who consider a day at the test a considerable expense that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. However, a day’s cricket remains one of the great British sporting occasions and in pure cost terms is on a par with a day at the races, watching a Rugby International, attending a Premier League fixture or a day at Wimbledon.
There has been a great deal of discussion and a number of articles written in the national media (mainly the Guardian and Telegraph) concerning the mitigating circumstances for low attendances, the cost of tickets and refreshments, accessibility of grounds and whether the prospect of a day at the cricket is in fact appealing enough for your average punter to part with his hard earned cash.
However, it is questionable whether the journalists paid to scribe these articles have ever parted with their own pennies to attend a day of test cricket in recent years. As such, they are writing from a skewed perspective from the comfort of a media centre. Therefore, it is frustrating when they sometimes apportion blame for low attendances on Jo Public, who some claim do not care about the future of test cricket as much as those writing about the game professionally.
The blame on Jo Public appears to become more pronounced the further north of the Watford Gap you venture, which is in no way helped by ‘Fred’ Boycott, a character you might have come across on twitter.
ESPN Cricinfo run a sporadic article whereby they ask a paying punter to write about their experience of a day’s play. It would be an interesting experiment to see if any of the paid journalists from the national newspapers were willing to forgo their regular comforts (with food and drink on tap, best seat in the house, air conditioning, and hotel / travel paid for on company expenses etc) and do exactly the same i.e. write an article from a fan’s perspective. If they did so, they’d be better placed to comment on why test match attendances outside of London are really declining.
As such, I would be delighted to hear from any national cricket correspondents willing to take up the offer. The challenge is pay your own way for a day’s play at any England test match outside London. This would include travel (from home and not the office / hotel), ticket cost, refreshments, any souvenirs (for kids or yourself) and any other incidental costs which the average cricket fan puts up with.
No access to privileged areas would be permitted, of course, and you would have to watch from one of the plastic fold down chairs that run of the mill spectators endure. If this seat is exposed to elements – rain, wind and blazing hot sun (without shade) are all common hazards – then so be it.
Because you’ll have weathered the true spectator experience first-hand, any subsequent articles you write on the topic will be based on primary evidence rather than the testimony of fans you might bump into (which may or may not be representative of the majority). It would be interesting to see if your perspective on why many fans are now choosing to invest their hard-earned in other activities changes.
In his excellent book Flat Earth News, Nick Davies makes a number of excellent points about lack of proper research and misreporting in modern journalism. Cricket writers, this is your chance to prove him wrong.
Are you up for the challenge? If so, get in touch via @thefulltoss.
Andrew Bowker
Oh, but THEY are the only ones who understand, judging by this Sunday’s CWOTV. They have apparently questioned the ECB and finally, the latter have provided the answers. Wrong on two fronts! It was the so called “Keyboard Warriors”, those of little understanding or knowledge of cricket who asked the questions. It was the “CW’s” who pffted at our constant quest for truth. The truth is that the answers that the Pro’s purport to have extracted from the ECB are nothing close to it. They are cliche’s based around the premise that because the lovely choir boy got a couple of half centuries, all is sorted and forgotten. Except on Sunday, whilst Messrs Allot, Brenkley, Etteridge and Booth, whilst paying some homage to the success of Ali, Robson, Buttler and Ballance, couldn’t help but include a little negative on each. No such treatment of the wholesome skipper, who, on making a minimal change to his technique, is suddenly back in the box seat as England’s Captain Fantastic.
BTW, on another segemnt of CWOTV – THAT wrist band was mentioned, and their was full agreement that no political, religeous or other cause should besmirch the lordly essence of English sport. They even mentioned football and Rugby League as front runners in this respect. Hmmm, so what is the “Kick it Out” CAUSE that is blazened across every footballer’s shirt in the land, if it is not a political statement?
Sorry for the rant, but I for one am eagerly awaiting any response from the great authors and followers of ECB rhetoric – but I’m not holding my breath.
“They have apparently questioned the ECB and finally, the latter have provided the answers”.
What example(s) did they use?
Well said Best Jobs.
The cricket writers are either dishonest or amnesiac. In the 19th century,cricket teams were owned by big business of the day, dressed in company slogans and were in thrall to gambling etc. All just like today
I love my cricket, and the day(s) at the Oval Test were one of the highlights of the year. Last year was the first I declined a ticket from my mates to watch a test match. The cheapest ticket has doubled in 8 years, £66 was a lot for me to pay out at the time needed (usually coincides with the Christmas bills) and I had become sick of the whole experience.
1. Being prevented from bringing in your own beer on safety grounds. It’s a nonsense to make you drink their overpriced crap.
2. The search as if you are a terrorist about to board a plane. They are nice enough people but dear God, is it necessary?
3. The overpriced beer. I wouldn’t mind if it was a reasonable lager or bitter, but it’s usually watered down session lager, provided in flimsy plastic “glasses” and carried using a contraption that regularly collapses on the way to the seats, so that you have less of the liquid in your glass, and lots on your legs, all for way over normal pub prices, means, in effect, I am tee-total for most of the day. Paul Sheldon, when announcing the banning of alcohol importation, said we would have “the finest choice of beers”. For years that meant Marston’s Smooth or Foster’s.
4. The leg-room. Here’s the big disconnect for me with reporters and punters at The Oval. The old Oval, pre-OCS, wasn’t attractive but do you know what? You had leg room in the cheaps seats. You could bring your food and beer, and stick it under your seat, and if you were overe 6 foot, you didn’t necessarily get the imprint of the seat in front of you on your knee. Those old eye-sores of the Jardine and Fender stands, and the Surridge, were replaced by the green seats of the wonderful OCS Stand. I say wonderful, because all the journos wax lyrical about it. The consequence for the paying punter is being squashed. It is pretty uncomfortable all day long. Being stuck in the middle of a block is a nightmare. It’s awful in there. When South Africa were 300 for 2 or whatever at the end of Day 3 of the 2012 test match I walked out early. I’d had enough of being uncomfortable, having beer spilled on me where there’s no room to move, where trash accumulates because the nearest bin is a mile away, and just being too cramped with other, very nice, people, but still feeling squashed. A journalist would never know the cramped conditions we’ve sat in. I know it doesn’t help being larger than the average bear, but they managed it in most of the other grounds I’ve been in to make supporters comfortable.
5. The cricket – the day I missed last summer would have been Day 3. The day England crawled along when leading a test series 3-0. I defended it a bit at the time, but not for long. I sat in the Roebuck waiting for my mates to come out for a drink afterwards, and saw that old cricket stamping ground just outside the Oval no longer has Sky because, as the new owner said, he couldn’t justify it for the six or seven big matchdays a year. It was a routine – we used to go to the Roebuck at lunchtime, watch the match while finishing our beers, and then head back. Even that was ruined because of business greed. If the cricket is dull, you have to wonder what it is that makes you go?
6. The personalities – Cricket just doesn’t have that many any more, especially England. Sad, but true. While some of the new lads show promise, they don’t excite me as much as the older guard yet. Until we learn as a sporting nation to embrace talent and not distrust it, then we’ll always have these lulls. My own view. I’d watch it for £30, but not for £60.
7. Relativity – I once paid £30 for an entire test match at The Gabba. I paid £8 a day to sit on a grass bank at Newlands. I’ve seen a range of facilities, and a range of prices. Nothing compares to the cramped conditions in the OCS stand at The Oval, or the awful cheap seats at Lord’s. It won’t get better.
Anyway, long diatribe over. Good post Andrew…..
This is probably the first time I’ve heard leg-room mentioned. It’s an excellent point. Of course, all the pundits will call it a wonderful stand, because it looks nice from the press box. They don’t themselves actually have to sit in it.
I would be fascinated to know who of the mainstream crickets corrs and commentators most recently paid their own money to go to a day’s test cricket. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them have never done since, at best, their teens.
Last time I went to Lord’s and the Oval it was ~ £100 a pop. Seven quid for a hot dog and ten quid for a pint of Pimm’s (couldn’t face warm Fosters).
Last time I went to the Gabba (November), it was $40 for my seat and $20 each way to fly from Sydney, so my wife and I both went to a Test in another city for less than the price of one ticket to Lord’s.
On the downside, you have to drink ‘sports beer’. Mid-strength Australian lager, so sweet and weak you’d get diabetes before you got drunk.
Good article and comments. Its not just the ticket price, its the food and drink costs, car parking, scorecard etc. I know its possible to take your own lunch and also travel on public transport but always practical.
The comparison to Premier League football is an interesting one. If I compare the local grounds of the Rose Bowl to St Marys, I am in a covered seat, I have a good view of all the play, there are pubs and restaurants not too far from the ground, access is straight forward and I know that the game will start on time and will be completed. A trip to the Rose Bowl is an expensive gamble for an average experience – not sure its value for money any more.
Good to hear other views. For me the issue is mostly cost. I say mostly because other sporting events similarly rip fans off with crap overpriced beer!
I no longer apply for tickets at Lord’s because I think they’re taking the piss charging 100 quid for an average view. I suppose I could afford it if I wanted to, but I don’t like being taken advantage of. I get a better view on Sky anyway (something not mentioned thus far).
I have a season ticket for the NFL triple header at Wembley later this year and I’m paying a joint cost of 110 quid (just £37 per match). I put up with the overpriced food and beer because I feel like the action is good value, and the NFL and NFLUK take good care of the fans, are genuinely trying to grow the game, and communicate openly. Every year they send me a questionnaire and feedback form the week after the game, to see if there are ways they can improve. Can you imagine Lord’s and the ECB doing that? If they’ve got contempt for player welfare (judging by the fact and Eng player spends approx 240 nights a year in hotel beds), why on earth would they give a crap about fans?!
Having said that, I did go to Lord’s for day one of the India test. Why? Because I got a free ticket and took my own booze and food :-)
Excellent piece. Retired players and journalists (one and the same thing) appear to be totally clueless about the cost of attending a days play. Graham Swann said recently that he had no idea how much it cost to watch England and tried to be surprised when told the truth. He actually thought it cost £20 for a day
Nobody has said anything about the elitist,holier than thou image of the ECB and the England cricket team, full of public schoolboys who piss on the field. Why should any ordinary person, on minimum wage say, who can’t afford to take a few days off work at great expense be remoteley interetsted in going to watcvh, what too often, is a boring game that lasts all day. All the school playing fields have gone, kids don’t play in the street and there’s far more for them todo. What is the ECB doing to go out to local boys and girls and get theminterested in the game? I dont suppose they care because they have the tv money/ It amazes me that any one is still interested in this game
[…] UPDATE – There’s a rant and a half of mine about the Oval test on The Full Toss, appended to a fine little article. As usual, head over there to hear the voice of the disaffected, but with a much more charming […]
I did go to the Ageas Bowl last Sunday – and they did send a survey asking about how I found the day. I can’t comment about other grounds, but Hants do their best to find out what fans think and what they could do to improve the experience. Think the newer international grounds, which have had to fight harder to get Tests, do care a bit more about supporters than the established ones, who almost regard it as a birthright.
Cost is certainly an issue, but the ECB only have themselves to blame for that – they charge the counties too much for the privilege of staging Tests and they have to charge punters through the nose to recoup the cost. The strange schedule of the Test, from Sunday to Thursday, was a big factor in the poor attendance – Sunday was almost full but people can’t always get time off to watch on weekdays. Once again, though, this was the ECB’s fault for trying to squeeze five Tests into a time frame usually only permitting four.
Amen to that Garreth. I was talking mainly about Lord’s when referring to questionnaires. I love the ground, but it does smell of privilege and a certain aloofness. I’m by no means socialist in outlook, but the ECB certainly comes across as predominantly public school, elitist, arrogant and out of touch.
Lord MacLaurin (who was the last decent ECB head from memory) went to my school (a private one). His message was spot on but embarrassed the school and staff somewhat in front of all the parents. He said he was nothing special at school, and that his talents went unnoticed as all the focus was on stand out students who were being groomed for Oxbridge, but he showed what was possible with hard work and determination. It was a somewhat antiestablishment message from someone who recalled what it was like being on the outside. Somehow I can’t see Giles Clarke making a similar speech.
I’ve attended two days of Tests this summer – the first day at the Ageas Bowl (how has that queue’n’park’n’ride shambles still not been sorted?!!) and the 4th day at Lords (at least they allow ‘two cans of beer or 75ml of wine” to be brought in). I think they’ve set me back the best part of £500 if you include travel, hotel, food and drink, on top of the tickets. Living in Portsmouth, I did consider taking time off work and seeing more of the Southampton Test, but I couldn’t justify it. I think there is the crux – people can probably afford it, but they just can’t justify it. The ECB should ask themselves questions before questioning their stakeholders:-
Why they were charging the same amount for the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as they did for the Sunday?
Why were they selling tickets at £60 for a match in a small/medium provincial city with no history of staging well attended Test matches?
Why are they holding a Test match against India in a small, 90% white British town, when somewhere like Birmingham, with 60k+ Indians living within the city borders, has to settle for an ODI? The scheduling/bidding process might be the most cost effective, but it is utterly dumb.
On top of a team led by Captain Dull (a much kinder nickname than “Captain Useless”), managed by the previously sacked David Brent, on the longest streak without winning Test for 30 years, devoid of it’s two most exciting players in recent years (Swann/KP), and losing to a side we panned all of 3 years ago. I think they were lucky for the crowds they got to be honest!
I don’t live in the UK so I am somewhat out of touch with the sports event pricing. Can someone tell me if a 100 pound test ticket covers all 5 days or not?
£60 for just one day at the Rose Bowl. I think my other half paid significantly more than the cost price for the ‘cheap’ seats at Lords too (I think face value they were £60odd again, she paid over double that bless ‘er)…
So a 5 day test at Lords with a few beers each day and pretty awful fast food is going to cost me every part of 750.00 pounds. I can fly from Johannesburg to London return cheaper than that. Is it not time some perspective was brought into the pricing before nobody nobody turns up to watch at all.
This is a subject that gets me raging and the ECB don’t seem to be doing anything about it. You get the impression that they think it’s 2006, pre-recession and fans full of Ashes Fever and the tickets will fly out of the door.
My local test ground is Edgbaston, no test for 2 years and then an Ashes test next year that they are attempting to sell all tickets before the general public even get a sniff.
That is the first problem, this ridiculous bidding process that forces grounds to bid for packages and then they have to try an fulfill that business model, keeping ticket prices high.
The cost of attending test cricket is astronomical and unsustainable.
On another night regarding the weekday test at the Rose Bowl, as a TV viewer I enjoyed it. I’ve more time to watch then at weekends, but I did wonder.. could we have changed the start times. 1330-2030, more tv viewers and the prospect of selling half day tickets to the working public. This could work for city test matches?
The ECB has acted like a bookmaker who has layed off a big bet to an other bookies to reduce risk. The whole bidding process puts the risk on the county doing the bidding. If the test match last 3 days, well tough luck county. But that has made the county more likely to produce the flat boring wickets we have seen over the last few years. It has also encouraged the mass push for money extraction of the punter at the food and drink outlets. And as many have said the price is ludicrous and the quality is crap.
The ECB in its corporate greed has decided that virtually no cricket should be seen on free to air TV, and believes that the existing fans will just keep paying out. Hmm
Financial exploitation until exhaustion or collapse of resource is all the rage in the business school thinking these days. (Straight out of the Chigaco business school) And the Giles Clarkes and Paul Downtons are disciples to this short term thinking.
As for the poor coverage of these issues, the point about cricket pundits not paying or enduring the cost and uncomfortable nature of attendance is typical of the current cricket media. Apparently it’s all KP’s fault. Selvey is a particular example of a cricket pundit who has gone off the reservation.
Selvey is one odious s.o.b
At Lords I used to phone up and buy a restricted view ticket for say 25-35 quid for the Mound Stand. I would sit in the poor seat for an hour or so and as soon as everyone cleared off for lunch I would go and sit in a better seat which was probably best part of 90 quid. I thought I would try this approach for the SL ODI earlier this year and all the restricted view tickets when I called were 60 quid!!
As for the Ageas as a Hampshire member I got all five days for 115 quid and due to the amount of empty seats pretty much sat where I wanted. On Monday I had a lot of friends come to the game and we were able to stand up chatting all day watching from the areas where they had not put temporary seats.
As for the scheduling even a Thursday to Monday test there I am not convinced that there is a big enough population to have got much bigger attendances.
£115 for all 5 days was pretty good I guess Ian. Ludicrous starting on a Sunday. At least get 2 days at the weekend,and possibly Friday as well.
Some pundits have speculated over the years that as the amount of money sports bodies get from subscription TV has gone up, prices at grounds might go down. After all, it is in TVs interest to have a full stadium.
I can’t for the life of me understand why they don’t just open the gates in India and let people in for nothing at test matches. Nobody goes, and the Indian board get fortunes from TV rights. So let people in for free and fill up the ground and get some atmosphere.
We haven’t reached that point yet in England but the cost is getting too much for many people. As others have said, add in travel, food, drink, maybe overnight accomodation and it’s pricey.
I don’t really count Lords as it is unique and goes beyond cricket. It is part of the social season. Henley, Ascot, Wimbledon.
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