Boxing Day Test for “very low” crowd amid ugly Aussie cricket farce

Melbourne Cricket Club’s chief executive has made a worrying prediction about the number of fans likely to be there for the opening day of the Boxing Day Test – with Aussie Simon O’Donnell labeling the figure “very low”. Cricket crowds in Australia have dropped considerably in recent months a record low crowd at the MCG last month for an ODI against England.

There was also hardly anyone in the stands at the start of the Test summer in Perth when Australia took on the West Indies, but fans flocked to the Adelaide Oval and the Gabba for the final two Tests against the West Indies and South Africa. And while we’re used to seeing 80,000 to 90,000 fans at the MCG for the first round of the Boxing Day Test, MCC chief executive Stuart Fox reckons that’s unlikely to happen this year.

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I’d like to say yes (good to get a bumper crowd) but unfortunately the crowds are a bit less in cricket, Fox said ITS radio. We looked at around 65,000 on the first day, which is typically around 5,000-10,000 less than a normal first day in a Boxing Day Test.

But over the course of five days, I’m hoping we’ll get about 180,000 people through the gates. It’s a pretty special event, for us it’s the last day of two big ones in a row over five days.

They show up, our members show up, it’s going to be a pretty special few days, especially day one, day two and day three, they’re pretty special. The weather looks good so I encourage everyone to get out.

Retired all-rounder O’Donnell was stunned by the forecast, saying 65,000 would be “very little” on Boxing Day. 65k Stuart Fox predicts Boxing Day at the MCG, I think that’s very low. For Australia and South Africa, I would have thought we would have gone up a few more.

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SEN host Sam Edmund said: I’m disappointed if that’s the case, it shocked me when he said that. Apparently, an early sign is that they are waiting in all reality. I wonder if it would be one of the smallest Boxing Day crowds we’ve seen in a while?

Why have the Aussie cricket numbers been so thin?

The Australian public has shown a stark lack of love for cricket in recent months, which many have suggested due to the way Justin Langer left as coach. Langer was offered a six-month contract extension at the start of the year, which he felt was an insult after Australia retained the Ashes in England before winning the T20 World Cup last year.

As a result, he resigned as coach, which came after he reportedly lost the dressing room due to his intense style.

A little over 10,000 fans attended the third ODI Between Australia and England at the MCG last month – the lowest ever attendance for an ODI at the venue. The 60,000-capacity Optus Stadium also had a huge number of empty seats for the first Test against the West Indies, while just 25,000 will rock up to face Australia and Sri Lanka at the same venue during the T20 World Cup.

It’s fair to say I think the Australian cricket team might be the nose of those outside the West, commented commentator Tim Gossage. ITS radio. Justin Langer’s departure is likely to have some ramifications.

As much as he’s moved on and much of the sporting and cricketing community has moved on, there are probably people whose care factor has gone down a little bit with the Australian team.”

Talking Yahoo Sports Australia last month the former Test captain Michael Clarke admits team were ‘on the nose’ with the audience. He said: “We’re trying to figure out what’s going on. I think a lot of people are still pissing themselves about what happened with Sandpaper-gate.

“I think a lot of people have been upset about how Justin Langer lost his job and then there’s also been things off the field with individual players. I think Cricket Australia needs to ask the fans what they expect and what they want from us as a cricket team.

“I think the most important thing is to be respected, not necessarily liked. We care a lot about what people say about us. There are so many things going on around this Australian team that are not Australian.”

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