The third day of the second Test match between England and Sri Lanka spared the drama and excitement for the next day. The next day was a Sunday. Would fans not love to watch the decisive day of the Test match at the Home of Cricket on a Sunday? Yeah, they would but only around 9000 fans. Thats how many people showed up to see the contest, which by all means had excitement (though one-sided) filled within, in a stadium that can seat around 30,000 people.
What could be the reason behind this no-show from fans? Have the fans suddenly lost interest in the red-ball cricket? Maybe not but it is evident that they don’t love this format as much to get exploited by the ticket prices. Apparently, the adult ticket prices for the fourth day at the Lord’s started from £95.
England’s stand-in captain, too, could not hide his disappointment at such a low turnout. Pope said the fact that the English fans have already had a feast of cricket this summer, with The Hundred, T20 Blast, and other bilaterals, could be the reason behind the empty stands.
“It was kind of weird. A few of us have been strolling in each day, and we were like, ‘Jeez, it seems quiet today.’ I’m not sure if people expected the game to be done by day four or what. It’s been a pretty heavy schedule this summer with The Hundred, T20 Blast and a lot of Test matches as well. It’s a shame it wasn’t a full house because it was obviously a good day’s play: it was obviously a good day’s play where we had to work hard for those eight wickets.”
Besides the ticket prices and an overdose of home cricket, another reason that is being cited by a lot of people is Bazball and a somewhat lack of competition offered by Sri Lanka. It’s crazy to think how Bazball, who is famously claiming to save cricket, is the reason behind fans’ absence from the Home of Cricket itself. It’s because ever since the inception of the Bazball mindset, England’s Test games have ended before the completion of five days. Realistically, no one would want to punt nearly a hundred pounds just to find out that the game has been wrapped up within three days.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Chief Executive Guy Lavender cited the same reason as well. In addition, the CEO promised that the Club would work on getting a fairer price for the fourth day.
“Whilst our sales in 2024 have been the best outside an Ashes year, we will be paying particular attention to the structure of fourth-day tickets in our pricing reviews given the way that Test cricket is now being played.”
“Sales were slower for the fourth day of this match than v West Indies,” Lavender said
The MCC Chief also mentioned that the timing of the game influenced the sales of tickets, hence the half-empty stadium.
“(That is) likely in part to England’s dominant performance at Lord’s earlier this summer, and this Test being later than normal at the end of the school holidays.”
