Excited About the Upcoming Cricket Test Match at St Georges Park?

• Or, are you already considering excuses to justify your non-attendance?
  Or, is this the first you are hearing of the test in Gqeberha?

From the 18th to 22nd October South Africa will play in a Test match against Australia at St Georges Park, Gqeberha.

Tickets here: South Africa vs Australia-Day 1 | South Africa vs Australia-Day 2 | South Africa vs Australia-Day 3 | South Africa vs Australia-Day 4

Poor Attendance:

I am already reading about the poor attendance (not a full stadium) at the South Africa vs Australia test being played at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium which has a 25 000 seat capacity. Reprots show that 7 500 tickets were sold on Friday and 8 000 on Saturday.

The above numbers are contrary to what Kevin Rademeryer observed; “In the same week that the 2027 International Cricket Council World Cup attracted more than a million ticket applications, within 3 days, the Proteas drew around 1,000 paying spectators on the opening day, of a huge series.”

St Georges Park, Gqeberha has a 19 000 seating capacity.

Did CSA drop the ball?

Rademeyer posed this question on LinkedIn; “Did CSA drop the ball?” and goes on to observe; “No other sports federation looks after media and stakeholders like they do. The Proteas Men are World Champions, the Proteas Women continue to compete at the highest level, and the SA20 has become a major success , all despite limited resources.”

Rademeyer then poses the conundrum; “But something is wrong when the Proteas play Australia at an almost empty Kingsmead, with the rest of the series at risk of failing to have the support, which it should have had.”

I say:

CSA are now hoist by their own petard.

In an effort to bring crowds in the shorter formats were introduced.

“Not pure cricket”, the pundits scoffed.

The the format got even shorter as Cricket competed for the eyeballs and limited time of the Instant Gratification brigade.

Rademeyer mentions media – yes, the media paying to broadcast or sponsor get the Lions share of attention. Small media guys are severely limited in what they can cover and how. The instant gratification fans demand ball by ball, blow by blow. The art of writing about a Test match has been severely constrained in pursuit of a quick read and clicks.

When last did you listen to a cricket match on the radio? Those guys were legend and could place you in the ground so that you could taste and smell what was happening on the field.

There was a time at St Georges Park when the media mingled with all the payers at a sit down lunch during games. Now we are seperated.

How do we fix it?

How do you make a mass of fans, who do not know better, take interest in a slow game of cricket held over almost a week? The competition is a small device that they hold in their hands with access to literally millions of other distractions, cricket scores and work.

Like every business and family – you fix sport by fixing relationships, making people responsible for what they do and showing people why they loved your product in the first place – nostalgia does sell.

As youngsters we used to attend games in order to meet with our mates, play our own game and gather signatures. Then we discovered Castle Corner and the joys of lying in the sun with a cold one with a portable braai which turned into a day/week of pleasure.

Only clever guys with deep pockets will tackle this.

What do YOU Say: