Taylor Swift in Australian cricket’s sights as India, England, drive unprecedented interest

Cricket’s desperate bid to reclaim October has been helped by surging interest in the India ODI and T20 series, then The Ashes, with pre-sale figures likened to superstar Taylor Swift.

Cricket’s desperate bid to own October has been boosted by a pre-sale ticket demand to rival pop superstar Taylor Swift.

Despite the NRL and AFL seasons being done and dusted, cricket has struggled to move the needle post the footy grand finals and truly capture the attention of the Australian sporting public in the pre-summer months.

That is set to change this season, with pre-sale ticket interest through the roof for India’s arrival in October for three one-day internationals and five T20s.

Pat Cummins and the Australian cricket team are pulling the public's attention in numbers that rival Taylor Swift.

With the Ashes then kicking off in late November, there is unprecedented interest in this summer’s cricket with the two blockbuster drawcards of India and England coming to our shores.

Cricket Australia’s pre-sale period runs from June 3-June 13 before tickets go on sale to the general public, and interest is reminiscent of when US singer Swift took the nation by storm with her Eras tour in early 2024.

“The demand for tickets this summer I think it’s going to be like we have never seen before,” Cricket Australia chief executive, Todd Greenberg said.

Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg is banking on a massive summer. Picture: Getty Images

“We’ve had twice as many people register for pre-sale opportunities than we had even for last year leading into the Border-Gavaskar trophy (against India).

“People are telling me this will probably be the biggest ticket pre-sale in this country since Taylor Swift so it’s quite phenomenal.

“We’ve got international cricket in 11 cities across 14 venues in every state and territory capital city and we haven’t done that in cricket for more than two decades, so it’s an enormous period of time coming from August right through to March.”

Australia kicks off its World Test Championship defence against South Africa at Lord’s next week starting on June 11.

The Proteas will then fly to Australia in August to take on Pat Cummins’ teams in ODI and T20 cricket in Darwin, Cairns and Mackay.

Then the real battlefield begins on October 19 in Perth when India arrives.

Mohammed Shami’s India will play eight limited overs games - three ODIs and five T20s - in October and November. Picture: Getty Images

Cricket has had trouble in the past convincing people it’s cricket season until the first ball of the Test summer is bowled, but there is a determination to capture hearts and minds in October.

Pre-sales are strong across the country, including in Perth where both the limited overs series against India and then the first Ashes Test will take place.

“That’s certainly being seen in the data coming through on the pre- registration. We made good progress in Perth last year. This is the first time that we have hosted an Ashes Test at the new Perth stadium as well,” Greenberg said.

“In an Ashes year there’s certainly the chance we could have several sell outs across several Test matches.

“We’re encouraging fans to get in early because some of the demand will be quite extraordinary and something like maybe cricket hasn’t experienced for a long, long time in this country.”

* Cricket Australia’s International summer of cricket pre-sale runs June 3-13. Fans can still sign up for pre-sale access during this period, visit cricket.com.au/tickets for more information

Originally published as Taylor Swift in Australian cricket’s sights as India, England, drive unprecedented interest