Cricket news: Fans stunned as Test players join them for a beer
Cricket fans have got the surprise of their lives with the Aussie team making an impromptu appearance to celebrate a comfortable first Test win in an unlikely venue.
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There’s no better way to break down barriers with your fans than to go out and have a drink with them — and that’s what Australia did after their first Test win in Perth.
The sight of players casually mixing with supporters at The Camfield pub immediately adjacent to Optus Stadium just an hour or two after their victory over the West Indies was a rare but welcomed sight.
Punters in supporters’ gear enjoying a post day five coldie at the pub just a stone’s throw from the stadium gates would have got a shock when players casually walked in like one of them for a Sunday afternoon refreshment in the afternoon sun.
In the past, players would celebrate well away from fans.
The microscope is on the image of the team at the moment after lacklustre crowds to start the summer, but the subtle act of players leaving the dressing room to have a quiet drink at the same watering hole as their fans will do more to endear themselves to the public than any forced attempts to win back favour ever could.
The public will again get an insight into the team on January 13 when Amazon Prime Video releases The Test Season Two, a fly-on-the-wall look at last year’s tumultuous period.
The behind-the-scenes doco which might help players win the PR battle after Justin Langer’s exit, but that perspective will come too late to save attendances for this summer’s Test matches.
CHECK IT OUT: THE TEST SEASON TWO
Attendance for the second Test in Adelaide will serve as the most accurate barometer so far for whether there is a major disconnect between Australian cricket and the fans, because Adelaide is Australia’s No. 1 cricket city.
Ticket sale forecasts for Test starting on Thursday are said to be ahead of Perth, where paltry crowds turned up for each of the five days — a turnout described by WA’s only Test captain Kim Hughes as “woeful”.
The South Australian Cricket Association are expecting more than 15,000 members through the gates on day one and two which means Cricket Australia should be safely guaranteed a decent crowd in excess of 20,000 for the match starting on Thursday.
Only 18,000 turned up to Australia’s do-or-die Friday night World Cup match in Adelaide and only 15,420 to the ODI against England last month, so Thursday’s day one attendance will be waited on with interest.
Claims that the Australian team are on the nose have been fuelled by an assertion they are million dollar superstars fans can’t relate to.
But there were other examples during the Perth Test of the human side of players coming to the fore.
The WACA posted a video of Nathan Lyon taking one of Australia’s intellectual disability cricketers Boyd Duffield into the dressing rooms after play where he cops some gentle banter over his support of the Canberra NRL team by Newcastle Knights fan Josh Hazlewood before he finds a Raiders ally in Usman Khawaja, and meets his idol Steve Smith.
That video has been viewed nearly a million times on social media.
Marnus Labuschagne and his wife Bek meanwhile has taken it upon themselves to raise money for Compassion Australia, with his 300 runs in Perth feeding 300 hungry Australian families and raising over $6500.
Pictures of teammates’ David Warner, Khawaja and Smith holding Labuschagne’s new born baby, Hallie, were also sweet insights into what happens behind closed doors.
The first documentary series featuring Justin Langer and Tim Paine gave the team a major PR boost, and the release of the sequel could be a timely way for the Australian team to engage fans on a deeper level again after the controversial departures of their former coach and captain.
Co-directors Sheldon Wynn and Adrian Brown say the purpose of season two is to show fans who the players really are.
“While season one focused on the rebuilding of the Australian men’s team in the eyes of the Australian public, this series takes viewers closer to the player experience and into their lives off the pitch,” said Wynn.
“Whether it be Pat Cummins talking us through the challenges of juggling his Test captaincy with his new fatherhood, or Usman Khawaja speaking at an Islamic college about his challenges growing up, the stories of the players are rare, and sometimes profound, insights into this new generation of cricketers.
“We feel audiences are going to get to know the Australian men’s Test team in a way they never have before.”
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Originally published as Cricket news: Fans stunned as Test players join them for a beer
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