Cricket: Beige army adds colour to Boxing Day
The terraces were a sea of black and beige on the day the Kiwis stormed the MCG.
The terraces were a sea of black and beige on the day the Kiwis stormed the MCG.
A huge New Zealand contingent — tens of thousands of them — bumped the attendance to the second-highest Boxing Day crowd for a non-Ashes Test.
The 80,473 through the gates on Thursday beat even the might of India, which drew 73,516 last summer. Indeed, Thursday’s rollout was better than for any India Boxing Day Test, and it also bettered quite a few Melbourne Ashes Tests for good measure.
The hordes of Kiwis that swamped the MCG – minutes before play began the queues trailed up the hill towards Jolimont Station — have delivered Cricket Australia a windfall.
Because attendances so far this summer started badly and have barely improved. CA chief executive Kevin Roberts conceded the season-opening T20Is — remember them? — had been poorly attended when he revealed in November crowds were about 30 per cent below forecasts.
“We’re about 35,000 people below where we wanted to be,” Roberts said.
The Tests have been better attended but by no means have they drawn bumper crowds.
Former player Ed Cowan triggered a fight divided on provincial lines when he described the Gabba’s final-day crowd of 4835 as an “absolute disgrace”. However, the Gabba match attendance of 45,991 was a record for a day Test against Pakistan.
Adelaide always draws a crowd, but the 91,879 total for the second Test was disappointing, especially as CA keeps telling us that day-night cricket is the future.
Perth Stadium’s 65,540 was also a record for Australia versus New Zealand in Perth, but was a poor return given cricket administrators had hoped to cash in on the venue’s honeymoon.
Heck, even the BBL crowds have been flat. Statistician Ric Finlay reports that the first 10 games of BBL09 are more than 100,000 down on the same stage of BBL07.
Yes, there have been external factors. Some of the BBL’s early games have been played in regional centres. And all cricket has been touched by the drought, by the fires and by the flat economy.
Whatever the reason, the crowds have been disappointing this summer.
So, thank goodness for the Kiwis, who sent the turnstiles spinning on Boxing Day, which, to Roberts’ credit, he predicted in November.
We should have known they were here in force when the retro beige playing shirts festooned Fitzroy and black outfits were sighted in Brunswick. The long queues before play were another clue, as the Melburnians know their ground and their Test — they’d never be caught missing the first ball on Boxing Day, barring the most extenuating of circumstances.
A further hint came when Kiwi captain Kane Williamson winning the toss elicited the first roar of the day, causing some of the older MCC members to spill their tea.
We started to cotton on there were quite a few Kiwis in the house when their sublimely uplifting anthem was sung by a multitudinous choir. We knew for sure when Trent Boult swerved one through Joe Burns’S gate to exact a scintilla of revenge for Mitchell Starc doing the same to Brendon McCullum here in the 2015 World Cup final.
Thereafter it was a given that the Kiwis would drown out the Australians. How they roared when Marnus Labuschagne was bowled by Colin de Grandhomme for 63.
How they cheered when David Warner was out. The cheers ran head on into a wall of boos, where boos and cheers loitered about for a bit before all decided to boo new arrival Steve Smith.
Whether the boos were bitter and vindictive, like they were in England, or boisterous and playful is hard to gauge without an accredited survey conducted by a reputable pollster. But it felt more like the latter as the Kiwi fans celebrated the privilege of playing at the MCG on Boxing Day — for the first time since 1987.
On Thursday’s evidence, CA won’t wait another 32 years before inviting them back because the numbers — and the money — speak for themselves.
Cricket journalist dumped by SEN over social media posts
Veteran broadcaster and former cricket writer at The Australian Peter Lalor has been dumped by SEN over “differing views” on conflict in the Middle East.
From the scrap heap to the top: Head’s road to AB Medal
There have been plenty of setbacks in Travis Head’s career, but he has ascended to three-format superstar. He talks to DANIEL CHERNY about the road to the top.