Cricket news 2022: Fans avoid Australia vs West Indies with worrying ticket sales for Perth clash

Perth hasn’t hosted an Australian test match in over two years, but the fans are staying away from Optus Stadium, with an alarmingly low number of tickets sold for the West Indies clash.

Mitch Starc pointing to the Perth pitch against Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Brace yourself for empty stands as the Australian cricket team plays the first Test of the summer against the West Indies on Wednesday, despite Perth not hosting a Test match for the past two years.

Indications are that only 6000 tickets have been sold to the public for each of the first three days, but members should significantly increase attendances.

A number of factors are at play and not least of them is West Australian’s anger at the treatment of local hero, Justin Langer, but the crowded schedule, the mid-week start and the scheduling of the match before school holidays are also being cited as reasons for the no show.

Stadium boss Mike McKenna predicted around 15,000 people on each of the first three days. It is better than the 13,000 who showed up at the smaller WACA venue for the first day in 2009 but a sharp fall from average crowds of around 25,000 for Tests against India and New Zealand in 2018 and 2019 at Optus Stadium.

Only around 6000 tickets have been sold for the first three days of the Australia vs West Indies Test at Optus Stadium. Picture: Getty Images.

Perth has not had a Test match for two years because of Covid, yet tickets for Wednesday’s game were selling at a 20% discount as part of a two day Black Friday sale in an attempt to fill the venue.

Only one in four seats will be occupied if 15,000 show for the first day but some say even that figure is optimistic.

Attendances to the recent ODI series against England were poor, but 16,993 came to the match at the SCG and 15,420 to the MCG game. Both cities have a larger population than Perth.

West Australian cricket fans are famously parochial and were stung by Langer’s treatment after leading the team to a 4-0 win in the Ashes.

The former state coach and local urged fans to move on and show up at the venue, noting that 23-year-round all rounder Cameron Green would be playing his first Test in front of a local crowd.

“It’s been a couple of years since we had Test cricket in Perth, we’ve got a wonderful new stadium,” Langer told The Australian.

“I know how passionate West Australians are for their cricket and I really hope there will be a big crowd there this week.

“It’s Cam Green’s first home grown, there is plenty of upside to this match. I’ve written a piece for tomorrow’s paper here saying how unique cricket in Perth is. The Australians have got an amazing fast bowling attack, the West Indies have got a raw fast bowling attack and there is nothing like watching fast bowling in Western Australia.”

Perth hasn’t hosted a test match in over two years, after Asurtalia beat New Zealand in December 2019. Picture: AAP.

Langer will be commentating at the match for Channel 7 — it is the first Test in Australia since his controversial departure.

The West Indies are not the drawcard they once were and have not won a match in Australia this century — something that is certain to be a factor in the poor ticket sales.

“Based on ticket sales and estimates of WACA member attendances we’re planning for crowds averaging around 15,000 for the first three days while hoping late sales will increase that number,” McKenna, the chief executive of Optus Stadium, told the Australian.

With 60% of those expected to go to members that indicates public ticket sales of around 5000.

Concerns around the sales follow poor attendances at the recent ODI series against England and raised eyebrows when only 18,672 fans attended Australia’s World Cup match against Afghanistan at Adelaide Oval.

Former wicket keeper Ian Healy asked on his SEN program if crowds were down because the side was out of favor with the public.

“We just don’t get this blind support anymore,” he said. “It must have to be earned at the moment. These boys must feel that they have to re-earn this respect.

“Does our national cricket team have an image problem?”

The test will also be the first on Australian soil since the sacking of former coach Justin Langer. Picture: Getty Images.

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley told the radio station that part of the problem was how much cricket has already been played.

“We (Australia) have played 14 white ball games in Australia, would you believe, before the start of the Test series,” he said.

Hockley defended the decision to shoe-horn an ODI series against England between the T20 World Cup and the start of the Test series.

“It was suboptimal they came so quickly off the back of the T20 World Cup, but they are a really important part of our build-up for the 50-over World Cup next year in India,” he said.

“We secured 60 valuable points as part of the World Cup Super League, so they were really, really important matches and I think a really solid performance as we look forward to India next November-December.”

Indian cricket announced on Monday it has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records to have the recent IPL crowd of 101,566 people at May’s IPL final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

AUSSIES BRACING FOR ‘DEMON’ PITCH IN WINDIES OPENER

—Ben Horne

Australia is on red alert for a “demon” pitch in Perth, after two frightening theories emerged which both spell disaster for batsmen in Wednesday’s first Test.

News Corp understands when Australia was in the west for the recent World Cup game against Sri Lanka, curator Isaac McDonald warned players he was planning on leaving a scary 10mm of grass on the Optus Stadium surface for day one against the West Indies.

Even the 6mm left on the surface for the World Cup match gave plenty of assistance for the quicks, and players are on guard for the prospect of the ball hooping around corners.

But even if the curator has a change of heart and shaves grass off, the alternative doesn’t provide any relief for batsmen, with a scorching 37 degree match eve forecast and 35 degrees on day one the perfect recipe for gigantic cracks to break out and cause havoc on Perth’s notorious son of a pitch.

“It’s going to be very tough for batting. This wicket can hold some demons,” warned Australian star, Travis Head.

Aussie batsman Travis Head is anticipating tough conditions for batters in the opening Test against the West Indies. Picture: Getty Images.

“If the weather gets hot, I remember when we played India (2018-19), there were cracks down the wicket and cross cracks, which posed a real interesting threat.

“ … I saw (the forecast). And having been here last time and saw what the wicket was like, I mentioned it to Kez (Alex Carey) on the flight.

“Either they are going to have a lot of moisture in it and it might go around corners. Or it could be dry and we see a lot of cracks.

“Normally you get them straight down the wicket but I remember in 2018 they went the other way as well. So it could pose an interesting couple of days for us.”

At Adelaide Oval the curators have been known to leave as much as 8mm of grass on the pitch as a means of protecting the pink ball, but 10mm would be a new level and could take this Test match back to the glory years of the much-vaunted West Indies and Australian attacks slugging it out at the WACA.

Essentially by leaving a healthy covering of grass, the Optus Stadium curator is desperate trying to avoid a repeat of what Head is referencing from 2018-19, when the surface completely cracked up in the heat.

The conditions were described as dangerous by some, and may have contributed to a painful injury to then Australian opener Aaron Finch, who had the bone of his index finger exposed and feeling “like it was going to explode”, following a rearing blow from an Indian quick.

Australia defeated India in December 2018 on a fiery Perth pitch, with some labelling the conditions dangerous. Picture: AAP.

The Windies might not be household names anymore, but the Australians are fully aware of the devastating potential of rapid fast bowler Alzarri Joseph – who caught the eye of David Warner and others as a net bowler on a tour of the Caribbean back in 2015 – and could cash in on a spicy Perth deck.

“He bowled to us for a little bit. We saw him just bowling thunderbolts. On those wickets, they were quite glassy and a bit ridgey, it was a bit daunting,” recalls Warner.

“We just didn’t know where he’d come from.

“He was young back then. It’s good to see him evolve from then. He’s a fantastic bowler. I faced him in the IPL when he first came in and he took a six-fa against us.

“That’s what West Indies cricket needs. They need guys coming in and bowling at high speeds.”

However, the downside for the Windies is their batting line-up looks weak and Australia’s power foursome of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green are ready to zone in for an all-out assault of their own.

Hazlewood said Australian bowlers couldn’t afford to fall into a mindset where they think they can just take wickets for fun.

“Sometimes when it’s like that you fall into a trap of being over attacking and over aggressive and you forget the basics,” he said.

“I think it’s just about nailing the basics, that length again, top of the stumps and let them come to you a little bit.

“They’re inexperienced in these conditions in particular, probably Perth in particular.

“That’s something which might work in our favour, but it’s just patience is always the key I reckon.”

Originally published as Cricket news 2022: Fans avoid Australia vs West Indies with worrying ticket sales for Perth clash