ODI Cricket in Australia

It would seem that ODI Cricket is at the moment the least preferred format amongst the fans in Australia. With test cricket still going strong and T20 cricket exploding, the 50 format has been forgotten somewhat. This has not been helped at all by the National Selection Panel resting top players Michael Clarke, David Warner and Matthew Wade from the first two matches of the series against Sri Lanka. Many past players have criticised this move in the past week. Stuart MacGill and Brett Lee have both slammed the selections. The general thought amongst the public is that this is a second string Australian side.

These negative thoughts over the past week would have undoubtedly deterred some people from attending the series. Another major factor is the pricing. General reserve tickets cost $35 for an adult and $73.50 for a family for the ODI tomorrow at the MCG. These prices are ridiculous and will not encourage people to attend.

The MCC have predicted between 25,000 and 30,000 for tomorrow’s game. All in all if that eventuates that would be a pretty good attendance considering the negative publicity surrounding the series. To give those figures some context here are the most recent crowds at the MCG against Sri Lanka in ODI’s:

2^nd March 2012: 28,901

3^rd November 2010: 19,309

29^th February 2008: 22,524

22^nd February 2008: 27,860

Average: 24,649