The two-day come-from-behind victory for the Aussies, powered by a remarkable Travis Head century, would have got the Ashes to the perfect start as far as the home team is concerned, but it has had the opposite effect on the Cricket Australia (CA) balance sheet.
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The board had reckoned on a much-hyped blockbuster five-Test series against the Old Enemy, but they may not have anticipated the first Ashes match in more than a century to have finished inside two days. According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), CA is set to lose more than three million Australian dollars from ticket sales for days three and four of the Perth Test.
A record 1,01,514 people attended the match, breaking the Perth record of 96,463 set by the Test won by India in four days last year. Day 3 of the Ashes Test was also almost sold out.
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“It’s difficult for a number of different groups,” CA chief executive Todd Greenberg told SEN when discussing the financial impact of a match finishing early. “Our broadcasters first of all. Certainly us, on ticket sales and our partners and sponsors. There’s a big economic impact on this series.”
At its annual general meeting last month, CA announced a loss of AU$11.3 million, despite having a five-match home series against India, the biggest draw in the cricket world.
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“In a normal scheduling, you’d have the white-ball cricket as part of that [Test] tour, but that’s being played in this financial year,” CA chair Mike Baird explained the anomaly.
But CA had big hopes for the Ashes, for which a huge number of fans travel from the United Kingdom, and it generates a lot of interest in Australia as well due to the long history and enduring sporting rivalry between the two countries.
“Hang on to your hats because next year we are going to have a record year in cricket. You’re going to see the most attendance, the most viewership, the most sponsorship,” Baird had predicted.
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The CA top brass was not too off the mark. Foxtel said their broadcast on day one of the Ashes series was the most watched first day of a first Test in their history. The Seven Network also reported strong ratings for their coverage on day one.
But with ball expected to dominate bat for most of the series, and England’s gung-ho approach to batting – they faced 67.3 overs across two innings in Perth – while Australia achieved the fourth-innings target of 205 in merely 28.2 overs, CA may have to revise its expectations.
