Free entry to Pura Cup games ?

[Donny]

Open the gates: Waugh
By David Stockdale
November 17, 2003

OPEN the gates and let people into domestic cricket matches - free.

That was the suggestion put forward by New South Wales and Australian Test captain Steve Waugh after Tasmania beat the Blues by six wickets in a Pura Cup match at Bellerive at the weekend.

Despite the Tigers achieving an remarkable win by reaching a target of 386 on the final day, courtesy of centuries by Michael Di Venuto and skipper Dan Marsh, only a handful of people turned up to see it.

"There wasn't much of a crowd here or in Sydney (against Western Australia), which is disappointing because they were two great games," Waugh said.

"Possibly the answer is you've got to let people in for nothing to watch domestic cricket. I don't see any point in charging money if there's no one there.

"If cricket's not winning by it you may as well run it for nothing.

"Then they would appreciate the game and might come back and follow the Australian side."

Waugh agreed there was an irony in the fact that domestic cricket had a very strong passive audience following games through the many hits recorded on Cricket Australia's baggygreen website.

"If that's the case I think you've got to educate young kids and may be get them out of school for half day and let them in for nothing," he said.

Waugh believes administrators have to look at the bigger picture.

"Get the kids interested in watching the game and then they might come back later and take up the game," he said.

TCA chief executive David Johnston said yesterday the matter of free entry had been discussed several times at both state and national level.

"But we don't think what we charge - $6 for adults, $2 for children, and free entry after tea - is a deterrent to people who want to come to games," Johnston said.

"I think the area that needs to be reassessed is the programming of matches.

The match against NSW from Wednesday to Saturday attracted about 500 each day, but he felt attendances would have been better had it been from Thursday to Sunday.

"The emphasis is on playing one-day games at weekends," Johnston said.

"The Australian Cricketers Association wants a day in between Pura Cup and ING Cup games, which prevents us from playing both forms of the game at weekends."