Cricket is the world’s second most popular sport in terms of population and fan followers. According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), cricket has around 2.5 billion fans throughout the globe. However, the popularity of cricket is restricted in some parts of the world. Cricket is popular in India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Netherlands, Canada, Kenya, Rwanda, Oman, Jersey Island, and Namibia.
The Future of AI: What’s Up Next in AI?
The International Cricket Council is always trying to promote cricket all over the world. They have invented many forms of cricket: test cricket, one-day international cricket, T20 cricket, and T10 cricket. The popular day of cricket is also growing throughout the world, especially in the USA and Canada.
Unfortunately, the oldest version of cricket is dying. Especially after introducing the franchise Cricket League in the world. The Indian Premier League, or IPL, was the first franchise cricket league in the world. The shorter version of cricket gained huge popularity in the Indian subcontinent; the current market value of IPL is around $12 billion more than the English Premier League and La Liga Santander combined.
Why the Ashes Series Holds Unmatched Significance for Australia and England
However, the oldest form of cricket and one of the best forms of sports is dying. There are many reasons why test cricket is dying, but the major reason is the rise of franchise cricket. As a result, cricketers in the UK and Australia are not interested in playing test cricket over the franchise cricket leagues. This article will discuss what is the reason for the possible extinction of test cricket and why the popularity of test cricket is growing again.
The history of test cricket
Test cricket was introduced by the royal family of Britain. During the time of the British Empire, the royal member of the royal family played the game. At first, the game was restricted for the royal court people because it took almost 5 days to complete. In some cases, the game delayed up to 10 to 12 days. That has happened because cricket cannot be played during the rain, and cricket has a pitch, which is required.
Additionally, in the mid-1800s, the royal family of Britain gave the liberty to play the game to its citizens. The game got widespread fame around the country. Not only inside Britain, the game also spread around the world, especially where the British Empire had a presence.
In the early 1900s, test cricket gained popularity in the Indian subcontinent. After the division of Pakistan and India, cricket became one of the major sources of entertainment between those two countries people. Politics and religion are directly linked with cricket. The highest-attended sports match in the world was between India and Pakistan. The match was a test match, which was held in the Eden Garden stadium of Kolkata. An average of 94,000 spectators attended the game throughout the five days.
What You Should Know About the Technology Underpinning Autonomous Vehicles
The Ashes series between Australia and England is one of the most prominent rivalries in the world. The rivalry has a significant impact on the lives of the people in Australia and England. After every two years, the game is held between two countries. The cricket fans and followers of the country and the rest of the world eagerly wait for the clash.
Why test cricket was about to die.
There are multiple reasons why test cricket was about to die. One of the major issues was the growing popularity of T20 cricket. In 2007, the International Cricket Council, or ICC, held the T20 World Cup for the first time in history. The shortest form of cricket has widespread popularity throughout the world because it takes only three hours to complete a match. The excitement of cricket has become one of the major issues here. Then, the Indian cricket board introduced its own franchise cricket league known as the Indian Premier League. The Franchise League also gained widespread popularity. As a result, Cricket Australia also introduced the Big Bash Cricket League, and the Cricket League was one of the most attended sports events in the world. With the rise of franchise cricket, the historical county cricket in the UK has declined in popularity.
Besides county cricket, the people of Australia and England lost their passion for supporting or watching their teams’ matches. Even the Ashes cricket lost her popularity in both Australia and England. The average attendance of the cricket match was less than 15,000. On the contrary, the average attendance of the Ashes series in Australia was 56,000 per day in 1936.
The popularity of football in Bangladesh is increasing
The Indian subcontinent countries abandoned test cricket. This is because the test cricket isn’t watched by the people of their country. Local TV channels are not interested in broadcasting the matches. Even in India, where cricket is seen as a religion, test cricket lost its popularity. It was almost the end of the test cricket. Amazon Prime Australia and Netflix publish documentaries about the dead gentleman.
The rise of test cricket.
Generally speaking, test cricket was about to die until 2019. In 2019, England won their first-ever cricket world cup at Lords Stadium. The World Cup was one of the most successful events ever organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the English Cricket Board (ECB). The tournament boosted the popularity of cricket in the UK. After completing the World Cup, the Ashes cricket began. The people of the UK started to watch cricket again and support their team.
Why ‘Mohammad’ Is Now Among the Top Baby Names in Western Countries
In 2019, the average number of people who attended the cricket match was 27,355 (according to the Guardian). The capacity of England’s cricket stadium is quite limited. That’s why the number is quite low compared to football and other sports. However, all the match tickets sold out before starting the match. The English fans in the stadium were extremely passionate, and they also provoked the people of Australia to watch cricket again. For example, the former prime minister of the UK, Rishi Sunak, and the prime minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, made fun of them about test cricket.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) also increased the popularity of cricket in India and also in Australia. The recent series between India and Australia was the highest-attended test series ever in Australia and the most-watched series too. The average attendance of the test series was about 47,906, and Fox Sports Australia streamed two billion minutes on their channel.
Additionally, the popularity of test cricket is not growing in Australia or India. The fame of test cricket is growing all over the world. Especially in Pakistan, where franchise cricket was much more popular in the past. The neighboring country of Australia is also getting much more attraction from their cricket fans. Bangladesh recently beat South Africa and New Zealand on their own soil. As a result, the popularity of test cricket is also growing in Bangladesh. Besides, the cricket fans of Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Nepal, and Scotland have also started to watch test cricket. Hence, the TV viewers also increase rapidly.
Leave a comment