T20 World Cup 2022: "The way crowds turned up to the Australian games" - Adam Gilchrist on lack of interest from fans
Former Australian keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist rues a lack of interest for the hosts' games, given the lack of crowd while observing that India's passion for the game has grown by leaps and bounds.
Australia's opening game against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) saw a crowd of 34,576, while 25061 turned up when the hosts faced Sri Lanka in Perth. However, India's clash against Zimbabwe in Melbourne had 82000 spectators, while more than 90,000 came for the Pakistan clash at the same venue.
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Speaking to SEN WA Breakfast, Gilchrist observed the lack of excitement surrounding the defending champions' fixtures while noting the massive crowds in India's games. He said:
"You’ve only got to look at the crowds; the crowds were down. There was no feeling of a huge excitement about this World Cup from the way crowds turned up to the Australian games."
He added:
"On the flip side of that, look at what was almost a dead rubber on Sunday night in Melbourne, Zimbabwe vs India, and there’s 82,000 people there. The Indian passion for the game continues to go to new levels. That’s something that’s really positive and exciting about cricket."
The abandoned game between Australia and England at the MCG had attracted a crowd of 37556, while the hosts' final game against Afghanistan saw only 18672 turn up in Adelaide.
"We’ll see how it plays out over the summer" - Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist remains unsure whether the lack of support for Australia is due to the current team. The former player said:
"Whether those crowds being down and the appetite and enthusiasm for World Cup is reflective of the current team, I’ve got no idea. Any time Australia have hosted a World Cup, men’s or women’s, it’s always been at the end of the summer, so there’s a whole build-up and promotion of it and expectation for it."
He added:
"It felt a little bit flat in that regard around the Aussie team. We’ll see how it plays out over the summer because there’s plenty of cricket coming up."
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Notably, the Men in Yellow have underperformed in the tournament, enduring a group stage exit after finished third in group one. England's victory over Sri Lanka in Sydney in Adelaide confirmed Australia's elimination, as the hosts had a negative net run rate.