Reflections from going to a home Pakistan Test match!

[Slog]

1. PCB and authorities need to get ticketing right. It’s almost a black box and took ages to get in. I wanted to go in one of the better enclosures but the ticket has to be picked up from TCS offices the closest of which is 20 minutes away. As a result me and my buddy just showed our old university cards (they didn’t even check it was expired lol) and decided to go to one of the free enclosures.

2. Babar Azam is the most popular cricketer in pakistan and a bonafide superstar. The reception when he came in was deafening. I don’t know how they translated to TV but I’ve only seen a louder reception for Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar bowling in the past. Throughout the three sessions, people in my stand were calling for his name and for him to bat. Definitely having Babar as the most popular cricketer in the country would have better long term impact than the Afridi years. Though some wanted Azhar out so Babar could come in which is bit disappointing. Though Azhar was really struggling in his initial overs esp when Fernando (?) was bowling.

3. Today the ground was more than 1/3rd full. I think it was good turnout and definitely there were more people today than you get in one whole test in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. I watched one of the days of the last completed test in Pakistan and there were like dozen times more crowd. I think for a Test match this was a great crowd.

4. Abid Ali looked the most confident batsman throughout the day. Played with authority and had good shot range. Shan Masood had a few lusty blows but largely played behind the wicket and I’m afraid of the pitch had zip and bowling was quality he would’ve just gone into his shell. But well done to both the lads.

5. Azhar Ali struggled quite a bit and his body language was weak. But maybe these runs might bring his confidence back rather than be a curse in the long run.

Overall fun day but organization could be much much better.

 

[Green Patriot]

[MENTION=149691]Captain caveman[/MENTION]

I cant believe you would still think Babar is not the most popular current cricketer in Pakistan. The reception was deafening.

 

[Captain caveman]

1. PCB and authorities need to get ticketing right. It’s almost a black box and took ages to get in. I wanted to go in one of the better enclosures but the ticket has to be picked up from TCS offices the closest of which is 20 minutes away. As a result me and my buddy just showed our old university cards (they didn’t even check it was expired lol) and decided to go to one of the free enclosures.

2. Babar Azam is the most popular cricketer in pakistan and a bonafide superstar. The reception when he came in was deafening. I don’t know how they translated to TV but I’ve only seen a louder reception for Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar bowling in the past. Throughout the three sessions, people in my stand were calling for his name and for him to bat. Definitely having Babar as the most popular cricketer in the country would have better long term impact than the Afridi years. Though some wanted Azhar out so Babar could come in which is bit disappointing. Though Azhar was really struggling in his initial overs esp when Fernando (?) was bowling.

3. Today the ground was more than 1/3rd full. I think it was good turnout and definitely there were more people today than you get in one whole test in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. I watched one of the days of the last completed test in Pakistan and there were like dozen times more crowd. I think for a Test match this was a great crowd.

4. Abid Ali looked the most confident batsman throughout the day. Played with authority and had good shot range. Shan Masood had a few lusty blows but largely played behind the wicket and I’m afraid of the pitch had zip and bowling was quality he would’ve just gone into his shell. But well done to both the lads.

5. Azhar Ali struggled quite a bit and his body language was weak. But maybe these runs might bring his confidence back rather than be a curse in the long run.

Overall fun day but organization could be much much better.

Ground looked empyt on my tv!

 

[Mercurial]

Babar is our best batsman overall, but he just isn't a superstar, he doesn't have that aura of Afridi or Imran Khan.

 

[Slog]

Ground looked empyt on my tv!

I counted.

7 of the 16 stands were more than 3/4ths full so I’d say on the whole attendance was more than 1/3rd full.

After lunch was the peak attendance.

It is test cricket. You can’t expect full houses in South Asia.

However attendance AND atmosphere was way better than it ever gets in UAE.

 

[Slog]

Babar is our best batsman overall, but he just isn't a superstar, he doesn't have that aura of Afridi or Imran Khan.

He’s gonna get there if he continues like this.

He’s already on his way to be a superior cricketer than Afridi ever was.

So it’s nice to see crowd showing love for a genuine cricketing talent than Afridi type cricketers.

 

[Captain caveman]

I counted.

7 of the 16 stands were more than 3/4ths full so I’d say on the whole attendance was more than 1/3rd full.

After lunch was the peak attendance.

It is test cricket. You can’t expect full houses in South Asia.

However attendance AND atmosphere was way better than it ever gets in UAE.

Sorry but place looked empty on tv

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Babar is our best batsman overall, but he just isn't a superstar, he doesn't have that aura of Afridi or Imran Khan.

My goodness!!!!!!

 

[Slog]

1. PCB and authorities need to get ticketing right. It’s almost a black box and took ages to get in. I wanted to go in one of the better enclosures but the ticket has to be picked up from TCS offices the closest of which is 20 minutes away. As a result me and my buddy just showed our old university cards (they didn’t even check it was expired lol) and decided to go to one of the free enclosures.

2. Babar Azam is the most popular cricketer in pakistan and a bonafide superstar. The reception when he came in was deafening. I don’t know how they translated to TV but I’ve only seen a louder reception for Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar bowling in the past. Throughout the three sessions, people in my stand were calling for his name and for him to bat. Definitely having Babar as the most popular cricketer in the country would have better long term impact than the Afridi years. Though some wanted Azhar out so Babar could come in which is bit disappointing. Though Azhar was really struggling in his initial overs esp when Fernando (?) was bowling.

3. Today the ground was more than 1/3rd full. I think it was good turnout and definitely there were more people today than you get in one whole test in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. I watched one of the days of the last completed test in Pakistan and there were like dozen times more crowd. I think for a Test match this was a great crowd.

4. Abid Ali looked the most confident batsman throughout the day. Played with authority and had good shot range. Shan Masood had a few lusty blows but largely played behind the wicket and I’m afraid of the pitch had zip and bowling was quality he would’ve just gone into his shell. But well done to both the lads.

5. Azhar Ali struggled quite a bit and his body language was weak. But maybe these runs might bring his confidence back rather than be a curse in the long run.

Overall fun day but organization could be much much better.

One more thing.

When Fawad Alam came to the boundary to the fans there was a lot of noise and chants for him.

At some point there were pro-Sarfaraz chants as well. The chant was “Sarfaraz, teray jaan nisar, beshumaar beshumaar’

 

[Slog]

Sorry but place looked empty on tv

Lol ok.

Time to visit Specsavers? Or maybe camera focused on empty stands more.

 

[Slog]

[MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] - I cannot reply to PMs since it’s says mailbox is full

 

[Captain caveman]

Lol ok.

Time to visit Specsavers? Or maybe camera focused on empty stands more.

There was some people in the crowd, concentrated in a few stands, but loads of stands were empty. After a decade without test cricket, the place should have been rammed.
Everyone made excuses of working day and no avertising by pcb, but on the third day , saturday, a holiday for many and the cricket being on the news getting publicity, the ground was mostly empty.
What was the official attendance?
What is the official capacity for this match.
We are in a city of 20 million plus, surely this place should have been packed.
Now you are going to blame the security checks. The reality is people in general dont care about test cricket and karachites dont care about any format(in the t20s the stands were empty too) of cricket at all!

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Glad that Babar is getting all the support.

If we start playing at home regularly we can jump up the rankings. I am sure of it, after today.

Playing at home could be our inflection point.
[MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] what about security measures?

 

[Slog]

Glad that Babar is getting all the support.

If we start playing at home regularly we can jump up the rankings. I am sure of it, after today.

Playing at home could be our inflection point.
[MENTION=138463]Slog[/MENTION] what about security measures?

Security was much less than the PSL 2018 final I went to in Karachi. That time we came 4 hours before start and it took 2 hours plus to get in. This was 30 mins or less. Obv people were less.

But the security staff was very ill informed about ticketing procedures, which enclosures are open etc.

 

[Captain caveman]

Just accept test cricket is dead in Pakistan!
Long live t20s!

 

[Slog]

There was some people in the crowd, concentrated in a few stands, but loads of stands were empty. After a decade without test cricket, the place should have been rammed.
Everyone made excuses of working day and no avertising by pcb, but on the third day , saturday, a holiday for many and the cricket being on the news getting publicity, the ground was mostly empty.
What was the official attendance?
What is the official capacity for this match.
We are in a city of 20 million plus, surely this place should have been packed.
Now you are going to blame the security checks. The reality is people in general dont care about test cricket and karachites dont care about any format(in the t20s the stands were empty too) of cricket at all!

This is pretty poor logic. Just because something is happening after ages doesn’t mean it automatically will become popular when it wasn’t super popular in the first place.

Test attendance was never great in Pakistan (asides from Faisalabad) since the mid 90s so just because it’s happening after years doesn’t mean it will automatically have demand. Heck the 2004 India Test series when India came after 15 years was played in front of empty stands.

So you’re being naive and childish to expect full houses.

Regardless the attendance today was very good for a test match especially in Asia. And compared to the UAE where staff outnumber spectator, this was much much better.

As for Karachi, the PSL matches were sold out and were great atmosphere. You can go check how it was. It’s not a money issue either since those tickets were PKR 4000 to 12000

 

[Captain caveman]

This is pretty poor logic. Just because something is happening after ages doesn’t mean it automatically will become popular when it wasn’t super popular in the first place.

Test attendance was never great in Pakistan (asides from Faisalabad) since the mid 90s so just because it’s happening after years doesn’t mean it will automatically have demand. Heck the 2004 India Test series when India came after 15 years was played in front of empty stands.

So you’re being naive and childish to expect full houses.

Regardless the attendance today was very good for a test match especially in Asia. And compared to the UAE where staff outnumber spectator, this was much much better.

As for Karachi, the PSL matches were sold out and were great atmosphere. You can go check how it was. It’s not a money issue either since those tickets were PKR 4000 to 12000

Like i said test cricket is dead in Pakistan, long live t20s. Though even the t20 series against SL in karachi was empty.
Karachi should be banned from holding international in the future.

 

[lahoriyah1234]

Babar is our best batsman overall, but he just isn't a superstar, he doesn't have that aura of Afridi or Imran Khan.

Comparing Babar to Afridi in an insult to him. This Slogger became famous of hitting 6s with his eyes closed. He was the reason Pakistan Batting suffered and was not able to produce anymore established batsmen with better technique. Because everyone wanted to play like this slogger. Babar needs to continue working hard and just become a good batsmen for a long period of time, which will allow New Generations to be inspired and all will like to bat like him. Thats how India produced so many grt batsmen like Kohli, Rohit the list is endless. All because of Sachin tendulkar.

 

[Abdullah719]

Like i said test cricket is dead in Pakistan, long live t20s. Though even the t20 series against SL in karachi was empty.
Karachi should be banned from holding international in the future.

T20 series against SL was in Lahore.....

 

[Captain caveman]

T20 series against SL was in Lahore.....

Was it?
Thats even more depressing.
Cricket is dying in Pakistan.
Its also dying in the uk pakistanis heart, i used to spend the summer with all the lads from my mosque, playing against other lads from different mosques, we all used to pretend to be imran khan. Doesnt happen these days, kids just arent into cricket, my son wont even watch 5 minutes of cricket, he says its boring. I used to go to edgbaston cricket ground as a kid with my dad to watch Pakistan play and it was jammed packed and noisey as heck.
Sad times.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

There was some people in the crowd, concentrated in a few stands, but loads of stands were empty. After a decade without test cricket, the place should have been rammed.
Everyone made excuses of working day and no avertising by pcb, but on the third day , saturday, a holiday for many and the cricket being on the news getting publicity, the ground was mostly empty.
What was the official attendance?
What is the official capacity for this match.
We are in a city of 20 million plus, surely this place should have been packed.
Now you are going to blame the security checks. The reality is people in general dont care about test cricket and karachites dont care about any format(in the t20s the stands were empty too) of cricket at all!

All those empty stands were closed lol, ask the pcb why

 

[Captain caveman]

All those empty stands were closed lol, ask the pcb why

You are fooling youself. If the demand was there the pcb would have opened the stands. There were so few fans to open the stands and spread out the fans would look even worse, so they packed out a few stands to make it look like they was a crowd, unfortunately, the indian tv company kept focusing on the empty stands than the almost full stands.
Also, where were all the disappointed fans who were turned away because they couldnt get a seat? There were none!
Stop fooling yourself.

 

[Abdullah719]

Like i said test cricket is dead in Pakistan, long live t20s. Though even the t20 series against SL in karachi was empty.
Karachi should be banned from holding international in the future.

Was it?
Thats even more depressing.
Cricket is dying in Pakistan.

Basically, you had no clue about what you were talking about and just wanted to bash the crowds.

A. The T20Is were in Lahore.
B. The crowds were full.
C. Cricket is not dying.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full house in Lahore tonight for the 3rd T20I <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/I22D6SrhtY">pic.twitter.com/I22D6SrhtY</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1181953193548353536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">10 most popular google searches in Pakistan in 2019 - all related to cricket <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/JJZzrXkRY2">pic.twitter.com/JJZzrXkRY2</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1204839983724580868?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Captain caveman]

[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]

Was that house full for the first game?
What about the next games, because iirc it was pretty empty.

Yes i got the venues confused, i guess i am getting old or i have more important things to remember than which ground was empty for a Pakistani international match at home(all of them).
Also, it would have helped if the series wasnt split, but you can believe cricket is alive and well in Pakistan, i know better. In the 80s and 90s you could get killed walking out of your house in lahore with a cricket ball hitting you in the head, with kids playing cricket on every street. Nowadays, you will have to search to find a street were kids are playing cricket. But you keep.believing and i will keep disbelieving.
Test Cricket is dead in Pakistan and the other formats are dying.

 

[KingKhan12]

You are fooling youself. If the demand was there the pcb would have opened the stands. There were so few fans to open the stands and spread out the fans would look even worse, so they packed out a few stands to make it look like they was a crowd, unfortunately, the indian tv company kept focusing on the empty stands than the almost full stands.
Also, where were all the disappointed fans who were turned away because they couldnt get a seat? There were none!
Stop fooling yourself.

And can you stop fooling yourself. You made other claims too which were false so stop fooling yourself more.
Cricket can never die in Pakistan and now that international matches are being played in Pakistan it will grow more. Just wait and watch PSL and then you would know who's fooling themselves.

 

[Captain caveman]

And can you stop fooling yourself. You made other claims too which were false so stop fooling yourself more.
Cricket can never die in Pakistan and now that international matches are being played in Pakistan it will grow more. Just wait and watch PSL and then you would know who's fooling themselves.

Everyone likes going to the circus(psl) but REAL cricket (tests) are dead in Pakistan and odis will soon follow.

 

[KingKhan12]

Everyone likes going to the circus(psl) but REAL cricket (tests) are dead in Pakistan and odis will soon follow.

Pakistan T20s in Lahore was full house. Test cricket was never full houses in Pakistan even when we had legends playing.
Your claim was cricket dying in Pakistan which you yourself know is not true. And calling PSL a circus just because it draws in fans. Watch Pakistan play ODIs and T20s in Pakistan then we will see who's fooling themselves

 

[aloo paratha]

Stands look more empty because everybody is sitting towards the back to be im the shade from the sun. People see the front part of the stand empty and think the entire stand is empty.

 

[barah_admi]

Great post!

I would like to see a test in Pakistan in the not so distant future.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Stands look more empty because everybody is sitting towards the back to be im the shade from the sun. People see the front part of the stand empty and think the entire stand is empty.

People choose to be idiots.

 

[sshakir411]

[MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]

Was that house full for the first game?
What about the next games, because iirc it was pretty empty.

Yes i got the venues confused, i guess i am getting old or i have more important things to remember than which ground was empty for a Pakistani international match at home(all of them).
Also, it would have helped if the series wasnt split, but you can believe cricket is alive and well in Pakistan, i know better. In the 80s and 90s you could get killed walking out of your house in lahore with a cricket ball hitting you in the head, with kids playing cricket on every street. Nowadays, you will have to search to find a street were kids are playing cricket. But you keep.believing and i will keep disbelieving.
Test Cricket is dead in Pakistan and the other formats are dying.

You do sound like an old man ranting. Kids playing sports for fun has decreased around the world. Perhaps you should make your kids play on the street and start the trend again.