Thousands of empty seats expected for England’s first Test against India

[cricketjoshila]

I guess I should explain this for Indian fans.

Until 1982 there were only three TV channels in the UK.

Every Test and ODI was shown live, but also so was the Sunday League on Sunday afternoon. And there were 3-5 overseas players per team.

So pretty much everyone in the country who liked sport knew Somerset’s overseas players (Richards and Garner) or Northants’ Bedi and Mushtaq and Sarfraz.

The limits on overseas players reduced awareness, and Margaret Thatcher’s government making schools sell off their cricket pitches did huge damage too.

Finally, in 2005, the ECB sold all live cricket TV coverage to Sky, and now nobody knows even who Alastair Cook and Joe Root are, let alone Virat Kohli.

The BCCI doesn’t let its players play overseas T20 competitions. Hence even in Australia, nobody knows who Ashwin or Dhawan or Pandya or Bumrah are.

When the West Indies and Pakistan and South Africa were dominant teams, their players were Box Office Gold everywhere they played.

Unfortunately, the Indian players are even less famous than the current leading Pakistanis or Kiwis.

People have seen the leading Pakistanis and Kiwis play high profile domestic T20 cricket overseas, so they have a certain profile. But the Indian players - some of whom may be better cricketers - are just completely unknown.

High profile T20 cricket? Like what?

Virat Kohli alone is more box office than your entire Pakistan team put together. Same was the case with Tendulkar before him.

Oh and nice try putting Pakistan as a dominant team along with WI.

Putting rubbish in long winding posts doesnt make it any better.

 

[Junaids]

High profile T20 cricket? Like what?

Virat Kohli alone is more box office than your entire Pakistan team put together. Same was the case with Tendulkar before him.

Oh and nice try putting Pakistan as a dominant team along with WI.

Putting rubbish in long winding posts doesnt make it any better.

Pardon?

From 1985-93, just over eight years, Pakistan lost a single Test series, 1-0 in Australia. If India aspires to a similar level of dominance after it lost in South Africa in January 2018, please get back to me in 2026.

Then, and only then, will India have attained the level of performance of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Test Team.

You call Virat Kohli box office, but not in England he’s not. Hardly any sports fans know who he is.

It seems as if Indians with their versions of cricket are becoming like Americans with American Football or Baseball. They simply don’t get that their superstars are complete nobodies to the rest of the world.

Personally I think that Virat Kohli is s better bat than Root, Williamson and Smith, none of whom I rate very highly at all. And I think that with the retirement of AB De Villiers, Kohli can now be recognised as the world’s best batsman.

But still, nobody in England knows who he is.

If you showed 100 English men and 100 South African men a picture of Virat Kohli, you’d be lucky to get five out of 200 who’d heard of him, and two who could identify his picture.

 

[BlackShadow]

Kohli is the face of Cricket today, and the only people you would find disputing that are granpas in their 60s and 70s who have been out of touch with reality for way too long. Anyone who believes that Younis Khan or Amir are more recognizable anywhere can't be taken seriously.

 

[Junaids]

He isn’t. Not like Viv Richards or Imran Khan used to be. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is right - people don’t know who he is.

High profile T20 cricket? Like what?

Virat Kohli alone is more box office than your entire Pakistan team put together. Same was the case with Tendulkar before him.

Oh and nice try putting Pakistan as a dominant team along with WI.

Putting rubbish in long winding posts doesnt make it any better.

Part of it comes down to respect.

Amir behaved disgracefully as a teenage kid in England, but in 2016 and 2018 Pakistan came early, respected the conditions and the opposition and were generously received by the cricketing public. They even practised in a local park!

India has arrived like they own the place, and called off the final day of their Four Day match versus Essex, which cost Essex County Cricket Club a lot of money reimbursing ticket holders whom India had treated with contempt.

People just don’t like that spoilt brat mentality.

It aggravated the South African public when they called off the Cape Town Test four years ago and it annoyed the Kiwi public when they refused to play against Shane Bond for ICL reasons even though New Zealand Cricket had given him a letter confirming his eligibility to play both ICL and Tests.

It’s not rocket science: when the public is the country you are touring don’t like you, and think you are disrespectful, they won’t but tickets to watch you.

This is a good Indian team which could play out a great series. But the public don’t know them, and many of the ones who do know them don’t like them.

 

[the Great Khan]

Kohli is the face of Cricket today, and the only people you would find disputing that are granpas in their 60s and 70s who have been out of touch with reality for way too long. Anyone who believes that Younis Khan or Amir are more recognizable anywhere can't be taken seriously.

err not in england he isnt. in England Joe root , anderson and broad are way more recognisable. Hell Moeen Ali is more recognisable. Kohli is hardly known outside hardcore cricket fan circles. If you were to ask a normal average english sports fan to name a cricketer they would say Ian botham or joe root. If you said non english they would probably say warne. Unless you met an Indian then it would be kohli or sachin etc.

You may also get some of the older gen talking about botham and imran khan, I had a friend in his early forties talking about Imran the other day.

Younger fans know ronaldo, messi etc..

Kohli is unknown in the english mainstream and is not the face of world cricket..Indian cricket yes, not world cricket..

 

[the Great Khan]

On a serious note, the premier league starts next week. Kohli and co will dissappear into the wilderness of the hardcore cricket fan..England doesnt care once the football starts..whoever came up with this schedule needs to have their head examined.

When the champions trophy was on there was a buzz, same with our 2016 series as there was no other major football events..this year we had the world cup and now the league starts early..bad for India..

Unless they hammer England then suddenly there will be revenge buzz lol

 

[Junaids]

err not in england he isnt. in England Joe root , anderson and broad are way more recognisable. Hell Moeen Ali is more recognisable. Kohli is hardly known outside hardcore cricket fan circles. If you were to ask a normal average english sports fan to name a cricketer they would say Ian botham or joe root. If you said non english they would probably say warne. Unless you met an Indian then it would be kohli or sachin etc.

You may also get some of the older gen talking about botham and imran khan, I had a friend in his early forties talking about Imran the other day.

Younger fans know ronaldo, messi etc..

Kohli is unknown in the english mainstream and is not the face of world cricket..Indian cricket yes, not world cricket..

Be gentle on our Indian friends!

We have had months of them claiming that their team is Global Box Office and it’s starting to dawn on them that while ethnic Indians will attend ODIs in England, as a Test team they just are complete unknowns.

Cricket Australia is suffering the same problem: apparently Jolimont is having a collective heart attack about the lack of demand for the Test series later this year, and fears that the Adelaide and Perth stadia will be largely empty.

The BCCI won’t care, of course.

But was it sensible to give Pakistan 2 Tests this summer and India 5 Tests and 3 ODI’s?

Market forces suggest to me that both series should have been 3 Tests, with India playing 7 ODI’s and 5 T20i’s.

Indian TV might have preferred it too!

 

[NeVerMind]

Having said that, I have great respect for Virat Kohli as person. Couple of weeks back, my mother-in-law met him in the hotel the Indian team was staying at in Central London (she was there attending a wedding there). He was a true gent, greeted her with a 'Assalamualaikum aunty', spend a good 10 minutes explaining his behaviour on the field when playing Pakistan (it's all a bit tongue-in-cheek as they are good friends), asked her to make dua for her and her team and then posed for some selfies. My mother-in-law wasn't a fan before but she was afterwards (also said he is much more handsome in person than on tele).

 

[BlackShadow]

err not in england he isnt. in England Joe root , anderson and broad are way more recognisable. Hell Moeen Ali is more recognisable. Kohli is hardly known outside hardcore cricket fan circles. If you were to ask a normal average english sports fan to name a cricketer they would say Ian botham or joe root. If you said non english they would probably say warne. Unless you met an Indian then it would be kohli or sachin etc.

You may also get some of the older gen talking about botham and imran khan, I had a friend in his early forties talking about Imran the other day.

Younger fans know ronaldo, messi etc..

Kohli is unknown in the english mainstream and is not the face of world cricket..Indian cricket yes, not world cricket..

Ofcourse, like Pandaya, Yusuf Pathan or Jadeja are more recognizable than any English player in India, and that's understandable. But it's a joke when you compare Kohli's popularity to Younis's or any other Pakistani player (for Cricketing reasons).

And yes, Kohli indeed is the face of world Cricket. The biggest superstar in subcontinent and one of the biggest overseas draws in Aus, NZ and SA too. A bunch of British Pakistanis denying is hardly relevant.

 

[Junaids]

Ofcourse, like Pandaya, Yusuf Pathan or Jadeja are more recognizable than any English player in India, and that's understandable. But it's a joke when you compare Kohli's popularity to Younis's or any other Pakistani player (for Cricketing reasons).

And yes, Kohli indeed is the face of world Cricket. The biggest superstar in subcontinent and one of the biggest overseas draws in Aus, NZ and SA too. A bunch of British Pakistanis denying is hardly relevant.

You just don’t get it.

Nobody in England who isn’t Asian knows who Virat Kohli is. Nobody.

Younis Khan is known to English cricket fans from multiple tours to England - including skippering a World Cup winning team - and from playing County cricket.

Mohammad Amir is known due to his criminal notoriety, and his return to Tests at the scene of the crime, and because he won the Champions Trophy Final single-handedly.

Virat Kohli probably has 10% of the recognition in England of Costa Rica’s Kaylor Navas, or Trinidad’s Dwight Yorke.

 

[BlackShadow]

You just don’t get it.

Nobody in England who isn’t Asian knows who Virat Kohli is. Nobody.

Younis Khan is known to English cricket fans from multiple tours to England - including skippering a World Cup winning team - and from playing County cricket.

Mohammad Amir is known due to his criminal notoriety, and his return to Tests at the scene of the crime, and because he won the Champions Trophy Final single-handedly.

Virat Kohli probably has 10% of the recognition in England of Costa Rica’s Kaylor Navas, or Trinidad’s Dwight Yorke.

I am talking of recognition among Cricket fans. People recognize the best batsman or bowler of their generation, this cannot be argued against.

 

[hafeezrocks]

Are there Cricket fans who don't know who Virat Kohli is?

It's like being a Fan of Football and not knowing who Messi or Ronaldo are.

 

[InziRules]

Are there Cricket fans who don't know who Virat Kohli is?

It's like being a Fan of Football and not knowing who Messi or Ronaldo are.

You could survey and find 20% of Pakistanis who'll know, at best, that Kohli bats for India.

Less than 1-2% would know that Kohli is one of the greats.

Seriously, with the number of sports common in the UK and Australia, I seriously doubt many people would know Kohli, or even most English player or Australian players.

For example, I'm pretty sure less than 1% of this forum would be able to name one Pakistani footballer.

 

[hafeezrocks]

You could survey and find 20% of Pakistanis who'll know, at best, that Kohli bats for India.

Less than 1-2% would know that Kohli is one of the greats.

Seriously, with the number of sports common in the UK and Australia, I seriously doubt many people would know Kohli, or even most English player or Australian players.

For example, I'm pretty sure less than 1% of this forum would be able to name one Pakistani footballer.

I am only saying if a person is remotely interested in Cricket, he or she will know who Virat Kohli is.

If 5 % People in UK know Virat Kohli then only 5 % people in UK must be Cricket fans, no more than that.

 

[InziRules]

I am only saying if a person is remotely interested in Cricket, he or she will know who Virat Kohli is.

If 5 % People in UK know Virat Kohli then only 5 % people in UK must be Cricket fans, no more than that.

No, that's our perspective as someone who follows Cricket. I have friends who can't name one player other than Afridi, and these are the casuals who follow World Cups.

Similar for those who watch football and only know Messi and Ronaldo

 

[hafeezrocks]

No, that's our perspective as someone who follows Cricket. I have friends who can't name one player other than Afridi, and these are the casuals who follow World Cups.

Similar for those who watch football and only know Messi and Ronaldo

You know what I have friends who follow Football World Cups but don't know what Brazil, Germany, England and Argentina is. Can you believe it?

 

[big_gamer007]

Let’s be honest here world cricket starts and ends with India.. We are the majority of the cricket watching populace.. It doesn’t matter what any englishmen or Australian thinks, end of the day the face of global cricket will always be an indian from now on.

Was Tendulkar earlier and now is kohli.. Next will be some other indian batsmen.. People like root, Williamson’s are actually nobodies and no one in India knows of them outside of the hardcore cricket watching population.. The biggest non indian superstar was ABD and he has retired Warner was also a bigger global superstar than the likes of root and williomson but he got involved in stupid things..

Tbh Maxwell is a bigger global superstar than williomson or root.. because of IPL.

Regarding our Pakistani players apart from Amir who is famous for his non cricketing reasons the rest are nobodies.. Casual fans still think of Wasim, Waqar, IK etc when they think of Pakistan.. When India starts playing Pakistan regularly and people like Fakhar perform consistently then Ofcourse they will be superstars as well but for now they are nobodies.

So to sum it up the harsh truth is world cricket = India, be it for monetary reasons or be it for number of viewers.
[MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION]

 

[InziRules]

You know what I have friends who follow Football World Cups but don't know what Brazil and Argentina is. Can you believe it?

That's mental, you should know that being people who live in this world )

But yeah, seriously, Kohli is a superstar in India but I seriously doubt most people outside India would even give him a second look. Even Sachin, arguably the most famous cricketer ever, wouldn't be recognised by most

 

[InziRules]

Let’s be honest here workdmcricket starts and ends with India.. We are the majority of thencricket watching populace.. It doesn’t matter what any englishmen or Australian thinks, end of the day the face of global cricket will always be an indian from now on.

Was Tendulkar earlier and now is kohli.. Next will be some other indian batsmen.. People like root, smith, Williamson’s are actually nobodies and no one in India knows of them outside of the hardcore cricket watching population.. The biggest non indian superstar was ABD and he has retired Warner was also a bigger global superstar than the likes of root and williomson but he got involved in stupid things..

Tbh Maxwell is a bigger global superstar than williomson or root..

Regarding our Pakistani players apart from Amir who is famous for his non cricketing reasons the rest are nobodies.. Casual fans still think of Wasim, Waqar, IK etc when they think of Pakistan.. When India starts playing Pakistan regularly and people like Fakhar perform consistently then Ofcourse they will be superstars as well but for now they are nobodies.

So to sum it up the harsh truth is world cricket = India, be it for monetary reasons or be it for number of viewers.
[MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION]

This is the truth. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is right on Kohli not being known in the UK, but he's wrong on how many others are known. I'd seriously doubt most would know Waqar, Wasim or even Sachin. We've seen so many Twitter controversies happen because people have no idea who Sachin is. If Sachin isn't known by most of the world, what really is the chance they'll know Kohli?

In the end, Cricket is played seriously in about 8 countries. Of those 8, only 4-5 could claim to passionately follow it. Out of those, only India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have rabid cricket fans, but even they're not very knowledgeable.

So yeah, outside their own home country, and in many cases, even within it, people won't know them. I wonder how many Indians would know who Pujara is, or who Rahul is or who Pandya is

 

[big_gamer007]

That's mental, you should know that being people who live in this world )

But yeah, seriously, Kohli is a superstar in India but I seriously doubt most people outside India would even give him a second look. Even Sachin, arguably the most famous cricketer ever, wouldn't be recognised by most

No cricketer can ever be a true global superstar like Bolt, Federer, Ronaldo, messi etc..

Cricket is not a global sport however in terms of pure numbers no non indian cricketer can ever surprise any indian cricketer ever in terms of popularity apart from superstars like ABD, Gayle or Warner who are huge because of IPL.

The harsh truth is right now cricket popularity starts and ends with India.

 

[hafeezrocks]

That's mental, you should know that being people who live in this world )

But yeah, seriously, Kohli is a superstar in India but I seriously doubt most people outside India would even give him a second look. Even Sachin, arguably the most famous cricketer ever, wouldn't be recognised by most

Point is being recognised by Cricket fans.

Not knowing Virat Kohli while being interested in Cricket is equivalent to not knowing Messi and Ronaldo inspite of being a Football fan.


This is like saying I love India Pakistan battles in Cricket but don't know who Inzamam is.

 

[big_gamer007]

This is the truth. [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] is right on Kohli not being known in the UK, but he's wrong on how many others are known. I'd seriously doubt most would know Waqar, Wasim or even Sachin. We've seen so many Twitter controversies happen because people have no idea who Sachin is. If Sachin isn't known by most of the world, what really is the chance they'll know Kohli?

In the end, Cricket is played seriously in about 8 countries. Of those 8, only 4-5 could claim to passionately follow it. Out of those, only India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have rabid cricket fans, but even they're not very knowledgeable.

So yeah, outside their own home country, and in many cases, even within it, people won't know them. I wonder how many Indians would know who Pujara is, or who Rahul is or who Pandya is

Exactly my point. Kohli will not be known by many englishmen or Aussies but that does not matter he is still the biggest cricketing global superstar of his generation probably tied with Dhoni and only others who can come close are AB, Gayle and Rohit Sharma due to IPL exploits...

Even in India Pujara will not be as popular due to the fact he doesn’t play IPL.. Rahane is still popular because of IPL and Rahul as well..

The causal indian viewers are now IPL followers and popularity is gained from doing well in IPL..

 

[big_gamer007]

Point is being recognised by Cricket fans.

Not knowing Virat Kohli while being interested in Cricket is equivalent to not knowing Messi and Ronaldo inspite of being a Football fan.


This is like saying I love India Pakistan battles in Cricket but don't know who Inzamam is.

There are different type of cricket fans, some are who only watch big matches of their own country. Those kind of fans will not know of any player from opposition teams..

But yes most fans will know of Kohli if they watch cricket apart from just the big World Cup matches.

 

[boomboomcheema]

No cricketer can ever be a true global superstar like Bolt, Federer, Ronaldo, messi etc..

Cricket is not a global sport however in terms of pure numbers no non indian cricketer can ever surprise any indian cricketer ever in terms of popularity apart from superstars like ABD, Gayle or Warner who are huge because of IPL.

The harsh truth is right now cricket popularity starts and ends with India.

I wonder

How famous are the English Footballers who played in the recent WC among people in India and Pakistan?

 

[big_gamer007]

I wonder

How famous are the English Footballers who played in the recent WC among people in India and Pakistan?

The young generation in metro cities follow premier league so amongst that generation the English players were famous..

I used to watch every football match when I was younger so I was a huge fan of people like beckham, keane, cantona, scholes, giggs etc.. But now I don’t watch premier league regularly so the only English players I knew of were Kane, sterling, rashford and Henderson..

But I suppose the young generation who is following premier league the English footballers would be very famous..

So these English footballers are famous in metro cities however outside of the big cities they will be absolute nobodies..

 

[USofA]

So, is the ECB making or losing $$ this series?

I personally think the money making portion of the series is already done. The tests are just to satisfy a few old men clinging on to an ancient format which is totally irrelevant in the current world.

The current events of the "premier" format are I am sure only draining the $$ earned from the ODI's and T20's.

 

[InziRules]

Exactly my point. Kohli will not be known by many englishmen or Aussies but that does not matter he is still the biggest cricketing global superstar of his generation probably tied with Dhoni and only others who can come close are AB, Gayle and Rohit Sharma due to IPL exploits...

Even in India Pujara will not be as popular due to the fact he doesn’t play IPL.. Rahane is still popular because of IPL and Rahul as well..

The causal indian viewers are now IPL followers and popularity is gained from doing well in IPL..

There's also the false equivalence put forward by [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] that to be popular, you have to be popular in the UK. Which is ridiculous, more people in the world know Kohli than Root or Cook, but both are obviously more popular in the UK.

 

[InziRules]

So, is the ECB making or losing $$ this series?

I personally think the money making portion of the series is already done. The tests are just to satisfy a few old men clinging on to an ancient format which is totally irrelevant in the current world.

The current events of the "premier" format are I am sure only draining the $$ earned from the ODI's and T20's.

I'm pretty sure most money from Tests, ODI's and T20's is made from TV money, not from gates, which are usually negligible

 

[USofA]

I'm pretty sure most money from Tests, ODI's and T20's is made from TV money, not from gates, which are usually negligible

I agree. Gate money is just peanuts. Probably won't even pay for the water keep the grass green. The real green($$$) is in TV.

 

[boomboomcheema]

Among Neutral ( Non English, Non Indians Fans ) .... Virat Kohli is a much popular Cricketer than Joe Root.

 

[Sidilicious]

Didnt 18k people attend the game on the 1st day, and 16k on the 2nd?

Thats more than 80% on the 1st day, and 75% on the 2nd.

Given that it was Wednesday and Thursday, how is that bad attendance?

 

[IMMY69]

lol..you must have met some numpty's..lol

On a serious note, the premier league starts next week. Kohli and co will dissappear into the wilderness of the hardcore cricket fan..England doesnt care once the football starts..whoever came up with this schedule needs to have their head examined.

When the champions trophy was on there was a buzz, same with our 2016 series as there was no other major football events..this year we had the world cup and now the league starts early..bad for India..

Unless they hammer England then suddenly there will be revenge buzz lol

Mate I cannot wait for the Premier League to start!!
Kohli will be a goalie when it all kicks off

 

[IMMY69]

Didnt 18k people attend the game on the 1st day, and 16k on the 2nd?

Thats more than 80% on the 1st day, and 75% on the 2nd.

Given that it was Wednesday and Thursday, how is that bad attendance?

For a test match in England, that is awful! Irrespective of the match starting on a Wednesday, for the first three days the grounds in England are almost always packed for test matches..

 

[babajee]

Trust me, as an English fan of Pakistan I gave up decades ago on them ever getting a batsman as good as Kohli. It’s never going to happen! Lol

Kohli was brilliant yesterday, although he got two lives

Babar

 

[TM Riddle]

Kohli is the face of Cricket today, and the only people you would find disputing that are granpas in their 60s and 70s who have been out of touch with reality for way too long. Anyone who believes that Younis Khan or Amir are more recognizable anywhere can't be taken seriously.

Yasir Khan. You forgot Yasir Khan.

 

[cricketjoshila]

So, is the ECB making or losing $$ this series?

I personally think the money making portion of the series is already done. The tests are just to satisfy a few old men clinging on to an ancient format which is totally irrelevant in the current world.

The current events of the "premier" format are I am sure only draining the $$ earned from the ODI's and T20's.

India and Australia are the two revenue generators for ECB.

Unlike what [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] says, money isnt generated by some 1000s on the ground but millions on Tv.

 

[James]

Non-English cricketers tend to become (in)famous in England for non-cricketing reasons.

Like Shane Warne with his sexcapades, Mohammed Amir with his spot-fixing, and Steve Smith with his ball tampering / crying.

Kohli meanwhile tries very hard to be interesting but he just doesn’t have that natural whiff of controversy about him.

 

[ravisurya]

India and Australia are the two revenue generators for ECB.

Unlike what [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] says, money isnt generated by some 1000s on the ground but millions on Tv.

He is trying his best to make himself feel better looking at how the text match is going right now but then again do runs and wins against england matter?

 

[the Great Khan]

India and Australia are the two revenue generators for ECB.

Unlike what [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] says, money isnt generated by some 1000s on the ground but millions on Tv.

this is unfortunatley true. cricket in england is a dying sport..the fact they cannot recognise who Kohli is , or who amir is speaks volumes of the level of penetration of the game. Also remember Kohli is an asian and that will always go against him in england..

outside of cricket fans most people wouldnt know who Kohli is. They wouldnt know who wasim or waqar are over a certain age. Moenn Ali and Joe root are recognisable however and thats because they have a bit of a story..

Kohli is ultimatley a shareef bacha trying to be a bad boy lol..

 

[Varun]

this is unfortunatley true. cricket in england is a dying sport..the fact they cannot recognise who Kohli is , or who amir is speaks volumes of the level of penetration of the game. Also remember Kohli is an asian and that will always go against him in england..

outside of cricket fans most people wouldnt know who Kohli is. They wouldnt know who wasim or waqar are over a certain age. Moenn Ali and Joe root are recognisable however and thats because they have a bit of a story..

Kohli is ultimatley a shareef bacha trying to be a bad boy lol..

But who cares about the English public though? They have never been really influential.

 

[the Great Khan]

But who cares about the English public though? They have never been really influential.

crickets needs them to be..they are still one of the richest countrys in the world and can spend if they want...the biggest problem a country like Pakistan has is the economy..if we can sort that out we can help but as of now we need the english public to love cricket again..

 

[TM Riddle]

Stadium looked 95% full today.
Expect each and every seat occupied tomorrow. Gonna be a cracker of a game.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Ground was packed today!

 

[cricketindiafan]

Some known Indian haters who were expecting Kohli to be a failure again in this series writing long posts now on how he's a nobody in England! If only he got some more support from his batsmen.

BTW this is what I read

"From what I understand the prices are almost double what they were for Pakistan Test matches in some cases. Out of the two communities, the Indian cricket community is a bit more affluent and maybe they were targeted."

So ECB doubled the ticket prices for an unknown team compared to the world beating superstars touring earlier!

 

[Abdullah719]

India fans may be staying away from first Test over ticket prices

Communities of Indian cricket fans may have stayed away from the Edgbaston Test because organisers were trying to “cash in” on their enormous interest in the game by raising ticket prices, according to Gulfraz Riaz, chairman at the National Asian Cricket Council.

The first day of England men’s 1,000th Test began in front of large swaths of empty seats on Wednesday and the South Asian community in particular appeared to have shunned the longer format of the game, although the England and Wales Cricket Board provided figures which suggested overall numbers of tickets bought were comparable to 2014.

Edgbaston’s capacity of 25,000 was reduced by 1,500 seats for the fixture because of sightscreen requirements. But on Wednesday the attendance was just 18,159 and on Thursday 16,754. Tickets for the later session on Wednesday were reduced to £20 in a bid to lure spectators but Riaz believes the scarcity of fans could be due to a failure in pricing strategy, among other elements including a Wednesday start.

“The benchmark will be what the attendance is like at Lord’s, Oval and Trent Bridge. But the pricing is a lot higher than previous Pakistan Test matches so there’s an element of cashing in, perhaps, on Asian communities’ passion for cricket.

“From what I understand the prices are almost double what they were for Pakistan Test matches in some cases. Out of the two communities, the Indian cricket community is a bit more affluent and maybe they were targeted.”

Starting the Test on a Wednesday instead of the traditional Thursday for the first Test may also have played a role in poor attendances, according to Riaz. “I think it would have been better to do it Thursday, Friday and Saturday, definitely to build some momentum. I think the marketing could have perhaps been better and there’s also the genuine question of whether Test cricket is relevant to the South Asian cricket community.

A spokesman for Edgbaston said: “I don’t think our tickets were unreasonably priced starting at £29 for adults and £16 for children, the most affordable of all the Test match grounds. We have even had to open an extra stand on Friday because we are sold out.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/aug/03/india-ticket-prices-first-test-england-edgbaston

 

[BaankeJi]

You just don’t get it.

Nobody in England who isn’t Asian knows who Virat Kohli is. Nobody.

Younis Khan is known to English cricket fans from multiple tours to England - including skippering a World Cup winning team - and from playing County cricket.

Mohammad Amir is known due to his criminal notoriety, and his return to Tests at the scene of the crime, and because he won the Champions Trophy Final single-handedly.

Virat Kohli probably has 10% of the recognition in England of Costa Rica’s Kaylor Navas, or Trinidad’s Dwight Yorke.

You really need to expand your circle if that is what you truly believe in.
You think people who have come to stadium do not recognize Indian team members. And people watching on TV claim they don't either? You need to get out and do more chatting with more sensible people.

Or you may be trolling. Or your hate for India is at another level.

 

[JaDed]

Would had almost believed [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] regarding Kohli and English fans and then I went on FB page of English cricket team and lol.

 

[cricketjoshila]

India fans may be staying away from first Test over ticket prices

Communities of Indian cricket fans may have stayed away from the Edgbaston Test because organisers were trying to “cash in” on their enormous interest in the game by raising ticket prices, according to Gulfraz Riaz, chairman at the National Asian Cricket Council.

The first day of England men’s 1,000th Test began in front of large swaths of empty seats on Wednesday and the South Asian community in particular appeared to have shunned the longer format of the game, although the England and Wales Cricket Board provided figures which suggested overall numbers of tickets bought were comparable to 2014.

Edgbaston’s capacity of 25,000 was reduced by 1,500 seats for the fixture because of sightscreen requirements. But on Wednesday the attendance was just 18,159 and on Thursday 16,754. Tickets for the later session on Wednesday were reduced to £20 in a bid to lure spectators but Riaz believes the scarcity of fans could be due to a failure in pricing strategy, among other elements including a Wednesday start.

“The benchmark will be what the attendance is like at Lord’s, Oval and Trent Bridge. But the pricing is a lot higher than previous Pakistan Test matches so there’s an element of cashing in, perhaps, on Asian communities’ passion for cricket.

“From what I understand the prices are almost double what they were for Pakistan Test matches in some cases. Out of the two communities, the Indian cricket community is a bit more affluent and maybe they were targeted.”

Starting the Test on a Wednesday instead of the traditional Thursday for the first Test may also have played a role in poor attendances, according to Riaz. “I think it would have been better to do it Thursday, Friday and Saturday, definitely to build some momentum. I think the marketing could have perhaps been better and there’s also the genuine question of whether Test cricket is relevant to the South Asian cricket community.

A spokesman for Edgbaston said: “I don’t think our tickets were unreasonably priced starting at £29 for adults and £16 for children, the most affordable of all the Test match grounds. We have even had to open an extra stand on Friday because we are sold out.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/aug/03/india-ticket-prices-first-test-england-edgbaston

So Friday was sold out. But [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] says hardly anyone knows Kohli or the Indian team.

 

[TM Riddle]

Oh so the ticket price was an issue.
That should shut some people up.
Or not maybe. Waiting for an another round of excuses about how Wajatullah Wasti was better known in England than Tendulkar because the latter was so timid and boring.

 

[Brodipet_baadshah]

Oh well ticket price is the root cause...soo the revenue from soo called fullhouses during pak series is more or less equal to 50% occupancy in India series? As there is consistently 75-80% occupancy in this test it can be concluded that revenue generated from just 1 match of India series is equal to revenue from whole pak series?lolll

 

[cricketindiafan]

Witb double the ticket prices compared to Pakistan tests, hosts are making way more money for India tests even with 65-70% occupancy! Add the lucrative TV deals worth tens of millions each year

 

[James]

In our season we tend to host two ICC-sanctioned tours, the first one (May / June) is usually a lot shorter and tends to feature very reasonable ticket prices, but then the main August series is completely ridiculous - presuming you don't want restricted view, tickets will be a minimum of £50 each outside London and the best part of £100 each in London.

 

[USofA]

India and Australia are the two revenue generators for ECB.

Unlike what [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] says, money isnt generated by some 1000s on the ground but millions on Tv.

Absolutely. Not even up for debate. The ticket revenues will not even pay the electricity bill for the ground. TV revenue is the where the real $$ is made. For all sports.

I am sure the ECB has raked in the money with India touring this summer. That is the case with any place the BCCI tours. Which is why the PCB have been constantly after BCCI for a "home" tour.

 

[Romali_rotti]

I dont get what the big deal is ??? Empty stands ???? test cricket in India draws even lesser crowds than what I have seen so far from the English stadium.. Like seriously WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol.... Money Generated from this Indian series will keep ECB going for years, all about TV rights, no one gives two hoots about empty stands.. I am proud India is sustaining British cricket with our money

 

[Junaids]

India and Australia are the two revenue generators for ECB.

Unlike what [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] says, money isnt generated by some 1000s on the ground but millions on Tv.

Completely untrue.

Hospitality tickets pay the bills in England.

4,000 Hospitality tickets at Lords in a day at an average of £600 each earn over US$3 million PER DAY!

Lords and The Oval typically gross over $10 million in Hospitality sales in a single Ashes Test, with the other 20,000 tickets also selling for over US$150 each which is a further $3 million per day.

 

[Balthazar]

Yesterday it was almost a full house and that's still 80% more than anything you get in India. Don't see what's the issue.

 

[cricketindiafan]

Completely untrue.

Hospitality tickets pay the bills in England.

4,000 Hospitality tickets at Lords in a day at an average of £600 each earn over US$3 million PER DAY!

Lords and The Oval typically gross over $10 million in Hospitality sales in a single Ashes Test, with the other 20,000 tickets also selling for over US$150 each which is a further $3 million per day.

Now that he realises a team of 'unknowns' is generating 35-40% more gate receipts than a team of 'superstars', he has shifted to hospitality tickets. Someone tell him Lord's and Oval tests are sold out. Maybe he will now say those turning up are all corrupt people.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Completely untrue.

Hospitality tickets pay the bills in England.

4,000 Hospitality tickets at Lords in a day at an average of £600 each earn over US$3 million PER DAY!

Lords and The Oval typically gross over $10 million in Hospitality sales in a single Ashes Test, with the other 20,000 tickets also selling for over US$150 each which is a further $3 million per day.

Go tell this to ECB. Lol.

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www....ky-bbc-will-broaden-crickets-appeal-says/amp/



Edgbaston hospitality tickets start from £199 plus Vat.

Lords hospitality tickets start from £135 and go upto £670. Including the captains lounge.

And there are not 4000 hospitality tickets

So stop lying.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] line of thinking is simple.

If it happens for India, there must be some doubt.

If it happens for Pakistan, well Pakistan are the better team anyways.

If you can get over these few quirky thoughts of his, his posts are very enjoyable.

 

[Junaids]

Exactly my point. Kohli will not be known by many englishmen or Aussies but that does not matter he is still the biggest cricketing global superstar of his generation probably tied with Dhoni and only others who can come close are AB, Gayle and Rohit Sharma due to IPL exploits...

Even in India Pujara will not be as popular due to the fact he doesn’t play IPL.. Rahane is still popular because of IPL and Rahul as well..

The causal indian viewers are now IPL followers and popularity is gained from doing well in IPL..

Kohli May be the biggest Indian superstar, but outside India nobody can work out whether he is better than Smith, Root and Williamson, let alone AB De Villiers.

I keep saying that this is a good Indian team with a skipper who is a really exceptional batsman.

But still, nobody in England knows who Rahul, Vijay, Dhawan, Karthik, Pandya, Yadav or Shami are.

Which is why the post mortem has already begun: were ticket prices too high in a World Cup summer for a touring team of unknown players, was five Tests too many?

Then again, it’s been a brilliant Test and India has played really well, and that should help sales for the next four.

 

[big_gamer007]

Kohli May be the biggest Indian superstar, but outside India nobody can work out whether he is better than Smith, Root and Williamson, let alone AB De Villiers.

I keep saying that this is a good Indian team with a skipper who is a really exceptional batsman.

But still, nobody in England knows who Rahul, Vijay, Dhawan, Karthik, Pandya, Yadav or Shami are.

Which is why the post mortem has already begun: were ticket prices too high in a World Cup summer for a touring team of unknown players, was five Tests too many?

Then again, it’s been a brilliant Test and India has played really well, and that should help sales for the next four.

The point is it does not matter whether people know Kohli outside India or not.. World cricket starts and ends with India that is the truth..

Kohli is the biggest superstar in world cricket because he is indian.. Gone are the days of English and Australians being superstars this is now the time of Asia and Kohli is the only real global superstar now along with Dhoni..

The other two were Gayle and AB but they have retired and these two were only superstars because of IPL..

Ticket prices can be low or high it doesn’t matter the real money ECB is earning is through television audience that India brings in.. Gate sales are just peanuts compared to that..

 

[Junaids]

The point is it does not matter whether people know Kohli outside India or not.. World cricket starts and ends with India that is the truth..

Kohli is the biggest superstar in world cricket because he is indian.. Gone are the days of English and Australians being superstars this is now the time of Asia and Kohli is the only real global superstar now along with Dhoni..

The other two were Gayle and AB but they have retired and these two were only superstars because of IPL..

Ticket prices can be low or high it doesn’t matter the real money ECB is earning is through television audience that India brings in.. Gate sales are just peanuts compared to that..

With respect, absolutely no.

India generates a lot of cricket revenue only because its population is huge and disinterested in other sports.

There was a Big Three because the ECB and Cricket Australia also generate huge income, and their much smaller populations mean that even Aussie female cricketers earn terrific income now.

The ECB can sell TV rights to private Indian TV when India tours just like New Zealand Cricket and Cricket South Africa can.

But the ECB is vastly richer because in England the public will pay £65-£200 per day for a Test ticket, and companies will pay anything from £300 to £1100 a day per person for Hospitality tickets.

Yesterday I received the price list for World Cup Hospitality tickets. The prices are instructive - this is for the cheaper Nursery Ground product:

Final £1099
England v Australia £949
NZ v Australia £449
Pakistan v Bangladesh £399

The cheapest price of course still generates a profit and incurs the same costs to put on (well, maybe less for booze, lol).

So you can see that every hospitality ticket for England v Australia has a profit margin of at least £550 for the day!

That’s a huge part of the business model for cricket in England, and especially London.

And it’s why nobody wants 3 Day Tests over the weekend. The grounds and the ECB want weekday play to generate corporate hospitality sales.

 

[HitWicket]

Lords hospitality tickets start from £135 and go upto £670. Including the captains lounge.

You won't be getting close to hospitality seating at Lord's for £135 for a late-summer test and the most expensive will be way over £670.

 

[shaz619]

Kohli is a big draw amongst British Indians, hardcore English cricket fans would know him to but not casual fans of the sport or neutrals. Alot of it is to do with lack of enough exposure beyond India and also the sky monopoly on cricket in the UK. I'd say Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi are both bigger draws amongst all groups of fans in England [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]

 

[cricketjoshila]

You won't be getting close to hospitality seating at Lord's for £135 for a late-summer test and the most expensive will be way over £670.

Why dont you mail them and ask?

https://www.lords.org/fixtures/hospitality/hospitality-options/

There is a small enquiry form. Fill it up and ask.

Though this year its sold out.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Kohli is a big draw amongst British Indians, hardcore English cricket fans would know him to but not casual fans of the sport or neutrals. Alot of it is to do with lack of enough exposure beyond India and also the sky monopoly on cricket in the UK. I'd say Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi are both bigger draws amongst all groups of fans in England [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]

Shahid Afridi.... )

 

[HitWicket]

Why dont you mail them and ask?

https://www.lords.org/fixtures/hospitality/hospitality-options/

There is a small enquiry form. Fill it up and ask.

Though this year its sold out.

Don't really need to, the website already shows there are options at £1055 and no hospitality being available at £135 is just common sense.

 

[shaz619]

Shahid Afridi.... )

It's true, this is common knowledge. We're comparing drawing power across different fan groups over here in England and everyone would agree with me apart from foreigners due to nationalism, we're not comparing cricketing ability here I don't rate Shahid too highly myself but he done alright in limited overs and is a big entertainer for all the fans here

 

[MenInG]

It's true, this is common knowledge. We're comparing drawing power across different fan groups over here in England and everyone would agree with me apart from foreigners due to nationalism, we're not comparing cricketing ability here I don't rate Shahid too highly myself

I think the answer has to be Virat Kohli otherwise all other opinions are null and void to some.

 

[shaz619]

I think the answer has to be Virat Kohli otherwise all other opinions are null and void to some.

I know, people take it too personally it is just so weird. Am sure many UK PPers / Pak fans absolutely dislike Afridi but all of them would agree he is a big ticket seller in England, you"ll also find many English fans turning up to Pakistan games just to see him. He has spent a fair amount of time here as an international and domestic talent, during this time his popularity grew.

 

[Junaids]

Go tell this to ECB. Lol.

https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www....ky-bbc-will-broaden-crickets-appeal-says/amp/



Edgbaston hospitality tickets start from £199 plus Vat.

Lords hospitality tickets start from £135 and go upto £670. Including the captains lounge.

And there are not 4000 hospitality tickets

So stop lying.

You don’t seem to want to understand.

There are as many Hospitality tickets as the ground can sell. At Lords they feed you in Marquees on the Nursery Ground, but seat you in ordinary seats in the Mound stand or Grand Stand.

If they can sell 10,000 or even 20,000 packages they will. And for Ashes Tests, they do.

So these are not hospitality boxes, they are ordinary seats sold at a £1000 price point.

 

[TheLastGreatMan]

I know, people take it too personally it is just so weird. Am sure many UK PPers / Pak fans absolutely dislike Afridi but all of them would agree he is a big ticket seller in England, you"ll also find many English fans turning up to Pakistan games just to see him. He has spent a fair amount of time here as an international and domestic talent, during this time his popularity grew.

That's just your opinion.

 

[TheLastGreatMan]

I think the answer has to be Virat Kohli otherwise all other opinions are null and void to some.

And if answer is Virat Kohli it's null and void for many.

 

[big_gamer007]

With respect, absolutely no.

India generates a lot of cricket revenue only because its population is huge and disinterested in other sports.

There was a Big Three because the ECB and Cricket Australia also generate huge income, and their much smaller populations mean that even Aussie female cricketers earn terrific income now.

The ECB can sell TV rights to private Indian TV when India tours just like New Zealand Cricket and Cricket South Africa can.

But the ECB is vastly richer because in England the public will pay £65-£200 per day for a Test ticket, and companies will pay anything from £300 to £1100 a day per person for Hospitality tickets.

Yesterday I received the price list for World Cup Hospitality tickets. The prices are instructive - this is for the cheaper Nursery Ground product:

Final £1099
England v Australia £949
NZ v Australia £449
Pakistan v Bangladesh £399

The cheapest price of course still generates a profit and incurs the same costs to put on (well, maybe less for booze, lol).

So you can see that every hospitality ticket for England v Australia has a profit margin of at least £550 for the day!

That’s a huge part of the business model for cricket in England, and especially London.

And it’s why nobody wants 3 Day Tests over the weekend. The grounds and the ECB want weekday play to generate corporate hospitality sales.

India generates a lot of money because of our population and the fact that we are only 1 sport nation which is cricket.

Australia/England are developed countries and have multiple sports so money is divided.. The hospitality and all is good but end of the day the real money come from TV advertisements and deals targeted for indian audiences..

The point was popularity and fact is cricket is watched mostly by Asians and Asian expats.. English/Aussies are negligible in numbers compared to Asian/Asian expat population..
So kohli is biggest cricketing superstar since sheer number wise he is most recognisable cricketer.. And that is what determines popularity the number of fans you have..

Like I said cricket starts and ends with India the faster people wrap their heads around it he better for them no point living in delusions or past..

 

[cricketindiafan]

Kohli May be the biggest Indian superstar, but outside India nobody can work out whether he is better than Smith, Root and Williamson, let alone AB De Villiers.

I keep saying that this is a good Indian team with a skipper who is a really exceptional batsman.

But still, nobody in England knows who Rahul, Vijay, Dhawan, Karthik, Pandya, Yadav or Shami are.

Which is why the post mortem has already begun: were ticket prices too high in a World Cup summer for a touring team of unknown players, was five Tests too many?

Then again, it’s been a brilliant Test and India has played really well, and that should help sales for the next four.

Lord's and Oval tests are sold out, so stop peddling your ** based on two days, which despite being 75% full, generated 35-40% more income for the grounds compared to tourists in May

 

[shaz619]

That's just your opinion.

It's not an opinion, it is a fact based on my 10+ years of experience attending games in the UK and it is also supported by the diverse group of people who find themselves at international and domestic games headlined by Shahid. What insecure foreigners say is irrelevant, am surprised they have their knickers in a twist over something like this.

 

[TheLastGreatMan]

It's not an opinion, it is a fact based on my 10+ years of experience attending games in the UK and it is also supported by the diverse group of people who find themselves at international and domestic games headlined by Shahid. What insecure foreigners say is irrelevant, am surprised they have their knickers in a twist over something like this.

Facts cannot be based on your 'experience' alone, it requires data to back up.Otherwise any one can simply says based on my 20/25/50 years of experience xyz cricketer is most popular.

 

[shaz619]

Facts cannot be based on your 'experience' alone, it requires data to back up.Otherwise any one can simply says based on my 20/25/50 years of experience xyz cricketer is most popular.

It is a fact, not everything requires data like popularity so experience is a pretty decent measuring stick and that too when it is supported by the rest of my country. Beyond that am in a superior position then you to even comment on this debate which makes everything you say irrelevant regardless

 

[MenInG]

Many empty seats today - granted less play but expected local Indians to come and support team to win

 

[Junaids]

Many empty seats today - granted less play but expected local Indians to come and support team to win

I’m flabbergasted at the pathetic crowd today when the match is so brilliantly poised.

I think the ECB needs to think of India as a team to invite for long ODI series rather than Test series.