BIG CRICKET SURVEY 2018: 72 per cent of fans think international cricket is too expensive

There are considerations to make when it comes to pricing, including the overheads incurred by the venues, but compared to county pricing, the international game has a long way to go to change the opinions of its customers

Cricket fans in England and Wales feel the cost of attending international matches is too high, according to The Cricketer’s Big Cricket Survey.

A total of 72.3 per cent of respondents felt that tickets are either overpriced or very overpriced for England games.

Interestingly, although almost three-quarters of supporters felt prices were too high, only two thirds believe a ticket to an England match to be not very affordable or not affordable at all.

In fact, it seems that there is an element of match-going regulars who, while unhappy with the general cost incurred by international cricket, have no problem being able to pay the fare.

While only 17.71 per cent of fans think international matches in this county are value for money or good value for money, 30.24 per cent say entry prices are affordable or very affordable.

The cost of watching England varies from location to location, and from format to format.

Day one of the first Test against India at Lord’s this summer, for instance, will set punters back as much as £120 (with some under-16 tickets equally as expensive), while the Edgbaston T20 clash with Australia had prices starting from £51 for adults. Up in Durham for the ODI against India, however, tickets topped out at £60, with juniors available for as little as £10.

There are considerations to make when it comes to pricing, including the overheads incurred by the venues, but compared to county pricing, the international game has a long way to go to change the opinions of its customers.

When we asked supporters the same questions about the cost of attending the county game, there were sizeable differences in the data.

Just 19.55 per cent said county cricket tickets were overpriced or very overpriced, with 21.75 per cent saying they feel the domestic game represents good value for money and 44.38 per cent saying it is value for money.

HOW MANY DAYS OF INTERNATIONAL CRICKET DID YOU ATTEND IN 2017?

None: 40.67%

1-2: 34.76%

3-5: 15.71%

5-10: 5.42%

10+: 3.45%

Furthermore, 77.45 per cent of respondents believe county cricket is affordable to potential customers, more than two-and-a-half times the number who said the same about the international game.

Interestingly, though, there is a significant discrepancy in the opinions of county members and those who buy their tickets on a walk-up basis.

While 36.27 per cent of members think entry fees represent good value for money, just 13.14 per cent of non-members feel the same way.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those aged 18-24 are least happy with the cost of the county game, with nearly a third saying tickets are overpriced or very overpriced.

And is the cost putting people off going?

Of those who replied to our survey, more than 40 per cent said they had not been to an international match in England and Wales in 2017. That compares to the 26.03 per cent who said they did not attend a single day of county cricket last year.

HOW DO YOU RATE THE COST OF TICKETS IN...

HOW AFFORDABLE ARE TICKETS FOR...

HOW DO YOU RATE THE COST OF TICKETS IN COUNTY CRICKET AS A...

READ: The ECB's full response of the findings of our survey