The Cricketer canvassed opinion for a second year, with a 25 per cent rise in the number of responses to our call to action. Questions were asked on a wide variety of subjects and the results shared with the ECB...
It’s back.
The results of The Cricketer’s Big Cricket Survey are in, with more than 2,000 fans voicing their opinions about the state of the game.
We gave the cricket-watching public a chance to voice their thoughts about the way in which the sport is run in England and Wales.
Questions were asked about ticket pricing, media consumption, favourite formats, value for money and much, much more.
A total of 2,382 entries were made - up almost 500 compared to 2018 - with contributions coming from fans of all 18 counties, as well as those who much prefer the international game.
| Under 18 | 2.18% |
| 18-25 | 6.51% |
| 25-39 | 20.40% |
| 40-54 | 27.75% |
| 55-65 | 23.72% |
| 65+ | 19.44% |
| Male | 93.79% |
| Female | 5.75% |
| Undisclosed | 0.42% |
| Unspecified | 0.04% |
| Student | 5.79% |
| Full-time employment | 50.21% |
| Self-employed | 9.07% |
| Retired | 27.62% |
| Part-time employment | 5.79% |
| Unemployed | 1.51% |
| UK-based | 94.79% |
| Non-UK | 5.21% |
| County member | 38.95% |
| Non-county member | 61.05% |
Our questions were run past a professional pollster prior to publication, and the overall results have been shared with the ECB, both for comment and, should they wish, as a point of reference going forward.
Our request for an interview with a senior figure at the governing body to discuss all elements of the survey was declined, with an ECB spokesperson saying: “It is the ECB’s priority to protect and nurture cricket at all levels and the new five-year strategy has a wide-range of initiatives to grow the game in close consult with the counties.
“The Hundred is one of those strategies with a financially positive business model that helped to swell the value of the new broadcast deal with Sky and the BBC which will be invested into the whole game for the benefit of the game.
“The tournament will bring cricket back onto free-to-air television and entertain fans new and old with the world’s best men’s and women’s players.”
What follows this week is an illustration of the data; an analysis of what the existing cricket fan thinks of the state of the sport in England and Wales, presented without prejudice.
The equivalent audience data for last year's Big Cricket Survey can be found by clicking here
MORE FROM THE BIG CRICKET SURVEY
31% of 25-39-year-olds don't go to any county cricket
Surrey fans happiest with way county is run
Nearly half do not go to international cricket
62% say ECB does not do a good job running the game
Cost of TV subscriptions is too high, say two-thirds of fans
Posted by Henry McLaren on 05/11/2019 at 17:58
This an excellent report.As a player back in the day and an umpire now l am in a pretty good position to judge how the game has changed.This year there has been a marked decline in standard. Selection is on availability rather than talent.Age variation does effect the game dynamic. In the dressing room l can imagine the commonest topic centres around mobile phones!The game killer is when the opening bats are aged 60 and 16.One can’t hit the ball off the square and the other can’t run more than a single.Bit boring!Signicant is that look back on playing career l remember the actual cricket.In umpiring l remember the amusing episodes that happen alongside the actual game.In many league games you are virtually a match manager.Sense of humour more important than Level One umpire grade!How about this little known fact.The umpires room is the only place in the country where it is not against the Law to leave the toilet seat up!The game needs less negativity the back in the daters to return to their old clubs to volunteer and the game must be governed by people who understand the game.
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