Is cricket big in South Africa?

[Francis]

I think it's obvious when you watch cricket from India or Australia or really anywhere from the sub continents that its really popular there. Yet I'm not sure about South Africa. Some of the crowds in SA that watched the ODI's against Australia looked massive, yet the test crowds were terrible. Pity because SA has some beautiful stadiums.

My question to the South Africans who post here is:

How big is cricket in South Africa? It can't be more popular than Rugby I wouldn't think... or football. Yet is it important etc?

 

[Xuhaib]

I get a South African sports channel on my cable and by the looks of it cricket seems pretty popular.I would say at par with rugby and just getting pipped by soccer.

The attendance in domestic 20/20 games is very good (3000-12000) depending on the quality of teams and importance of the matches. The popularity of cricket in SA can be guaged by the fact that last year Makhaya Nitini was voted by the public as the most popular sportspersonality

 

[archie mac]

I was also surpised at the crowds sizes in Bangladesh, I thought they were cricket mad?

Is it the price of tickets?

As for SA I think the time they were out of the game means a whole generation missed out on the Test experience, and it has not been great for sometime now (crowd wise) but hey I could be wrong, never been there.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

You'd expect Bangladesh to have a similar fixation on ODIs as the other subcontinental nations, so we'll probably see much bigger crowds for those games. Still, I thought the crowds during the first test were pretty good, especially when Bangladesh were on top. The noise from the crowd was tremendous.

 

[archie mac]

You'd expect Bangladesh to have a similar fixation on ODIs as the other subcontinental nations, so we'll probably see much bigger crowds for those games. Still, I thought the crowds during the first test were pretty good, especially when Bangladesh were on top. The noise from the crowd was tremendous.

Yes they made a lot of noise, but for a country with 80 million people (I think I read that somewhere) I thought we may see more support. Maybe after the great showing in the first Test they may attract more for the second.

 

[Blaze]

I get a South African sports channel on my cable and by the looks of it cricket seems pretty popular.I would say at par with rugby and just getting pipped by soccer.

I have always thought rugby is more popular than cricket. I guess we need some opinions from people who live there though.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I have always thought rugby is more popular than cricket. I guess we need some opinions from people who live there though.

It's just my guess, but going by surnames I'd say Rugby is the sport of choice for Afrikaners, whereas cricket does better among the Anglo-Saffies. Obviously exceptions to this on both sides tho.

I'd imagine Association Football is by choice for the majority population by streets tho.

 

[open365]

Football? In South Africa?

 

[GotSpin]

Yes they made a lot of noise, but for a country with 80 million people (I think I read that somewhere) I thought we may see more support. Maybe after the great showing in the first Test they may attract more for the second.

Maybe its a bit like Sri Lanka, where attendance is generally low due to work and what not but interest and tv ratings are high?

 

[The Baconator]

Football? In South Africa?

They've been at a couple of World Cups, and they're hosting it in 2010.

 

[Goughy]

It's just my guess, but going by surnames I'd say Rugby is the sport of choice for Afrikaners, whereas cricket does better among the Anglo-Saffies. Obviously exceptions to this on both sides tho.

I'd imagine Association Football is by choice for the majority population by streets tho.

20 years ago maybe. Many of the cricket clubs have an Anglo history now put mainly Afrikaaner teams out. Over the last decade or 2, the biggest growth in the game has been in the Afrikaaner community.

Cricket is huge in South Africa. In the White community it is far bigger than in the UK and the participation rates are massive.

The Black, Coloured and Indian communities involvement in the sport depends heavily on the region they come from. Some places it is extreme passion and others nearly ignored.

Cricket in SA surpasses that of the UK in terms of proliferation of public knowledge.

2 things stand out about SA cricket that are very different to the UK
1. Few people play competetively after University.
2. Test crowds are small.

However, dont be fooled by this. Cricket is far bigger in SA than in the UK and far more on the map of the popular consciousness.

 

[Goughy]

It's just my guess, but going by surnames I'd say Rugby is the sport of choice for Afrikaners, whereas cricket does better among the Anglo-Saffies.

Cant use surnames to judge background in SA.

Many, many Afrikaaners have Anglo last names. It is a recipe for awkwardness if when talking to people you make general assumptions about their background based on their last name.

 

[Autobahn]

True, football in england pretty much rules over every thing else and in a World cup year it's really difficult to get much coverage.

Though i think it's getting better recently with 20/20 and an improvement in the county game.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Cant use surnames to judge background in SA.

Many, many Afrikaaners have Anglo last names. It is a recipe for awkwardness if when talking to people you make general assumptions about their background based on their last name.

Oh, yes. Blokes like Donald & Hayward have very Anglo-sounding names, but are both Afrikaners.

I was generalising, obviously, but it does strike me that Saffie Union teams are populated to a higher percentage with blokes with obviously non-Anglo names than the cricket teams.

 

[luckyeddie]

Cricket in SA surpasses that of the UK in terms of proliferation of public knowledge.

Yes, but our problem is we've got Richard so that brings the average down a bit.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Oh, yes. Blokes like Donald & Hayward have very Anglo-sounding names, but are both Afrikaners.

Personally, I thought Mornantau was the giveaway...

 

[Xuhaib]

True, football in england pretty much rules over every thing else and in a World cup year it's really difficult to get much coverage.

Thats dissapointing to hear, i always thought cricket was quite big in the U.K.

 

[Langeveldt]

Goughy are you a local/expat? You sound pretty clued up

Cricket on the whole in SA is very popular, the third most popular sport in the country after Soccer and Rugby..

Test match and FC crowds are pretty poor because the whole culture of cricket in RSA revolves around the one day game.. I guess its the opposite to England, where the Ashes are most people's cup of tea.. Most of the cricket culture in SA revolves around a braai in the evening in front of a cricket match that will be over that same evening, and thats what makes it so attractive (as well as SA being better at ODI cricket)

Cricket coverage on TV (Supersport) is excellent to be honest, can't complain about the price or the amount of coverage, and pretty much all the home internationas are covered on free to air television, and get broadcast in most bars..

Port Elizabeth certainly has a thriving club scene, and the facilities are up there with the facilities in Australia (at the top at least) And it's the most multi-racial sport in the country, which certainly helps when you have guys like Makhaya Ntini coming through..

I think the tests against Australia have been so poorly attented because the public are a bit tired of a bunch of losers whingeing like babies over a rattle..

 

[Goughy]

Goughy are you a local/expat? You sound pretty clued up.

My wife is just coming to the end of her 2nd year of a 3 year work commitment in SA. My kid was born here, so I guess I will have links to the country forever.

I am, to a certain extent, involved in the cricket scene here.

I work as a coach, helped as a selector for a Provincial junior team, played at a pretty decent level (with Fc and Test guys), and was in the nets bowling at the England guys last summer.

I have a pretty decent idea about what goes on in SA cricket and I have been very impressed in general. 2 areas I would like to see improved is the further removal of politics from the sport and clubs becoming more progressive.

For the life of me, though, I cant understand why so many finish playing after Matric. or Varsity.

 

[Langeveldt]

My wife is just coming to the end of her 2nd year of a 3 year work commitment in SA. My kid was born here, so I guess I will have links to the country forever.

I am, to a certain extent, involved in the cricket scene here.

I work as a coach, helped as a selector for a Provincial junior team, played at a pretty decent level (with Fc and Test guys), and was in the nets bowling at the England guys last summer.

I have a pretty decent idea about what goes on in SA cricket and I have been very impressed in general. 2 areas I would like to see improved is the further removal of politics from the sport and clubs becoming more progressive.

For the life of me, though, I cant understand why so many finish playing after Matric. or Varsity.

Interesting, and nice to see a poster with links to SA cricket, I feel like I'm pushing rope uphill sometimes here

I think the Matric/Varsity thing is just kids discovering Alcohol/Women and the world of work.. There simply are too many other things to do.. After all, most kids in Europe stop playing sport before they even get to Varsity, such are the number of distractions

If you have MSN mine is rhingston at hotmail dot com