Crowds

[vcs]

I don't think it's unfair to suggest that the vast majority of the Indian cricketing public only care to watch their own players.

Definitely not. But which country does that not apply to?

[Daemon]

Is there any place to get the actual attendance for these games rather than judging by looking at the amount of people in the stands? And tbh why would people turn up for games like Aus v Zimb or Nz v Kenya? On a weekday that too.

[GotSpin]

Definitely not. But which country does that not apply to?

Wasn't intending to suggest that it's a phenomenon belonging solely to India, but rather provide an explanation for the rather poor crowds

I do, however, always get the feeling that in an India v. contest, Indian crowds come solely to support their team and not enjoy the quality of the opposition. Just a general feeling though so I might be off.

[Nate]

Nonsense.

Definitely not.

[Teja.]

While I don't think the issue is of particular concern, My explanation would be:-

Basically the average Indian makes about $68(PCI) a month which is many many times lower than most cricket countries, hence the masses cannot afford tickets during the WC, nor can the students. Most of the office-going Internet surfing junta would prefer to watch a torrent/tv at work and get paid whilst still watching/cbf going to the stadium after coming home late from work.

Still I think stadiums will be start getting filled soon.

[Jono]

What match would you have gone to?

[Cruxdude]

some 10k people came to SA - Windies and yesterday's match also had quite a few supporters. I don't think I will call that disappointing. Obviously 25k people aren't going to come on a working day to watch other nations battle it out.

[Maximus0723]

Im just little worried about lack of support from overseas fans in the audience.
I can definitely understand the issues (terror attacks, foul crowds and to lesser extent comfort of living). I probably wouldn't want myself or my loved ones visiting a country when such an event can become prime target for terrorists.

I hope it improves but I don't think it will.

[Jono]

There's not going to be any foul crowds at a neutral game in India

[Turbinator]

Seriously, I can't even believe this is being made an issue. It's wrong on so many counts.

Always get the feeling that Indians don't like following sport, they just like following India.

I don't know to be honest. You will see the less competitive nations fans like West Indies, New Zealand, Ireland, Zimbabwe etc have another team they semi support or have a more general/neutral attitude to other teams/players. I have found especially with the recent decline in NZ cricket that watching teams like Australia is more enjoyable now that the spice has largely left our games. I no longer loathe their players like Hussey/Watson & co and in fact some of them are among my favourites now. Just enjoy watching quality cricket now.

Atleast India fills up stadiums and has them jam packed in their own matches. How many other nations can say the same? I certainly don't see that in places like NZL, South Africa, and West Indies. I also don't see packed stadiums (or stadiums even nearly as full as we saw yesterday for Aus vs NZL) in other parts of the world for neutral games. 2007 CWC in West Indies is a proof for that. As soon as India and Pakistan crashed out, we saw what happened to the entire tournament.

In fact, I've been quite happy with the crowds in this tournament so far, especially considering we've only had two non-minnow matches so far. And why doesn't the blame fall on fans from other nations who haven't bothered to make it out to see their country play? Atleast when India plays, Indian fans flock to any corner of the world to ensure they're right behind their team.

Tbh, the way stadiums get packed in the sub-continent for ODI matches, I have yet to see the same in any other part of the world. And as the proper matches roll around, we'll start seeing far better crowds come in. Just observe the teams that have been playing so far, it's ridiculous to expect packed stadiums. And it's even more ridiculous to suggest that the atmosphere would be better for a neutral game (apart from when India is playing for reasons mentioned above) in many other parts of the world than it was yesterday for Aus vs NZL. Not to mention these are large 50 000 capacity stadiums, not the 10 000 - 20 000 capacity stadiums you find in some other parts of the world.

I don't understand what the problem is TBH, none of the games in India have involved the hosts so far and from what I can pick up on TV, the atmosphere and response is better than what it'd have been in any other country. Has everybody forgotten the empty stands at the Caribbean in 2007 already? No country fills 50K stadiums when their team isn't playing. Definitely not on weekdays.

benchmark : I'm pretty sure Indian cricket fans watch a lot more international cricket not involving India than fans of any other country. The main reason for this is that FC cricket in India is of a low standard and not properly marketed/televised.

Spot on.

Indian fans only come to watch Indian players

Bull****. I'd like to see how packed the stadiums are for neutral games (especially ones involving minnows) in 2015.

Im just little worried about lack of support from overseas fans in the audience.
I can definitely understand the issues (terror attacks, foul crowds and to lesser extent comfort of living). I probably wouldn't want myself or my loved ones visiting a country when such an event can become prime target for terrorists.

I hope it improves but I don't think it will.

You've got to be kidding me. I've grown up in Canada my entire life, one of the most developed, open, least congested, clean, polite, safe and orderly countries in the world. Yet not once have I ever felt uncomfortable or unsafe in India. In fact, I look forward to visiting India each and every time. Being so different than Canada, it has that charm and attraction I find in developing nations when visiting them. It's a different culture, and provides a valuable and unique experience.

Heck, India is one of the top tourist destinations in the world for a reason. And anyone who feels unsafe travelling there just needs to toughen up, seriously. It's not Afghanistan, or Somalia (with all due respect to those countries) where the country is at war. I've interacted with many many Canadians who've planned trips to India, travelled the country more than even I have, and have enjoyed every bit of it. I've never come across a single complain surrounding safety concerns. In fact, a few buddies and I will be doing an All India tour upon graduation. Not a single safety concern on their or their family's behalf.

This whole third-world, terrorist haven image of India that I've seen portrayed by Australia and British media is blown way out of proportion and getting quite tiresome. Living where I do, I have never come across such concerns or sentiments.

[L Trumper]

@ above awesome post!
I wonder people here just try to stir controversy w/o even trying to make an honest observation

[tooextracool]

Talk about the shocker that people dont show up to watch games with the exception of games featuring their home teams. Really? If I had to choose between spending 8 hours in the sweltering heat watching South Africa vs West Indies with no real affiliation to either team, and watching the same game on HDTV with multiple replays and commentary, I think I'd pick the latter. Not to mention that most people have something known as day jobs and are hardly willing to sacrifice their vacation time by watching Kenya vs Pakistan.

[Jono]

TEC spot on.

Plus, India has less ex-pats and immigrants from other nations than England and Australia. So a India vs. Sri Lanka game in Australia will have more people associated with the team than a South Africa vs. West Indies game in India.

Added to that, there's been one non-associate match so far. I know I wouldn't be ****ing going to Netherlands vs. England.

And in any case, I don't remember tri-series matches not involving home countries having good turn-outs other than perhaps India vs. Pakistan or India vs. England in England, where there are plenty of people with such background.

[Spark]

Yeah, Aussies who say that only Indians don't turn up to see neutral matches/mismatches is going to be eating humble pie in four years time after last year's efforts.

[Bun]

There is a reason why the Aussie tri series was cancelled, and that was the fact that they were not getting crowds, so it is not something that is endemic to India imho. The fact is Indian stadiums are still not very spectator friendly, but more than that, the average joe will surely hesitate to spend 60 dollars a day (big amount in India) to watch a NZ vs Canada game, bunking his work, unless he has a real crush on that NX trainer.