Australian cricket has enjoyed a remarkable summer across International, Big Bash League and grassroots levels, with record-breaking attendance, viewership and participation numbers confirming the game's standing as Australia's national sport.
From Australia's dominant international performances to historic Weber WBBL|11 and KFC BBL|15 seasons, and an unprecedented number of kids picking up a bat and ball, the game continues to thrive in stadiums, on screens and in communities across the country.
The Australian women conclude their white ball series against the West Indies with an ODI tomorrow morning. They resume competition in June when they contest the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England, while the Australian men will tour Pakistan and Bangladesh for white ball matches with the dates still to be confirmed.
International
Australia's national teams captivated the nation like never before, with multiple sell-outs across the season and record attendances across all Test matches. Highlights include:
- 99.0% of all possible Men's T20I & ODI Series v India tickets and 98.4% of all possible NRMA Insurance Ashes Series Days 1-4 tickets sold
- Nine sold-out men's white-ball matches against India and South Africa
- 859,580 people attended Ashes Tests with an average crowd of 47,754 over 18 days of cricket
- Total attendance records in Perth (101,514), Adelaide (223,638) and Sydney (211,032)
- A record 94,199 on Boxing Day - the largest crowd for any cricket match played in Australia
- Second largest attendance for a women's series in Australia (40,951)
- Highest women's cricket attendance at the SCG (11,042) and a sold-out ODI at Allan Border Field
- Largest attendance at the WACA Ground for a women's Test (9,421 across three days)
- A daily average audience of 1.764m across the Ashes series, up 20% YoY and the highest-rating Test series in the Foxtel and Seven simulcast broadcast era
- Fifty of the 51 sessions of play attracted an average audience of over one million viewers, including 11 sessions that averaged over two million viewers - a record for a Test series in the Foxtel and Seven era
- An average audience of 2.186m across the Boxing Day Test, the highest-rating Test match in the Foxtel and Seven broadcast era and up 17% YoY
Big Bash Leagues
Huge viewership numbers and increased year-on-year attendances confirmed the Big Bash League's status as one of the most popular T20 Leagues in world cricket. This included:
- A total attendance of 1,089,043, up 12% year-on-year and the biggest total since BBL|09 (with 17 less games)
- The average attendance of 24,751 was the highest per match since BBL|07 and is the second highest among Australian sports leagues
- Thirteen matches averaged over one million viewers, the most in a season since BBL|08
- Australia's most-watched sports league on a per game basis, averaging 808,000 viewers nationally - up 5% year-on-year
- Primetime simulcast matches (broadcast on Seven, 7plus, Foxtel and Kayo Sports) drew average audiences of 987,000 per game, headlined by the Final which averaged 1.45m
- The BBL|15 Finals Series drew an interim average audience of 1.2 million per game, the highest ever for a finals series of four or more games and of any length since BBL|07
- Weber WBBL|11 had the highest average audience per game since all matches began being broadcast (128,000)
Junior Participation
Cricket registrations for 5-12-year-old children have reached an all-time high, with more than 150,000 children picking up a bat and ball this summer. Key growth areas in that age range include:
- Woolworths Cricket Blast with 90,000 registrations (up 6%)
- Junior Cricket 12 years and under with 72,341 registered participants (up 9%)
- Smash Series Cricket with 3,166 sign-ups in its first season
- 5-12 year old Girls' cricket, which is up 10% to nearly 31,000 registered participants
- South Asian participation for 5-12 year olds up 6%, totalling 27,858 across all programs
Todd Greenberg, CA CEO said:
"Cricket has truly been everywhere this summer, emphasising our place as Australia national sport.
"The enormous crowds and audiences throughout the season were beyond even our most optimistic forecasts, and we're delighted that so many Australians enjoyed the action in brilliant stadiums, on the couch or at the beach.
"Reaching 150,000 individual registrations in our 5-12-year-old junior cricket competitions and programs is a significant milestone and a testament to the strong connection young Australians have with the game.
"This summer was the culmination of the fantastic performances of our players, the world class coverage provided by all our broadcast partners and the efforts of everyone in Australian Cricket including thousands of hard-working volunteers who continue to grow cricket audiences and participation."
