August 13, 2002

Final day feast

- Jonathan Dyson

It is a truth almost universally acknowledged among international cricketers that support in the stands helps raise their game. It was therefore surely no coincidence that India's best day in the series so far came in a front of a final day crowd that provided the kind of fervent support the Indian team had become so used to during the Natwest Series earlier in the summer.

One of the measures brought in over the last few years to increase English Test crowds has been to dramatically reduce ticket prices for the final day. And it has worked. Big final day crowds are now the norm rather than the exception, and the great thing is that they are made up almost exclusively of true cricket fans. Conspicuous by their absence are those groups who attend a day earlier in the Test for reasons other than the cricket, such as the football fans who enjoy an off-season day out with their mates, the socialites who frequent Lord’s to be seen rather than see the cricket, and the hospitality guests who go for a long lunch and as much free wine as they can take. Instead, on the last day, especially during the school holidays, there are parents taking their children on a spontaneous day out, office workers enjoying a surreptitious day off work, and cricket-loving students taking advantage of the low prices.

At Trent Bridge on Monday, it cost adults just £10, senior citizens £5, and for under-sixteens it was free of charge. By 3pm, the ground was full, and the gates were closed. It was later announced that of the estimated 15,400 crowd, 3,500 were under sixteen. Much of the crowd were clearly supporting India, especially in the impressive new Fox Road stand. As with many of the venues during the one-day series, flags, banners and musical instruments featured heavily in the supporters’ enjoyment, despite Nottinghamshire’s ground regulations which officially prohibit the use of all these items.

No doubt keen to see Tendulkar first thing, several Indian fans were there for the start, and the ground filled steadily throughout the morning session. Come afternoon, the familiar sound of klaxons, whistles and enthusiastic cheering reverberated round this attractive, compact ground, and many Indian fans expressed their enjoyment of the exploits of their batsmen by cheering each and every run, and waving their flags and banners with understandable pride. Perhaps the most pleasing sight was the happy mingling of English and Indian fans. Towards the end of the day, a couple of English fans could be seen dancing with a small group of Indian fans, and touchingly, they had joined their respective flags together.

It was great to see so many of Nottingham’s high Asian population enjoy an exciting day’s cricket. There had been far fewer Indian fans present over the first four days. The weather-hit first two days saw a crowd of 12,000 on Thursday, and 15,500 on Friday. A full house on Saturday was then followed by a disappointingly sparse crowd on the Sunday. And while there were some hints of vocal Indian support, especially when Tendulkar strode to the crease on Sunday evening, the English support was more noticeable.

In particular there was a great array of English supporters in fancy dress - now one of the most popular activities for English fans. On display at Trent Bridge were groups of men dressed as surgeons, cowboys, Dutch pole dancers and school girls. Various characters from the entertainment world were also represented, including Elvis Presley, the Blues Brothers and Batman and Robin. But the group picked up most often by the TV cameras were dressed as village cricketers, wearing whites, green caps and long, black WG Grace-like false beards.

Another highlight was a large banner being waved by two animated Richie Benaud fans exclaiming "morning Ritchie [sic], it’s 222-2." As Benaud himself commented on Channel 4 in typically droll fashion: "Well, they've got the numbers right, but not too hot on the spelling." The two fans became even more excited, when, freakily, the score did indeed reach 222-2. Other England banners were less imaginative, such as "What a Corker" and "Come on Freddie." Meanwhile, further evidence of a good relationship between the two sets of fans was seen on Saturday with a blonde girl, whose face was painted with the colours of the Indian flag. Mexican waves, sometimes using torn up newspapers, also brought the two sets of fans together.

One important issue that emerged from the Test was that of ticket refunds. On Friday, exactly 25 overs were completed before the umpires took the players off for rain. Under the current refund policy, this meant that if just one ball fewer had been bowled, the crowd would have been entitled to claim half their money back. Exactly the same thing happened at Headingley against Australia last summer. Is it too much to suggest that the umpires are not acting entirely on their own initiative? The timing of their decision to come off on Friday did after all mean the ECB were £200,000 better off.

The English authorities have come a long way since the days when refunds were only handed out if the day was a complete wash out (the turning point came with furious protests on the Friday of the Pakistan Test at Edgbaston in 1992, when the fact that just two balls had been bowled meant no refunds were available). However, there is still clearly potential for fans to feel exploited. At present, if between 10.1 and 24.5 overs are lost, a 50 per cent refund is offered. But of course the umpires are far more likely to end a day's play at the end of an over than with just one ball to go. The answer is perhaps a more fluid policy, whereby a quarter of the day’s play means a quarter of the ticket price being refunded, and so on.

Also read:
- Grounds for concern
- India score a double at Lord's
- India rule on and off the pitch
- India's 'home' support

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Illustration: Bijoy Venugopal