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This sun-filled Sunday afternoon in north-west London was supposed to be a crowning moment. In order to secure England’s second series victory of the summer and their fifth successive Test victory, Olly Stone backpedalled from mid-on to settle underneath a catch off Chris Woakes’ delivery.
Nevertheless, in front of a large number of empty seats, England’s players celebrated their 190-run victory over Sri Lanka. With a starting price of £95, thousands upon thousands of tickets for the fourth day of the Lord’s Test went unclaimed. This was not an indication of the deterioration of Test cricket, but rather a response from the fans to the administrators who have taken them for granted for years.
“It was kind of weird,” said Ollie Pope, England’s stand-in captain. “A few of us have been strolling in each day, and we were like, ‘Jeez, it seems quiet today.’ I’m not sure if people expected the game to be done by day four or what… It’s a shame it wasn’t a full house: it was obviously a good day’s play where we had to work hard for those eight wickets.”
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which can accommodate up to 30,000 people, was prepared for a small turnout and anticipated that just about 9,000 people attended. Chief executive Guy Lavender pointed to England’s commanding victory over the West Indies at Lord’s in July—a victory that required just seven sessions—as a motivating factor for the club’s decision to reassess fourth-day pricing.
It’s a paradox of Bazball: England has unintentionally hurt ticket sales for the fourth and fifth days by quickening the pace of Test matches in an attempt to draw in as many fans as possible. They have won by mid-afternoon on the third day of five Test matches this summer twice; the other three have all concluded by day four.
Pope suggested that the low turnout might owe to the “heavy schedule” this summer “with the Hundred, T20 Blast and a lot of Test matches as well”. Asked if England need more support from administrators, he said: “It’s not really for me to comment on… [but] it is great to have as many kids and families in as possible, and learning to love the game.”