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Some hours before the first ball at the Gabba, word came through from New Zealand that the entire four ticketed days of Australia’s Test match in Wellington in March had sold out.
As the clock ticked towards 2pm in Brisbane, a big crowd filed in from Vulture Street and Stanley Street to the final Test of the home summer – and the first day’s cricket since the Brisbane Heat had taken out the Big Bash League.
Australian quick Josh Hazlewood appeals on day one of the Gabba Test.Credit: Getty
Irrespective of debate around using January 26 as Australia’s national day, there was no question that the day/night timeslot in Brisbane was a popular one, regardless of the lowly current status of the West Indies.
A roll-up of 23,602 was the best attendance ever for day one of a Test match against the West Indies at the Gabba. That’s more than came to see day one of the world championship showdown here in 1996.
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A bigger crowd is forecast for day two, meaning the attendance for two days may well push towards 50,000 – comparable to Adelaide Oval last week and in line with healthy throngs for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests – before the remainder of the game is threatened by a cyclone.
Forgetting for a moment the provincial vagaries of staging international cricket in Perth, this summer has overall provided a strong reminder of Test cricket’s vitality in Australia, despite what was thought to be slim drawing power for Pakistan and West Indies.
At the same time, the enormous demand for tickets in New Zealand, both in Wellington and for the second Test in Christchurch, underlines the possibility of profitable Test cricket in more than the game’s three richest nations, provided the economics are balanced effectively by cricket’s leaders.
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