The New Year’s Test at Newlands CSA presents a catch-22 situation as Cricket SA initially allocated only 13% of tickets to the general public, leading to a swift sellout amid accusations of automated bots, while more tickets remain available for less popular venues.
Image: Rodger Bosch / AFP
While the outcry was swift and immediate, as the South African public was denied access to the majority of tickets when they went on sale on Monday for the New Year’s Test between the Proteas and England in Cape Town, Cricket SA (CSA) finds itself in a tricky situation.
It emerged that CSA allocated 13% of tickets to the general public for the Test match scheduled for Newlands between January 3 and 7.
This was while 39% of tickets were sold to international and domestic travel packages.
It resulted in tickets being sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale. IOL Sport reported that industry insiders suggest the platform may have been flooded by automated ticket-sweeping bots — leaving genuine supporters completely empty-handed.
All this while plenty of tickets are still available for the less popular venues of Wanderers in Johannesburg and SuperSport Park in Centurion. The Wanderers will host the first Test from December 17 to 21, while SuperSport Park will host the Boxing Day match from December 26 to 30.
Traditionally, the best-selling Test in a series around the festive period is the New Year’s Test, and there have been situations where grounds like Kingsmead battle to fill the stands in December, even when they have hosted the Boxing Day Test.
In fact, the last time Kingsmead hosted a Boxing Day Test between South Africa and India was back in December 2013. Even though that was the legendary Jacques Kallis’s last match for the Proteas, the match was not anything close to a sellout. While the first day had around 14,000 fans walk through the gates, the average over the following days was 6,500.
Meanwhile, Newlands is regarded as the most popular ground in South Africa to watch Test cricket.
This is perhaps why CSA adopted the ‘sell to the highest bidder’ approach. Tickets were probably always going to sell out, and making the most of this financial opportunity is understandable.
It makes even more sense when there is a growing sense that Test cricket is battling to maintain its place as the pinnacle of cricket. The big T20 leagues command the biggest prizes in terms of money - with the IPL begrudgingly accepted by cricket purists as the new pinnacle of the game.
CSA has since announced that more general access tickets will be released, so a lucky few will still be able to get tickets for days one to four.
It’s worth noting, though, that last year there was no Boxing Day Test as the tradition was broken to accommodate the SA20. This SA20 is a huge money-spinner for CSA, and therefore, it made complete financial sense to make way for the T20 tournament. Of course, that prompted a massive outcry from cricket fans in South Africa who felt hard done by.
In 2027, the SA20 will only begin on January 9 after the Test series is completed. Though the three-match ODI series may be affected by marquee Proteas players committed to the SA20, there’s at least no conflict with Tests.
Ultimately, CSA had to make some tough choices about how they could accommodate the England Test series to keep their mainstream fans happy while also balancing their ledgers. That balancing act, when you analyse it, is a difficult one indeed.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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