Cricket Australia to review ticket prices

Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland says his organisation will review ticket prices, but the organisation's crowd woes are not exclusively about cost.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland

Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland says his organisation will review ticket prices. (AAP)

Cricket Australia will review ticket prices at the end of what is shaping up as an underhwelming summer.

With the obvious exception of the inaugural day-night Test, ticket sales have been sluggish and interest low in Australia's three-Test series against New Zealand and the West Indies.

A crowd of 1,373 watched day five of the first trans-Tasman Test in Brisbane - a figure the ABC claims was severely inflated.

The total attendance for the match was 53,572, a Gabba record for a trans-Tasman Test.

But the unedifying sight of empty stands was bemoaned by plenty, including skipper Steve Smith.

There were many reasons behind the poor turnout, yet price is the one over which CA has the most control.

"It's something we're certainly not blind to," CA chief executive James Sutherland told ABC radio.

"We'll definitely be reviewing that in greater detail when it comes to the end of this season."

Sutherland added it would be naive to believe that price was solely responsible for fans staying away.

"It's not a silver bullet solution. Any marketer or economist will tell you it's not all about price," he said.

Sutherland highlighted the fact CA committed to broadcasting all Tests live into local markets in 2013 as one of the other key factors.

Previously there would be some form of blackout or delay - incentivising locals to attend the match.

"We don't want anyone to have any excuse to say they can't watch the cricket on TV," Sutherland said.

"That's a very significant step that we've taken and that changes the dynamics of the whole equation."

That stick has become somewhat less powerful since CA launched its live pass, allowing fans to watch live streaming of all top-tier cricket in Australia.

Sutherland felt there was already "a lot of flexibility" in CA's pricing and ticket options, pointing to the fact there were evening session tickets available for the day-night fixture at Adelaide Oval.

But the long-serving CA boss added the topic would feature in the upcoming review.

"Admittedly we haven't done a really detailed study on that for maybe five years and it's something we're absolutely focused on," he said.

"We're going to think deeply about it.

"We need to make sure we make a compelling case for people (to attend) ... Test matches are played on three weekdays."

England and India toured the past two summers, the high-drawing teams a far cry from the opposition confronting Australia now.

It will only get worse when the West Indies arrive, bereft of some of their biggest stars that are instead playing the Big Bash League.

Sutherland bemoaned the "difficult period" the West Indies Cricket Board was going through.


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Cricket Australia to review ticket prices | SBS News