Cricket NSW chief David Gilbert is hoping for a "good crowd" today's one-day international at the SCG, although the final figure is unlikely to overshadow the huge numbers attending domestic Twenty20 games this summer.
ODI cricket has been under siege in Australia, with only 8,378 fans attending Tuesday's second one-dayer between Australia and West Indies at Adelaide Oval.
In seven ODI matches against Pakistan and the Windies, Australia have attracted 30,000 fans just once, when 30,774 people attended the SCG game involving Pakistan on January 24.
Gilbert compared the expected crowd for Friday's game three to the Australia-New Zealand clash of February 8 2009, which attracted 21,986.
"Pre-sales are comparable to those of the corresponding one-day match last year versus New Zealand," Gilbert told AAP.
"Whilst we would have wished for more at this stage, we still believe a good crowd will be in attendance on Friday night."
The first one-dayer against the Windies attracted 25,463 fans on February 7 at the MCG, where two days earlier 60,054 people had watched Australia win a thrilling T20 International against Pakistan by two runs.
Australia's domestic T20 crowd record was broken twice last month, at ANZ Stadium (29,743) and at the MCG (43,125).
Australia coach Tim Nielsen is preparing his side for the World Cup on the sub-continent in 12 months' time and has the team in excellent form, winning 22 of their 26 ODI matches since the Ashes.
Asked about the low crowd figures, he said: "We can't control that.
"We hope we're playing a good enough brand of cricket that keeps people coming through the gates," Nielsen added at the SCG on Thursday.
"Maybe it's the timing of the year a little bit. The Big Bash was at a great time of the year.
"It was school holidays and we're now out of school holiday time. A few things add up like that to where it's at.
"It was a really hot day mid-week in Adelaide (on Tuesday) so that may have kept a few people away.
"All in all I think it's been pretty promising if you look at the number of people that are coming through the gates to watch Australian cricket, where it be Twenty20 cricket, one-day cricket or Test-match cricket.
"Overall we've had pretty good numbers. That's pleasing for us.
"All we can control is that we play as well as we can, as exciting, as good a brand of cricket to watch as we can so the people who do come want to come back.
"At the moment I think we're providing that."
West Indies captain Chris Gayle said his side had a "big fan base" in Australia.
"I guess they like the flamboyant cricket. But it's down at the moment," Gayle said in reference to his side's heavy losses in the first two one-dayers of the five-match series.
"But we still get that motivation from the fans out there so it would be nice to give them something to cheer about in this series."
