Anxious English Fans Await Australia Match: Soccer? No, Cricket

2005 - Bloomberg

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Cricket, described by actor Robin Williams as "baseball on valium,'' is dominating U.K. sports as the English national team pursues its first Ashes victory since 1987 against archrival Australia, the world's top-ranked team.

About 7.7 million people in the U.K., or triple the average, watched Australia battle to a draw with England in the climax of the Aug. 15 match at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester. The biennial Ashes contest between the two countries, which dates back to 1882, is now tied with two games to play.

Cricket's resurgence has kept the start of the English Premiership, the world's most-watched soccer league, off the back pages of newspapers, and has increased sales of cricket equipment and match tickets. The even standing with Australia contrasts with England's soccer team, which had its biggest defeat in 25 years on Aug. 17 against Denmark, losing 4-1.

"The Premiership is normally the talk of the office this time of year, but everyone seems to be glued to the cricket,'' said Paul Jones, a hedge-fund trader at KBC Alternative Investment Managers in London. "I've never heard so much discussion of reverse swing and the merits of Shane Warne,'' the star of the Australian team, Jones said.

Rooted in 16th century England, cricket games can last as long as five days, often get interrupted by rain and require an understanding of overs, wickets, googlies and ducks. To critics, it's complicated and lacks the excitement of soccer.

Cricket Sales The Ashes started when Australia beat England, its former colonial ruler, in a match in London. To symbolize the ``death'' of English cricket, the Sporting Times printed a mock obituary in 1882. The wooden bail from the three match stumps was burnt and its ashes were taken to Australia. A replica of the 4-inch clay urn goes to the victor of the series and the original artefact is permanently housed at Lord's cricket arena in London.

This year's match is "great for the game of cricket,'' said England captain Michael Vaughan, who is fighting to end a run of eight straight Ashes series defeats. "I hope the two final games are as good as the last two because the series deserves it.''

Sales of cricket equipment and clothing have surged 58 percent since the Ashes started four weeks ago, compared with last year, said Tom Knight, chief executive of Wigan-based JJB Sports Plc, Britain's largest sporting-goods retailer.

"We've sold an awful lot of stumps and bats,'' Knight said in a telephone interview. "I was dashing home breaking the speed limit'' to watch the end of the Aug. 15 game.

Tuning In The Times of London said in an Aug. 16 editorial that ``interest in the game, which for much of the past decade has been as unfashionable as John Major, is starting to eclipse even that in football.'' Major, a cricket fan, succeeded Margaret Thatcher as prime minister in 1990 and was swept from office by Tony Blair in 1997. London's Evening Standard on Aug. 15 headlined its front page: "England Cricket Mania.''

With weekend rain pushing the England-Australia match into a fifth day, supporters lined up through the night of Aug. 14 to buy tickets for the finale. Half an hour before the start, the arena had filled to its 23,000 capacity, leaving 10,000 fans locked outside. Police stopped a further 10,000 from coming to the stadium as they approached from Manchester.

"I've never seen anything like it,'' Jim Cumbes, chief executive of Lancashire County Cricket Club, which plays at Old Trafford, told reporters Aug. 15. "Manchester United had a winning start to the Premiership on Saturday, but all anyone wants to talk about around here is cricket.'' United is the world's most popular soccer club.

At Old Trafford, the congestion caught England players by surprise. Andrew Strauss arrived late after getting stuck in traffic, Vaughan said. The final session of the match began with victory out of reach for Australia, which clinched a draw on the final ball.

Sponsorship Boost The drama of the Ashes this year may attract increased sponsorship to cricket, said Ben Wells, account director at London- based sponsorship company Redmandarin. Still, the sport's authorities may not build on the success because Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc bought the rights to matches next year. Free-to-air TV will only air highlights.

"Sponsors will want to jump on the bandwagon but those taking a longer term view may see this is as a passing phase,'' Wells said in a telephone interview. "It's a real missed opportunity that they'll be on satellite next year.''

Cricket audiences are dwarfed by those in soccer. Cricket county games often play to crowds of fewer than 500 people, while Premiership attendance averaged 33,900 last season. Manchester United's 67,000-seat soccer stadium holds more than twice as many as Lord's, England's biggest cricket ground.

Bigger Game "As the cricket is on I've been watching it, but I am still more interested in the headlines about the football,'' said Richard Martin, an assistant manager with KPMG LLP's Economic Consulting Group. "When the cricket finishes, we all know that football is the bigger game.''

The cricket series resumes Aug. 25 in Nottingham, with the final match starting Sept. 8 at The Oval in south London. For now, even soccer's leadership is watching. Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson, in the crowd on Aug. 14, said the English cricket team is on the verge of a breakthrough.

"Maybe it is England's time,'' Ferguson said in an interview with Channel Four.