BOMBAY, 9 April 2004 — Has the classical once again taken a beating from the slapstick? If one were to go by the sight of sparsely-filled cricket stadia in Pakistan these days, then the answer, sadly enough, is in the affirmative.
Already two of the scheduled three Tests between India and Pakistan have been gone through and one is yet to see a fair sprinkling of spectators in the stands at two of the best cricket venues in the country.
The visit of an Indian team to Pakistan after 15 long years had created unprecedented euphoria that several barriers were lowered to facilitate thousands of eager fans from India to make the trip across the border. The demand for tickets for the one-day series, which was played before the Tests, was so high that all overseas quotas were sold in a jiffy. Several thousands of home spectators were left disappointed as all the five one-day matches were completely sold out.
The series were exciting and closely fought. The high standard of cricket that was dished out ought to have whetted the appetite of the fans on both sides. But what followed was sorely disappointing. There were not even a couple of thousands on any day of the first Test at Multan, which is the best appointed stadium in Pakistan.
One had thought that the attendance would improve in the second Test at Lahore. But the same story continued. It was only on the third day that the crowd soared to a few thousands. The lack of crowd support came as a real surprise. Firstly, the visit of the Indian team had created such enormous goodwill that the good performances on either side were appreciated and applauded in equally generous manner during the one-dayers. Both teams had enough world-class performers to watch in an arch rivalry of the old. But suddenly the enthusiasm and attendance appeared to drop once the Test matches began. Less people now came from across the border, even though visas was still freely given for the sake of watching cricket.
Is this a sign that, to the lay spectators, a one-day match counts for more than the traditional Test match? Or is it that the early response was poor because of the below-par performance of the home team? If the latter be the reason, then one would now definitely see spectators swarming the stadium at Rawalpindi in larger numbers for the third and final Test, which is going to be the decider.
Until a few years ago, limited-overs cricket had reached such peaks of popularity that Test matches had taken on a rather forlorn look. But all that changed when even Test cricket began to provide definite results and drawn matches were few and far between. This preferential syndrome, however, still persists on the subcontinent (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). Grounds in England, Australia and New Zealand show healthy attendance even for Test matches. Recently when India toured Down Under, the stadia in Australia were near full for all Test matches.
The Pakistan Cricket Board was not bothered about any financial losses on account of the poor attendance for the Test matches, as all their rights, pertaining to television and commercial advertisement were already sold for a fabulous amount. But the top officials were certainly disappointed that such an important series did not draw the expected crowds. At Multan, they issued free tickets to students and at Lahore, they slashed the ticket rates by half to draw the spectators.
One hopes that the PCB will not have to resort to such measures at Rawalpindi, as now the home team has now moved to a position of strength to be able to match the strong India team on equal terms.
One can surely look forward to a fitting climax to what is indeed going to end up as one of the finest series ever played between the two countries, as much for the quality of cricket, as for the tremendous goodwill generated.
