Bhattacharya, Mita and Russell Smyth

Bhattacharya, Mita and Russell Smyth. “The Game is Not the Same: The Demand for Test Match Cricket in Australia.” Australian Economic Papers, 42 (2003): 77-90.

ATTEND= f(PRICE, INCOME, UNEMP, POPN, MATCHCERT, SERIESCERT, ONE DAY, RAIN, BRADMAN, OPPOSITION, GROUND, WW2).

Each variable is defined as follows:

ATTEND- Average daily attendance at the match

PRICE- Real adult admission price (1945 prices)

INCOME- Real male average weekly earnings in the state in which the match was played (1945 prices)

UNEMP- Unemployment rate expressed as a percentage, in the state in which the match was played

POPN Total Population in the state in which the match occurred (‘000’s)

MATCHCERT – Two alternative proxies were used:

EARLY Dummy variable equals 1 if there was no charge to enter on the final day; 0 otherwise

INNINGS Dummy variable equals 1 if one side wins by 10 wickets or more; 0 otherwise

SERIESCERT Dummy variable equal to 1 if the series is decided prior to match; 0 otherwise

ONE DAY Dummy variable equals 1 if international one day cricket was played that season; 0 otherwise

RAIN Dummy variable equals 1 if rain interrupted the match; 0 otherwise

BRADMAN Dummy variable equals 1 if Bradman played; 0 otherwise

OPPOSITION Dummy variables for opposition sides (India is the excluded category)

GROUND Dummy variables for the grounds (Perth is the excluded category)

WW2 Dummy variable equals 1 if post World War II; 0 otherwise

Out of these variables, the ones that were determined to be significant were population, series certainty, rain, and Bradman. The conclusions reached by the authors states that test cricket is not “dying” per se, but people’s preference for test cricket increased after World War II. It was also determined that match specific factors, such as rain, the opposition, and the presence of Sir Donald Bradman, who is considered to be the greatest cricketeer who ever played the game. all had statistically significant impact on attendance.

ABSTRACT:

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate attendance at test match cricket in Australia in order to find the determinants of attendance. Attendance data from all test match cricket played between the 1911-1912 season and 1983-1984 season is utilized in this study. This study was created because of a common belief amongst the Australian media that the game of cricket is “dying” in Australia. The conclusions reached by the authors states that test cricket is not “dying” per se, but people’s preference for test cricket increased after World War II. It was also determined that match specific factors, such as rain, the opposition, and the presence of Sir Donald Bradman, who is considered to be the greatest cricketeer who ever played the game. all had statistically significant impact on attendance.