Former Australian cricketer Damien Fleming has proposed his solution to fix the saturated cricket schedule that has contributed to poor crowds to start the summer.
Since the T20 World Cup began on October 16, there have been 46 T20 matches, three ODI’s and the first of five Test matches against the West Indies and South Africa.
Fleming was adamant that none of the three formats should be removed entirely but there needs to be a shift in the way cricket boards look at limited overs cricket.
“Test cricket is a bit like vinyl which is trendy these days,” Fleming said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“50-over cricket is a bit like the CD which has its own particular taste.
“T20’s are like streaming services which are there to get the quick fix.
“We have a sport that can still facilitate three formats.
“We’ve got a 50-over World Cup in India next year and once that’s completed, just play less of it.
“Give that next two years clear space.
“Play less international T20’s and let the domestic T20 competitions just go about it.
“You’ve got to give (all three formats) clear space and times.”
41,918 fans attended the first Test match against the West Indies across the five days in Perth and only 42,819 collectively attended the three ODI’s against England in mid-November.
Fleming said that he doesn’t read too much into the crowd numbers given the circumstances around fixtures and that projections for the rest of the summer are positive.
“They started the Test Match on a Wednesday and that’s not friendly for people who are at work or kids who are at school," he said.
“It’s not in school holidays and it’s against an opposition that, let’s be honest, not a lot of the public knew before that Test Match.
“There’s a few contributing factors to the crowds but the atmosphere for the average crowd of 10,000 was pretty good to be honest.
“The Gabba, in a couple of weeks’ time and is getting closer to those school holidays, is almost sold out.”
Australia takes on the West Indies in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Hear every ball live on SEN.