Is The Game of Cricket Dying in England

Cricket In England 

Cricket was primarily a gentleman’s game practiced by the wealthy and middle class in the 18th century, while football was primarily a pastime for the working class. Football is quite popular there since there are more working-class than wealthy people.

Cricket, on the other hand, frequently eclipses football in popularity. Most frequently during the World Cup, but nearly constantly during the Ashes, when English cricketers were greeted in an open-top bus after winning the 2005 Ashes.

Time Duration of Cricket Game 

In addition, the time duration of football only requires 80 to 90 minutes. However, the cricket game may last between 3 to 4 hours.

Suppose you visit well-known forums for Cricket, such as the Guardian Site or Cricinfo. In that case, you’ll notice that English fans frequently complain that there is nowhere to watch Cricket because it is hidden behind a pricey pay wall, namely SKY TV, and that the high cost of the required subscription has made live Cricket unaffordable for most cricket fans. 

There are rumors that clubs are folding because of a shortage of players and that parents’ kids are not interested in Cricket.

Also Read: Cricket Rules & Game Structure

Surveys In England 

• According to surveys conducted in England, the number of regular cricket players is steadily declining.
• A recent study of parents shows that barely one in ten English youngsters participate in cricket school. Competitive Cricket has declined in popularity in local schools.
• If you watch any broadcast of England’s game on TV, you’ll observe that most of the crowd comprises middle-aged or elderly adults, with very few children. Compare that to a prominent cricket match in Australia and India. It indicates that no new fans are being acquired despite a strong base.
• Just 9% of parents surveyed, almost 1000 reported their kids received coaching or played in the cricket school.
• 53% of parents of students in state schools said that sports impacted their children’s academic performance.
• Despite the ICC’s assertions, Cricket is losing fans globally, and the decline worsens over time. Boards scramble to stay financially viable, new national teams need to be more consistent, and grassroots initiatives have yielded meagre returns. The quality of play has become more uneven, and viewers are frequently forced to witness the same boring tours with an ever-shrinking round-robin of nations.

 Even the most storied competitions have become less diverse, reducing the biggest platform in the world to only ten teams.

Current Situation of Cricket in England

Cricket is declining, but it’s still England’s third most popular sport. It started declining after the 2005 Ashes series, which peaked at 8 million viewers in that country. From there, the ECB sold the broadcasting rights to sky sports, which had only 1 million subscribers, and the highest-viewed game was the 2016 wt20 final.

Conclusion

Cricket is dying in England because of the absence of free-to-air Cricket on TV. The game’s lengthy structure also has to compete with several lesser variations that take far less time and are easier to understand. 

Being involved is also fascinating. Public and boys’ grammar schools will now play most of the Cricket, with minimal interest from state schools. 

With more outstanding financing and involvement, the game will quickly draw in new players and followers.

Read More: How Much Do Cricket Players Make?