Optus Stadium chief Mike McKenna is expecting a venue record crowd for the first Test of this summer’s blockbuster series against India, but the ghosts of recent battles between Western Australia and Cricket Australia still linger.
The governing body has been urged by McKenna to show WA fans some love after a stormy few years when the state was sidelined from the Test calendar and angered by the ousting of favourite son Justin Langer as coach of the national men’s team.
Unhappy with the mass withdrawal of star players from last week’s ODI in Perth, the stadium’s boss has urged Cricket Australia to show WA fans some love.Credit: Getty Images
The mass withdrawal of star players from last week’s ODI against Pakistan has not gone unnoticed out west, but it will not stop an estimated 85,000-plus from coming to see Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and co take on Pat Cummins’ men across the first three days of the series-opener.
Should attendances meet McKenna’s expectations, it would eclipse the previous Optus Stadium best of 81,104 set at the venue’s inaugural Test in 2018, also against India, when Tim Paine’s team, missing Steve Smith and David Warner, won on the fifth day.
Australia filled a severely depleted side for the ODI in Perth last week.Credit: Getty Images
WA cricket officials have come under fire for their Test crowds after match attendances of 59,125 last season and 42,723 the year before against Pakistan and the West Indies respectively.
McKenna said crowds exceeding 30,000 are expected in the 60,000-capacity venue for the first two days of the game, starting on Friday, and 25,000 on Sunday. As a comparison, McKenna said a day one Ashes crowd of 50,000 would be considered strong. Corporate sales were also healthy, McKenna said.
There are hopes the Test may attract fans from an anticipated crowd of 60,000 at the WA Day Festival at the nearby Burswood Park on Sunday.
CA’s announcement in August Perth would host the first Test for the next three years has gone some way to rebuilding head office’s relationship with WA.
TEST CRICKET AT OPTUS STADIUM
- Dec 2018: Australia defeated India by 146 runs
- Dec 2019: Australia defeated New Zealand by 296 runs
- Dec 2022: Australia defeated West Indies by 164 runs
- Dec 2023: Australia defeated Pakistan by 360 runs
Relations were strained during the pandemic when the state did not host a Test against India in 2020/21 or England the following summer due in large part to the WA government’s hardline biosecurity measures to keep out COVID-19.
CA’s handling of Langer’s exit in February 2022 after months of public speculation over his future also angered WA fans. Former WA Cricket chief Christina Matthews last year spoke to the ill-feeling last year.
“Instead of just pulling off the Band-Aid and making a decision, it was dragged out and I think people here felt he wasn’t treated with the respect he deserves,” Matthews said.
McKenna has gone into bat for WA fans after CA’s high-performance team withdrew Test stars Cummins, Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood just days before the third ODI against Pakistan to prepare for the Tests. Ticket sales for the match opened in mid-June.
The Australia XI thrashed by Pakistan included just three players from the team that defeated India in the World Cup final 12 months ago. Former captain Michael Clarke was highly critical of the withdrawals.
The appointment of a West Australian, Josh Inglis, to captain the side, and five locals in the XI, was not enough to get more than 19,781 to the series-decider. The turnout was just over half of the average attendance of 35,235 who watched the Perth Scorchers play at Optus Stadium during last season’s Big Bash League.
Though McKenna, a former chief of the BBL, understood why CA’s high-performance team prioritised the upcoming Tests, he said fans in Perth deserved better treatment.
“We’re encouraging CA to do what they can to treat the people of WA with a bit of love” McKenna told this masthead.
“When CA put the tickets on sale months out they want people to buy them and people do that with confidence players will turn up.
“When they have bought them and people don’t turn up, people who have bought them a long time ago will think twice about doing it next time.
“Balancing of players’ needs for rest and rotation is fair enough given the amount of cricket they need to play, but you don’t take all of them out at the same time and try and convince us putting WA players in a weakened team is a good idea for anyone.
“You don’t want to have all your players flying back, it’s about balance. To take so many good players out of the squad late in the piece is a bit of a slap in the face for those who make the commitment of buying tickets for those games in advance.”
CA chief Nick Hockley defended the organisation earlier in the week, saying there had been deep and detailed planning into preparing players for the Tests against India, the series in Sri Lanka starting late January and the Champions Trophy.
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