MARCH | THE COMMENTATOR
A good game
of cricketball
The US is
embracing
Englishness, says
Martin Fullard
S
ome view the end of
the world based on the
sighting of the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It’s
quite a bold thing to behold, I’d
imagine. However, I believe the
end of the world will be signalled
by something even more bizarre:
the Americans embracing
cricket.
Well, it’s time to heed the
government’s advice and
start stockpiling tins of beans
because that is exactly what is
happening.
The Cricket World Cup
60
“Tickets for the England v
Australia game at Lord’s
are being sold on a site
called Viagogo for 104
times their face value of
£115 – madness.”
kicks off (bails off?) in May,
and ticket sales have been
going swimmingly. I was
at UKinbound’s AGM in
February and someone in the
know told me that English
fans were leading the way (no
surprises there) followed by
India (again, not surprising).
But the third highest ticket
sales have apparently gone to
the Americans, and that is just
baffling. The slow, lazy pace
of test cricket is the antithesis
of what the astute American
sports fan wants. They want
cheerleaders, boisterous PA
announcements, merchandise
on a biblical scale and low-grade
lager. Cricket has attracted a
younger crowd these days, but
it’s a sport where the players still
“stop for tea”.
Maybe it’s something to do
with the ticketing?
The competition’s organisers
are prepared to take legal action
against secondary ticketing
sites, with some tickets being
sold at more than £12,000.
Tickets for the England v
Australia game at Lord’s are
being sold on a site called
Viagogo for 104 times their face
value of £115 – madness.
Viagogo released a statement
saying: “Viagogo does not set
ticket prices, sellers set their
own prices, which may be
above or below the original face
value. Where demand is high
and tickets are limited, prices
increase.”
“Viagogo is a marketplace
and doesn’t buy or sell tickets.
Viagogo provides a platform for
third party sellers to sell tickets
to event goers.
“Event organisers sometimes
make claims that they will
deny entry to people who have
purchased resold tickets. These
types of entry restrictions are
highly unfair and in our view,
unenforceable and illegal.”
Stubhub is also getting in on
the action, selling tickets well
over their face value. Two gold
tickets for the India v Pakistan
match at Old Trafford on 16
June, originally priced at £150
per ticket, are being marketed at
£3,280 each.
They again have denied that
they set the price.
This, I fear, is what is driving
American interest. When
something is over-inflated in
value, its appeal goes up too. Are
American visitors being conned?
Maybe, but if it turns out they
like a combination of fusty old
men in blue blazers and sun hats
hushing at the Barmy Army and
arguments about scones, they’ll
be grand.
I suspect, however, it’s more
to do with the fact that, as was
reported at the UKinbound
annual convention, there has
been a surge in US visitors to
the UK as they love our period
drama and ye olde tweeness. I
can’t think of anything more
quintessentially English than
jolly good game of cricket.