Pricing policy saves day (2 July 1999)

2 July 1999

Pricing policy saves day

Charles Randall

The policy of slashing ticket prices for this summer's Test series attracted a bigger crowd than New Zealand drew for their previous visit five years ago, but Edgbaston was still only barely half full for the first Test on an overcast opening day.

The England Cricket Board were worried that interest would dwindle in the wake of the more colourful World Cup, and their anxiety was justified yesterday. The Birmingham public did not exactly lay siege on the gates, though a greater number of tickets have been sold for today and tomorrow.

A third of the first-day 11,000 tickets were for children under the age of 16, at half-price - an investment for the future, perhaps, but bad for the cash flow.

The youth element took an interest in cricket in some form, with a number of impromptu games behind the stands and, less encouragingly, queuing to play Brian Lara computer cricket in a heavily-stewarded arcade of 10 PlayStations.

The contrast to the noise and bustle of England's World Cup game against India was accentuated by a low-key afternoon session. The heavy-handed ban on brought-in alcohol, which Warwickshire repeated on police advice from last summer, did not help; for most spectators, it was almost impossible to find a glass of wine for sale, and beer out of a plastic cup at £2.20 would not have been to many people's taste.

Nasser Hussain made an encouraging start as England's captain and gave himself a chance of breaking a pattern of defeats by new incumbents, the last eight leaders, after Bob Willis, having lost their first game.

David Graveney, chairman of selectors, reckoned a total of 275 to 300 would have been a "par score" for New Zealand, and he praised Hussain's captaincy: "He did everything expected of him. He showed all the qualities we knew he had, and his awareness was very good."

It was a satisfying three-wicket return to the England attack for the New Zealand-born Andrew Caddick, a further reward for changing his strategy to "lines and lengths", as he put it, over the past year or so.

"In Test cricket these days you have to be patient," he said. "Before, I was a little bit of a rogue - always after taking a wicket and looking for that 'magic' ball."

After more than a year's absence, Caddick noted a confident atmosphere in the England changing room. "Nasser's the sort of guy who just wants you to do your best - give 100 per cent and do what you think's right for you, and the team'll do well," he said.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph