Barely a season goes by these days without the MCG breaking an attendance milestone of some sort or another, which is remarkable given the rich history of our great ground.
Still, very few would have predicted the huge numbers that flocked to the T20 Big Bash League match between the two Melbourne teams – the Stars and Renegades - on a balmy Saturday evening on January 2.The presence of crowd pullers Kevin Pietersen and Chris Gayle was a factor, as was the chance to see the women’s Melbourne derby beforehand. But the underlying message was that T20 domestic cricket is set to be a permanent feature on the summer landscape in this country.
The final crowd of 80,883 was almost double the previous mark for domestic T20 at the MCG (see accompanying table). In fact, it was the 14th-highest crowd for any day of MCG cricket, across all formats, ever. It was simply remarkable.
From a venue management perspective, the crowd was 30,000 more than our forecast. This put immense strain on our services, particularly our security screening checkpoints and catering outlets, and we were unable to meet demand, right around the ground.
Once inside, fans saw the Stars defeat their cross-town rivals by seven wickets with five balls to spare. Englishman Luke Wright was the key to victory, blasting 109 not out from 63 balls in the run chase.
The Stars finally overcame their semi final hoodoo with a win over Perth Scorchers at the MCG on January 22, before playing Sydney Thunder in the BBL final two days later, also at the ‘G. But it was not to be for the Stars, as Usman Khawaja blasted 70 off 40 balls as Thunder chased down 177 for victory in Michael Hussey’s farewell appearance.
The average attendance for BBL matches across the regular season was 28,248, up 22 per cent on the previous year. The one-millionth fan for the tournament – MCC member Tony White and his family - passed through the MCG turnstiles during the final, winning some great prizes.
The traditional marquee cricket match of the summer, the Boxing Day Test, was a somewhat more pedestrian affair, with Australia dominating to win by 177 runs. An undermanned West Indies led by Jason Holder had been soundly defeated in the opening Test in Hobart and expectations of a reversal in form were not high going into Christmas.
Australia, on the other hand, was in good lead-up form and this continued after a rainy start on Boxing Day. Khawaja (144), Joe Burns (128), captain Steve Smith (134 not out) and Adam Voges (106 not out) etched their names on the MCG honour roll as the home side amassed 3/551 declared. Nathan Lyon took seven wickets across the Windies’ two innings to claim the man-of-the-match award.
The home team also won the MCG one-day international (ODI) on January 17 against India, despite a wonderful century from visiting captain Virat Kohli. Led by Glenn Maxwell’s 96 from 83 balls, the home side chased down India’a 295 with seven balls to spare.
A crowd of 58,787 saw an entertaining Twenty20 international between Australia and India on January 29. Rohit Sharma (60 off 47 balls) and Kohli (59 not out from 33 balls) ensured India’s 3/184 would be a winning total. Aaron Finch led from the front in reply with 74 from 48 balls before a hamstring injury ended any hope of victory and placed in jeopardy his spot in Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup squad.
More than 475,000 attended the 12 days of international and BBL cricket contests, indicating that cricket is still very much on the radar of fans in the summer months.
As we went to press, the Bushrangers were on top of the Sheffield Shield table with two matches remaining. However, the MCG cricket season is over, with Cricket Victoria relocating its final round match (March 15-18) to Traeger Park Oval in Alice Springs in what they hope is a forerunner to hosting the Shield Final over the Easter weekend.