Cricket Australia may lose upto 20 million dollars due to poor Ashes spectator attendance

SYDNEY - The Ashes is the traditional cash cow that funds Australian cricket, but slumping ticket sales in all states will wipe at least 16 million dollars from Cricket Australia’s bottom line this financial year. Poor weather and a lack of walk-up sales could take that figure past 20 million dollars, and this could have a major impact on the finances of the sport in Australia.

Cricket Australia’s budgets are calculated over a four-year cycle to offset seasons featuring the lesser lights of world cricket against the marquee series, such as this summer’s Ashes clash with England.

Cricket Australia, which took a loss from last summer’s Tests against Pakistan and the West Indies, was budgeting for a bumper summer against England, but it has not materialized, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Reflecting the global power shift in the sport, Cricket Australia will now pin its hopes on next year’s tour by India to swell its coffers.

It is an amazing fact that for every dollar generated by world cricket, 81cents now involves India.

“England is no longer the most important tour in financial terms,” said Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young.

According to an economic impact assessment of the Ashes commissioned by Cricket Australia after the 2006-07 series, more than 37,000 fans from Britain travelled to Australia to watch cricket that summer.

The last Ashes series generated 317 million dollars in direct expenditure in the Australian economy, ranking it ahead of the formula one grand prix and the Australian Open tennis.

Touring cricket fans stayed in Australia for an average of 29.5 days and spent an average of 10,425 dollars each. (ANI)