MUMBAI: The Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 has made history as the most attended ICC event ever, after 1,250,307 fans passed through the turnstiles during the tournament that culminating in Australia winning a remarkable sixth title.
With six games to go the spectator figures had already surpassed the one million mark with the momentum escalating as the World Cup finale was played in front of a packed crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Packed the stadium may have been, but the Ahmedabad crowd that witnessed the final match has been called out for their boorish behaviour. In an astounding display of insensitivity, “fans” who had come in expectations of a “guaranteed” Indian victory refused to acknowledge man-of-the-match Travis Head’s match-winning heroics. When the Australian batsman raised his bat after reaching his century he was greeted by a deafening silence. Worse, the two umpires, Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth, were booed when they were receiving their mementos during the post-match presentation.
Coming back to the stadium turnout figures, the tournament, which ran from 5 October to 19 November, recorded the biggest attendance for a Men’s Cricket World Cup opening match when England faced New Zealand in a repeat of the 2019 final, followed by the most attended India against Pakistan fixture in ICC World Cup history on 14 October.
The figure of over 1.25 million fans is a new benchmark in the history of cricket, surpassing the attendance figures of any other ICC event. The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015, held in Australia and New Zealand, witnessed 1,016,420 spectators, while the 2019 edition in England and Wales saw 752,000 fans come through the turnstiles.
The 13th edition of the Men’s Cricket World Cup held in India has eclipsed these figures as well as breaking multiple broadcast and digital viewership records, proving the global reach and ever-growing popularity of the sport.
Chris Tetley, ICC head of Events said: “The staggering attendance demonstrates the enduring appeal of cricket and the excitement the ODI format continues to offer…
“ICC events play an important part in growing our game and inspiring the next generation of players and fans around the world and we would like to thank the fans who contributed to making the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 a resounding success, and look forward to sharing more thrilling experiences for fans in future ICC events.”
