Australia’s successful pursuit of the NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy has created landmark attendance and viewership figures across the five-Test series.
The last match of the series, played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, ended on 5 January with Australia reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 after a decade, on the third day of the Test.
A total of 837,879 people attended the series, the fourth most for any Test series in Australia and the highest for any non-Ashes series with records tumbling at venues across the country, Cricket Australia (CA) noted.
Nick Hockley, CA chief executive said, “Congratulations to the Australian and Indian teams on producing one of the most fiercely contested and captivating Test series in Australian cricket history and to Pat Cummins and his team on winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in ten years.
“We knew this would be an extraordinary series but the size of the crowds, viewing audiences and the digital engagement across all CA channels has exceeded our highest expectations.
“This series produced lifetime memories for the fans watching in packed stadiums or on their televisions and devices, brought our communities together and underlined the place of Test cricket as the pinnacle format.
“Thank you to everyone who has been part of this special time in Australian cricket.”
Pertinently, a major factor commentators have identified was the turnout of fans from Australia’s Indian diaspora.
Cricket journalist Mike Coward, who has written extensively on India-Australian relations and their significance to the sport, said Australia’s Indian community had a major impact on crowd numbers in this series.
West Test, Perth Stadium: Record daily attendance for any Test in Perth of 32,368 on Day 2, the second greatest total attendance for any Perth Test of 96,463 and the greatest total attendance for any Test against India.
Adelaide D/N Test, Adelaide Oval: A record single day attendance for a Test against India with 51,642 on Day 2 and the largest attendance for a Test against India at Adelaide Oval of 135,012 set in just three days.
Brisbane Test, Gabba: Day 2 attendance of 34,227 was the largest for a Test against India in Brisbane and the total of 91,195 was the greatest for any Test against India.
Boxing Day Test, MCG: The total attendance of 373,691 was a record for any Test Match in Australia surpassing the 350,534 who saw Don Bradman’s Australia defeat England in a six-day Test in 1937. The 74,362 final day attendance was a record Day 5 crowd for any Test in Australia.
New Year’s Test, SCG: The three largest daily attendances for a Test against India in Sydney with the new single day record of 47,998 set on Day 1.
The series also attracted the largest ever television audiences, and the largest audience for a Test series, since Seven and Fox Sports assumed the broadcast rights in 2018/19 across Seven, 7Plus, Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
Across Australia, at least eight sessions averaged more than 2 million viewers with 40 sessions averaging more than 1 million viewers.
The first men’s international series available to stream for free in Australia, the series reached 1.29 million people exclusively on 7plus Sport and delivered 120,000 new registered users for 7plus.
Seven Network head of cricket, Joel Starcevic, said Australians witnessed a Test series for the ages.
“So many moments and storylines that kept the whole country on the edge of their seat and glued to Seven and 7plus Sport in record numbers,” he said.
“From Virat Kohli’s century in Perth, through to Scott Boland’s SCG heroics, and everything in between, it was a series to savour.
“Fans were captivated across three enthralling days of the final instalment of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test Series from the SCG, which once again broke records for Seven.
“The people have spoken. There’s no doubt that cricket is Australia’s number one summer sport.”
Viewers in India watching JioStar also set records, with viewership up significantly on the last Border-Gavaskar series played in Australia.
The global interest in the series was evident with more than two billion video views and 168 million engagements across Cricket Australia’s network of social media channels since November 22, an increase of 205% and 150% year-on-year respectively. CA’s channels attracted two million new followers in the same period.
More than 4.9 million Australian users generated 42.9 million sessions across cricket.com.au and the Cricket Australia Live app throughout the series.
Video consumption on web and apps also increased significantly with 39 million views – an increase of 338% year-on-year, Cricket Australia reports.
