England will play their first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Thursday with a new captain and new coach. But with only one day left before the start of the match, the spectators have no interest in tickets.
According to the England Cricket Board, Anandabazar said on Wednesday that 18,000 seats out of 30,000 at Lord's were vacant. No Test match in England has seen so few spectators in the past.
England's recent form is expected to have a negative impact on Thursday's match. Analysts believe that Joe Root and Ben Stokes are playing so badly that spectators are showing less interest.
England pacer Stuart Broad has called for a change in the style of play to bring the spectators back to the field. Before the first Test, Broad, one of England's best bowlers on the red ball, said: The kind of game spectators like to watch, the kind of cricket they have to play. We didn’t play that game on the West Indies tour. So the spectators don't like our game. '
Meanwhile, although ticket sales are low, Broad is still optimistic. He feels that the support of the English audience towards the team is still intact. In the words of Broad, 'almost 100 per cent of the tickets for the first three days of the second Test at Nottingham have been sold out. From this it is understood that there is still support for the party. We have to pay the price for that love of the supporters. They have to be brought to the stadium door.
However, former England captains like Michael Vaughan are reluctant to accept the theory that spectators are less coming to the field just because of England's poor performance. According to him, the increase in ticket prices at Lord's has resulted in fewer tickets being sold. The minimum ticket price for the first Test is পা 60 (about Rs. 8,000 in Indian currency). The maximum price is 180 pounds (about 18,000 rupees in Indian currency). Von claims that many people do not want to watch the game by buying tickets for the test with so much money.
England have won just one of their last 16 Tests. Root resigned as captain, blaming him for the failure. Stokes has been named the new captain. Former New Zealand captain and former Kolkata Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum has been appointed as the batting coach of the team. The big challenge in front of them. It also includes the challenge of filling the almost empty Lord's in the next Test.