Cricket fans a billion, 90 per cent in Indian sub-continent

The research helped the ICC and its members understand the growth of cricket in different parts of the world.

Published : Jun 27, 2018 14:03 IST , Dubai

 Close to 70 per cent fans are interested in Test cricket with fans in England & Wales showing the strongest interest in this format.
Close to 70 per cent fans are interested in Test cricket with fans in England & Wales showing the strongest interest in this format.
lightbox-info

Close to 70 per cent fans are interested in Test cricket with fans in England & Wales showing the strongest interest in this format.

Cricket has over one billion fans globally, with the Indian sub-continent alone constituting more than 90 percent of them, according to the largest ever market research into the sport conducted by the International Cricket Council.

As per the results of the research, the average age of fans (in the surveyed age category of 16-69) is 34 with a demographic breakdown of 61 percent male and 39 percent female.

The research was undertaken to enable the ICC and its members to understand the growth potential of cricket, help shape the development of the growth focused global strategy for the game, drive decision making and to provide a benchmark upon which to measure the outcomes of the strategy.

It also supports the ICC and its members in shaping and implementing their fan engagement strategies and clearly presents cricket as a vibrant and popular sport globally.

T20 - most popular

Close to 70 per cent fans are interested in Test cricket with fans in England & Wales showing the strongest interest in this format (86 per cent), South Africa lead the interest in ODI cricket (91 per cent) and Pakistan in T20I cricket (98 per cent). Globally, T20I is the most popular format with 92 per cent interest while ODIs are close with 88 percent interest.

“It is the first global market research project ever undertaken in the sport and having more than one billion fans in the surveyed age category of 16-69 alone, with an average age of 34, is undoubtedly an exciting and strong position from which we can drive the sport forward,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, adding “90 percent fans” comes come from the Indian sub-continent alone.

The breakdown of cricket’s three different formats in the research showed two-thirds of fans over the age of 16 who were interviewed are interested in all three international formats of the game.

The importance and popularity of ICC global events was evident with 95 per cent of fans interested or very interested, with the ICC Cricket World Cup and the ICC World T20 the most popular.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment