With ongoing discussions about viewing figures for the cricket County Championship, Lancashire Captain Keaton Jennings has given his opinion on how to maintain an audience.
It’s no secret that the County Championship has struggled to maintain an audience in recent years.
The commonly heard argument is that a modern-day age of a short attention span, paired with a low television profile, has resulted in a product which struggles to engage an audience as much as its short-format counterparts.
Another major obstacle is that the Championship suffers from being scheduled early in the season when the weather is poor, leading to many games suffering from weather delays.
The stereotypical image has become a Championship crowd comprising ‘one man and his dog’, due to the empty seats at grounds nationwide during play.
Short-format competitions like the T20 Blast and The Hundred fill stadiums and have vast television coverage, but in 2022, Surrey drew just 1790 people a day to the Oval for their seven home fixtures.
It may seem a sizeable amount, but the Oval can seat a total capacity of up to 27,500 people.
So, what can be done to increase viewing figures and maintain an audience?
Lancashire Captain Keaton Jennings spoke on the issue and the importance of bringing in high-profile overseas players like Nathan Lyon.
Jennings said: “Firstly, Nath (Nathan Lyon) is a superstar in the cricketing world. He’s got over 500 test polls.
“You’ve got a guy who’s played at the top of the game for years and years. So, it’s huge, you get the biggest names you draw crowds.
“It’s quite simple, you can see in the IPL (Indian Premier League), you’ve got your biggest names, biggest superstars and the numbers are high.
“How you get more in? Look, I’ve got my own opinions. There’s loads of ways for people to gain access to players behind the scenes, high-profile players.
But essentially for me, it’s about ensuring the cricket is of a high quality. If you’re playing a good quality standard of cricket and competing, I think that is a really good product to sell an engage with.”
The talent and skill existing within the Championship will need to be showcased to attract an audience, but first they must overcome the weather conditions.
The County Championship began last week with many of the games being impacted by rain.
Only 80 overs were completed at Old Trafford in the Lancashire vs Surrey game before the match was drawn.
