Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Unscripted Drama

Carol Stewart

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 13:41:58 +1300

Seems like the Basin reserve are on the right track. We got 5 day passes for $90, and if we'd been more organised we could have gotten them for $45. It has been gloriously worthwhile. They've also been applying some judicious discounting – a school friend of my lad's got…

Kyle Matthews

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 16:43:39 +1300

For test cricket they know for certain that they will get a couple of thousand at best, essentially they know they will make no money from gate sales maybe $5-10000.

I wonder if someone at NZC has done the figures comparing the amount of money from ticket sales from an…

Phil Wallington

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 21:06:37 +1300

Cricket was never the same after Kerry Packer hi-jacked the game. Gentlemen in white flannel were replaced by mercenaries in pajamas. The almighty dollar rules and everyone without a financial stake is disadvantaged. So TV, Indian bookies, greedy and self-serving ICC nabobs, and match-fixers run free. Families and kids who…

Mike O'Connell

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 09:34:17 +1300

Aah, v good. Would that include Jeff and Russell too?! How about a Waddle of ducks (!) if NZ win the toss and bowl first today (thinking of RJ Hadlee's 7/23 vs. India @ Basin, 17.2.76). Trust the weather the will be kinder to both sides than that day.

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 08:15:11 +1300

What playing cricket looks like to Americans
Thank you, that made my morning...

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 08:11:22 +1300

Exorcising free willow...
Hours and hours of Martin
... drives me utterly barking
Why that could lead to
... a murder of Crowes!

Phil Wallington

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:16:06 +1300

Ben Chapman

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:21:03 +1300

Regarding ticket prices, I recall there used to be a tradition at the Basin of a family day where general tickets were half price and kids were free. I remember a match against South Africa where the Basin was packed and people had to be turned away. It was the…

Ben Chapman

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:44:03 +1300

I found the game too tense on the last day. I had to stop following it with India 150/2 as I knew there would be hours of anxiety ahead.

Got a text later in the day after the match finished from a friend asking "Are you breathing?"

Emma Hart

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:43:44 +1300

No one really mentioned radio commentary in regard to the Eden Park test.

Martin Crowe. Hours and hours of Martin Crowe. I'm sure he's a lovely guy but his cricket "commentary" drives me utterly barking.

Mike O'Connell

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:16:22 +1300

Thx for the update Richard. Looking forward to 2015. Bert Sutcliffe Oval's not a bad venue either but it unfortunately too far removed from its support base. It was great though to see one or two of the recent WC qualifiers there.

No one really mentioned radio commentary in regard…

Richard Irvine

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 15:40:29 +1300

Mike, too soon to say what matches will be played where (discussion on next season's venues hasn't begun yet).

*Can* tell you how stoked everyone at NZC is that we're going to be playing in Canterbury again – the organisation has very strong roots there and our cricket operations base…

Alan Perrott

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:59:06 +1300

Can I get an amen?

Grant McDougall

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:46:48 +1300

If you were to search for a greater social benefit, you might observe that sport (sometimes) sets an example that benefits overall public health, provides opprtunities for young people who may not have any other choices as good and generates substantial economic activity. But you’re soon stretching there, and it…

Mike O'Connell

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 17:42:25 +1300

Have really enjoyed reading this thread only catching up with it now. Totally agree, nothing beats a test match. Three in a row, has NZ ever done that before on the trot, same season?

Our side boasts a classy bowling line-up and the batting is maturing where it needs to,…

bmk

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 17:11:50 +1300

I found the opposite – delayed on the newsroom PC, worked on my phone at Eden Park in the press box.

It could be that it was cached where you were. Proxy servers will often cache Cricinfo aggressively – since it's the type of page many users can have open…

Louise Gardiner

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:34:43 +1300

My 6 year old discovered cricket in a big way in January – the perfect confluence of a love of sport and a talent for maths. On the subject of pricing – we got a four match membership (GA seating) for the Blues for an adult and a child for…

Bruce Wurr

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:26:44 +1300

Was at the ground all four days, a superb test and completely nerve wracking/compelling on the last day. Having done the same for the English test and ending up completely wrung out at the end of that one, I wasn't sure I was able to go through it again, but…

Russell Brown

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:23:24 +1300

Anyway, the way the UK fixed its football violence problem involved widespread availability of MDMA. Maybe we could legalise it just for major sporting events – it would also help ticket sales.

I've seen arguments to the contrary, but that's how it felt there at the time.

Being at The…

Richard Wain

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 14:28:16 +1300

Did you happen to catch the Swami Army in the South Stand? Unwavering support for their team, all spiced with marvelous humour and irony. I particularly enjoyed the chants calling for the DRS when it suited them and ” We’re BCCI and we do what we want”

The Swami Army…

Richard Wain

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 14:16:42 +1300

I had the cricinfo ball-by-ball commentary on pretty much the whole game and it wasn’t delayed.

It only seemed to be delayed via the Cricinfo mobile app, for some reason.

I found the opposite – delayed on the newsroom PC, worked on my phone at Eden Park in the press…

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 13:40:32 +1300

English disease? You're seriously comparing a few thousand pissed up dudebros in ill fitting onesies to the ICF? If you chucked any of the English firms from back in the day out of the Caketin, they'd headbutt their way back in through the foundations.

Anyway, the way the UK fixed…

Stephen R

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 13:12:54 +1300

It's pretty telling that for the first time, the Sevens has not played to a full house

A friend who watches these things (I don't) said that instead of selling out on the first day as usual, the website crapped itself and people couldn't buy tickets, and his theory was…

Richard Irvine

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:16:31 +1300

@Bart understand on the weather – there's a bit of a policy on that, if less that 25 overs are played in an ODI, you get a 100% refund and so on for the other formats, all the details are here. Hopefully that would soften the 'lottery' a bit.

In…

Kumara Republic

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:04:16 +1300

Also, a note on the Sevens. I hate the sevens, I hate Wellington during the Sevens. It is absolutely not my thing. BUT! Lot’s of people love it, it’s a big crazy party and I think we need to do more to cater to the drunken mob as opposed to…

Bart Janssen

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 09:55:30 +1300

how much this side has grown

Absolutely. I love the fact that we've gone from the "one-trick pony" of bash the ball and hope, to having a range of batsmen with different styles. You almost feel now like if one person fails then the next will fill the gap and…

Bart Janssen

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 09:47:35 +1300

To compare, here are the prices for the MCG boxing day Test – cheapest on the gate is $45 from what I can see.

Until you can get 90000 to come to a blackcaps test match reliably such a comparison is meaningless.

Priority Ticketing made your $40 ODI or Test…

Kumara Republic

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 03:25:44 +1300

That’s perfect. Reality television is sometimes referred to in the broadcast industry as “unscripted drama”, but it’s almost always dull, irritating and contrived in comparison to the drama that unfolds in a great sporting contest. And the characters usually suck.

Will reality TV ever jump the shark? Or is it…

Matthew Littlewood

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 23:49:53 +1300

Anyway – the cricket, wasn't it brilliant? After going through the 'glorious near-miss' v England, it felt much, MUCH better to nail it this time. Looking forward to finishing the job in the capital. Cheers.

Absolutely, but the match at Eden Park also showed how much this side has grown…

Richard Irvine

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 23:26:35 +1300

Hi all, just wanted to chip in with a couple of points (I work at NZC).

If you weren't aware or had missed it, the Priority Ticketing made your $40 ODI or Test day pass became $20 if you booked it three weeks out, or $30 right up until first…

Ethan Tucker

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 22:22:06 +1300

I’d follow on Cricinfo on the web and it would be live, check on my mobile app and it would be delayed

I deleted the Cricinfo app ages ago and just use the m.cricinfo site on my phone, which has all the necessary details without the constant app update hassles…

Jane Pearson

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 21:26:03 +1300

Many years ago when we lived and worked in Mount Cook Village, we would travel to and from Christchurch and, whenever cricket was on, we would listen on a crackly car radio in our VW beetle as we drove across the Canterbury Plains. And I was introduced to the magic…

Al C

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:45:21 +1300

The Stadiums Strategy is currently being consulted on as part of the Annual Plan process I think: Auckland Stadiums Strategy-Public Consultation.

Although given the link to the consultation documents doesn't seem to have any of said documents (at least not clearly labelled) it's not the best consultation ever conducted.

Ross Mason

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:09:46 +1300

From the price list:

Agency $6.70
Call Centre $9.55
Web (mail) $7.80
Web (ezyTicket) $5.55
Mobile (via web) $6.70
Mobile (via call centre) $9.55
Box Office $0.00

If I recall walking past the MCG the ground ticket office is the Box Office. I think we're safe. No EXTRA fee other…

Martin Barry

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 17:01:27 +1300

Ticket prices were massively discounted if bought a few weeks in advance and $45 for a 5 day pass was an absolute bargain if you were popping along for more than 1 day and I'm very glad to say I did.
Great writing Russell and so true about time suspending…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:54:48 +1300

The 500+ innings from NZ. The “weak” reply from India. The stomach churning collapse of NZ, the debilitating damn near pulling it off by India along with the final bowling acts by NZ.

You forgot the umpiring mistakes that could have so easily been fixed if the DRS was in…

bmk

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:51:05 +1300

I had the cricinfo ball-by-ball commentary on pretty much the whole game and it wasn’t delayed.

It only seemed to be delayed via the Cricinfo mobile app, for some reason.

This is exactly it. It's mad. I'd follow on Cricinfo on the web and it would be live, check on…

Russell Brown

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:01:04 +1300

And buying at the ground incurs $0 fee.

It looks to me like it does.

Paul Rowe

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 14:19:32 +1300

As for the prices, it is frankly embarrassing to have such small crowds. Surely there's money to be made on drinks and food if you have a big crowd? Charge a gold coin for entry and watch the bar and food concession tills ring up the profits!

I had read…

George Darroch

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 14:18:04 +1300

Get a general ticket for $30 per day. Kids $10, Pensioners $18. Last day is $20. And buying at the ground incurs $0 fee.

Not only that, you're at the MCG, one of the better sporting facilities in the world.

Paul Rowe

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 14:15:03 +1300

That would be a total screw-up in which NZ Cricket is complicit:

Why am I surprised?

IANAL, but I seem to recall that information cannot be subject to copyright – in other words watching a delivery can be restricted to those who pay, but describing what is happening in text…

Ross Mason

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 14:07:51 +1300

$10!! Ah you missed my pun. Duck!!

Chris Waugh

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:59:08 +1300

coup de gras

coup de grâce, surely? I'd hate to think they'd resorted to throwing lumps of fat at each other.

Kids $190

ummmm..... typo? Or they really, really want to discourage kids and thereby ensure NZ cricket has no future?

Alan Perrott

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:45:12 +1300

maybe not. perhaps they could be talked into introducing a discount if you promise, cross your heart and put ice cream on top that you'll go to more than one day. otherwise Auckland needs a proper cricket venue – ideally free from any commercial arrangements – where you can rock…

Ross Mason

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:43:29 +1300

Absorbing is the word. Every ball could be a turning point. (NB -note the use of 3 cricket terms in that!). The 500+ innings from NZ. The “weak” reply from India. The stomach churning collapse of NZ, the debilitating damn near pulling it off by India along with the final…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:33:08 +1300

as for current prices, how do they compare to Super 15 and such?

That's a bad comparison. For S15 the attendance is high enough and reliable enough that it becomes a legitimate part of the budget. For test cricket they know for certain that they will get a couple of…

Emma Hart

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:31:57 +1300

as for current prices, how do they compare to Super 15 and such?

Does it matter? I don’t think they’re comparable. I mean, I’m happy(ish) to pay $45 for a one-dayer. I’m paying for a whole game. $45 for one day of a test? Nuh-uh.

You might say, it’s not…

Alan Perrott

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 13:22:48 +1300

a remember a few years back – too long to remember who we were playing – where play ended on day four with NZ within a gnats whisker of victory. Entry was free the next morning so I took some time off work and went along to celebrate. can't see…

Russell Brown

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 12:02:27 +1300

And on that note the biggest difference with being at the ground for me … it’s how close you are, the TV makes everything seem more distant somehow, at the ground I feel like the players are just so close.

Especially in the South Stand at Eden Park. Sit down…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:49:30 +1300

And as for prices – sigh. Does it really benefit New Zealand cricket to have Eden Park mostly empty? I'm sure there is some kind of cost per person to have them in the stadium but it sure as hell isn't $45. Once they've committed to using Eden Park then…

Glenn Pearce

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:47:32 +1300

This tour has certainly been a revelation, there wouldn't have been many that picked events would unfold as they have which is the great thing about sport

Also compare and contrast the teams on field behaviour with the Ashes, no one has threatened to break anyone's arm as far as…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:41:02 +1300

One of the things that makes test cricket so great for me is the duration. That very thing that causes many to roll their eyes (5 days! and a draw!) is the thing that attracts me. In so many other sports it's a moment of brilliance that decides the result,…

matthew

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:24:48 +1300

I'm a cricket tragic so I fronted up with the high price for one day. Guy next to me in the ticket queue with two kids was scared off by the price and went home. What annoyed me was that the Cricket NZ website said walk up tickets were $40,…

Andrew C

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:19:28 +1300

Couldn't resist. What playing cricket looks like to Americans (or perhaps many of us)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEH4ahCCrJo

Craig Young

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:16:47 +1300

Unfuck Putin, the horse and the PR photoshoot he rode in on...a backgrounder...

http://www.gaynz.com/blogs/redqueen/?p=5376

SteveL

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:10:55 +1300

I live close to Eden Park, but for me to take my 2 kids (girls, so it's possible the stay might have been short-ish), would have cost us $60. If my wife wanted to come too, $80.

I love cricket and despair as much as the next person at all…

Russell Brown

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 11:01:44 +1300

I had the cricinfo ball-by-ball commentary on pretty much the whole game and it wasn’t delayed.

It only seemed to be delayed via the Cricinfo mobile app, for some reason.

Ross Mason

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:57:35 +1300

Aaaannnd.......

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in…

Russell Brown

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:57:16 +1300

Especially if you have kids.

Or if you're a kid old enough to go with your friends after school. Way to lock the next generation out.

giovanni tiso

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:57:05 +1300

I had the cricinfo ball-by-ball commentary on pretty much the whole game and it wasn't delayed.

Paul Campbell

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:53:25 +1300

My 21yr old told me the other day that she was going to the 7's next year, apparently it just the best party ever .... she was surprised that there might be rugby

Russell Brown

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:51:55 +1300

One downer for someone following Sunday’s play from the golf course: why is the cricinfo feed of the game delayed by half an hour? What is the court injunction that is mentioned?

That would be a total screw-up in which NZ Cricket is complicit:

Multi-Screen Media (MSM), the Sony owned…

Rich Lock

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:51:53 +1300

Unfortunately, BBC Worldwide has taken down from YouTube the copies of last week’s Panorama programme, Putin’s Games

It is still available on the BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03t8dm9/Panorama_Putins_Games/

Possibly not readily accessible if you're outside the UK, unless you're tech-savvy enough to sidestep those sorts of boundaries. Not that I suggest you…

giovanni tiso

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:49:00 +1300

Most people can't spare a whole weekday to attend the match

Especially if you have kids. Taking my 11 year old to see half the game's play on the Sunday against England last year set me back $30.

Paul Rowe

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:45:25 +1300

I agree, there is nothing like Test Match Cricket. Only the English could devise a game that can last for nearly a week and still have no result at the end.The subtlety and changes in tempo of Test Cricket are unlike anything else in sport.

There was a lot of…

Russell Brown

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:40:29 +1300

Don’t know about that. Basin prices were lifted to $45 against England last year, along with the scrapping of free entry in the last hour of play, or any discount for afternoon attendance, and I thought it was because it was England, but sure enough it’s the standard price now…

Hadyn Green

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:30:10 +1300

Taking one thing you said and then rambling on where my brain went with it: Ultra HD is great for all sport, slo-mo not so much. Rugby for example, I feel, doesn't need slo-motion replays. There's barely time for them any way. Football (the round ball version) is another where…

Samuel Scott

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:27:25 +1300

Also, a note on the Sevens. I hate the sevens, I hate Wellington during the Sevens. It is absolutely not my thing. BUT! Lot's of people love it, it's a big crazy party and I think we need to do more to cater to the drunken mob as opposed to…

George Darroch

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:25:02 +1300

I do love cricket when it's an actual contest, the suspense and slow drama is something to see. Even if it's on television.

I wonder what the equilibrium between price and attendance is. If the cost of an event was closer to a movie ticket, I'm sure the stands would…

Samuel Scott

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:18:38 +1300

What Gio said. England test was so freakin expensive. I'll definitely be going to at least some of the upcoming test but I can't help but think it would be more enjoyable if people in their early twenties with spare time (but not so much spare cash) could be piling…

bob daktari

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:08:54 +1300

I generally loathe organised sports but the one thing sporting I did really enjoy was attending test cricket at eden park and the occasional one day match, that was until they got rid of the terraces and made attending a expensive and bloody horrid affair (bad service, OTT security et…

giovanni tiso

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:01:14 +1300

"At a guess, the Board of Control for Cricket in India misread the market and insisted on the higher price"

Don't know about that. Basin prices were lifted to $45 against England last year, along with the scrapping of free entry in the last hour of play, or any discount…

Public Address

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:01:14 +1300

Discussion from blog post.