More English Fans Than Locals In Durban Test Crowds

There is "increasing evidence of cricket becoming a tale of two formats," according to Richard Hobson of the LONDON TIMES. As the Big Bash League in Australia "continues to go from strength to strength, so Test cricket away from the big contests is struggling to find an audience at the grounds." Having "played in front of empty stands against Pakistan in the UAE, where official crowd figures were not given, England may feel that they are now entertaining relatively bumper crowds in Durban." Even so, the attendance at the first Test Tuesday "followed a trend of gradual decline throughout the game." Some "11,907 turned out on Boxing Day, followed by 9,662 on the second day, 8,371 on the third and 5,670 Tuesday." Of these, the traveling England "contingent has made up about 3,000 each day" (LONDON TIMES, 12/30).