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Free entry, poor crowd control at India women's T20s raised questions
BCCI made entry free for the England games in Mumbai last week but crowd management left them jostling, jumping over barricades.
For an athlete, especially at professional level, there is nothing more uplifting than competing in front of a packed house. Even if the crowd is against you, as Novak Djokovic would probably testify, the stadium buzz can go a long way in elevating performances.
Ahead of the just-ended T20I series against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, England captain Heather Knight had looked forward to the “amazing challenge” of playing in front of huge crowds in India. And after the 2-1 series win for the visitors, coach Jon Lewis spoke about the “fantastic” experience his players had.
“One of the key things we really, really want to do is to grow the game. We want to inspire the next generation of cricketers,” said Lewis. “We’re here to entertain the crowd, first and foremost. The girls really buy into that. I hope that gives you an understanding of why it’s important to us that people turn up to watch our cricket. We want to play in a way that people are willing to put their hand in their pocket and spend some money to watch us.”
The turnout steadily went up through the three matches at the Wankhede Stadium. The first T20I, played on a weekday, saw the stadium about half filled. The second had a couple of more stands packed. And the third, on a Sunday, saw about 80% of the seats taken.
It was a nice way to promote women’s cricket, but the entry was free and temperature on December evening too helped draw the crowd. The fans seemed to have a good time in the stands, their enthusiasm making for great visuals.
However, their struggle to get into the stadium and then to their seats didn’t make a pretty picture. With hardly any security checks in place, the spectators rushed into the stadium in droves. There were barricades in place to ensure they entered in a single file, but the size of the crowd and a lack of space at the entrances raised safety concerns. People pushed and shoved, jumped over barricades and sprinted to find a seat, to watch an international game for free.
Witnessing it, one wondered if the fans deserved better. For women, children, the elderly, those with disabilities, or anyone wanting to get to their seat in a dignified way, this was hardly welcoming.
Earlier this year, fans had to buy tickets to watch the inaugural Women’s Premier League, and the turnout at Mumbai's Cricket Club of India and Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium remained impressive. Fans came in large numbers, willing to book seats online and then go through the hassle of collecting physical tickets by standing in long queues. It was definitely a vote of confidence for the women’s game.
Why then did BCCI, along with the Mumbai Cricket Association, not stick to this approach? Not just the one-off Test against England starting at DY Patil Stadium on Thursday, the entry will be free for Australia’s all-format tour of India later this month as well.
The step taken to attract more eyeballs is welcome, although free entry also betrays a lack of trust by the administrators when it comes to women’s cricket. As England coach Lewis said, people buying tickets to watch the game means a great deal to the players. Apart from giving fans the chance for a more dignified experience, it would attach value to the women’s game. Handing out freebies thus felt like the easy, rather than the ideal, way.
