More than 50,000 new cricket fans attended domestic matches in the wake of England’s epic World Cup win this summer, a new report has found.
England’s men’s side won the World Cup for the first time in their history, edging out New Zealand in an already-iconic final at Lord’s in July.
Tuesday marks exactly 100 days since that triumph, and research released to mark the milestone has revealed the impact of the success of Eoin Morgan’s team.
Attendances for domestic cricket soared to record highs following the tournament, and the report, a collaborative effort between the World Cup, UK Sport and Chance to Shine, found that 52,000 of those purchasing tickets had never done so before.
Almost a third of the 15.4 million viewers who tuned in to watch the final – which was shown live on free-to-air television on Channel 4 – were watching a cricket match for the very first time, while 40 percent of fans said they intended to follow the sport more over the next year.
The Cricket World Cup Clubs Programme reached over half-a-million people, 184,000 of whom were new to their clubs, while more than half of fans said the competition had had a positive impact in their host city and local community.
England captain Morgan said: “Following the first game of the tournament when Ben Stokes caught that amazing catch off Adil Rashid, it felt that the eyes of the country were on us, which is great for our game.
“We could hear ‘Cricket’s coming home’ being sung from the stands and that’s when I realised that we were involved in something special.
“I am delighted that our Cricket World Cup win has been the catalyst to inspire a generation and get more people involved in the sport that I love.”
