Smart Connection Consultancy
Smart Connection Consultancy is a boutique sport and recreation consultancy who has become one of Australia’s leading advocates for the use of synthetic sports surfaces as a vehicle to grow…
read moreLong suspected of exaggerating its participation figures, Cricket Australia has been exposed for claiming that 1.65 million Australians participate in the sport annually.
An investigation by the Sydney Morning Herald has suggested that cricket, like other major sports, has “two sets of numbers when it comes to how many players they have … one is the participation rate, and the other is the actual number of players.”
Against a backdrop of a falling number of clubs and teams and people involved in the cricket community at club and school level seeing registrations in decline, the Sydney Morning Herald has exposed Cricket Australia’s rising ‘participation’ figures, advising that the national sporting organisation “does not know the real number of players (playing the game, which) is to its advantage: it can tell its stakeholders that it has a rising participation rate and boost the value of its product.”
The Sydney Morning Herald report advises “the problem is, the participation rate is a fiction. Since last year, Cricket Australia has moved its counting in-house; it was previously calculated by the Victorian research firm Street Ryan, which devised the ‘Australian Cricket Census’ in 2002. Through that process, a database called MyCricket was set up, in which cricketers who registered either online or manually received a unique ID number.
“Moving the counting in-house at a problematic time has been like a student taking over the job of marking their own homework.
“Cricket Australia has always known what people at the grassroots know: that the number of people playing cricket was considerably lower than the participation rate.”
Looking in to Cricket Australia figures of 1.65 million total participants and 684,356 registered players, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that the number of unique cricketers playing during the past two years is 247,060.
It cites double-counting, giving the example of the most-frequently occurring cricket-playing name in Australia, Manpreet Singh, who when he joins a team is noted as one player.
However, when Singh is promoted a grade, he becomes listed as a second player. When he get picked in a representative team, he becomes a third player.
When he joins a Sunday competition, a midweek T20 competition and a winter league, suddenly this one Singh is six registered players. Then the association his club is part of counts him again, and sometimes the umpires’ association does as well.
Advising that Singh is now eight players, the Sydney Morning Herald adds “we know it is the same Manpreet Singh because of his unique player ID. This has happened with thousands of cricketers, and some of them were counted more than 10 times each.”
Another component in Cricket Australia’s “1.65 million Australians” is school children in physical education classes where cricket is played. Cricket Australia estimates this number at more than 950,000, but these participants are undocumented in MyCricket and Cricket Australia admits that the estimate is imprecise.
Cricket Australia draws its major funding – from television broadcast rights and sponsorship – partly on the basis of its claim that 1.65 million Australians play cricket. It also draws Government funding on the basis of this participation rate.
Cricket Australia is not alone in exaggerating its figures.
In 2016, AFL revealed that 3.2 million Australians – roughly one in eight of the population – had participated in the game in 2015.
At the time, Australasian Leisure Management was the only media to question those figures.
30th June 2019 - Australian Census reveals cricket to be an increasing sporting choice for women and girls
30th April 2019 - Fitness Australia Chief Executive queries ‘self-reported participation rates’ in Ausplay Report
30th April 2019 - Latest Ausplay survey shows gradual increase in physical activity
8th April 2019 - Program launch for National Sports Convention 2019 with Reimagining Sport theme
11th January 2018 - Cricket Australia and Milo end 25 year sponsorship of junior game
17th November 2017 - New AusPlay figures show football leads sport participation rates in Australia
20th September 2017 - Cricket Australia reports record participation numbers
2nd August 2017 - Cricket Australia and players’ union reach landmark pay deal
8th April 2017 - Cricket Australia looks to transform junior game to attract new participants
4th January 2016 - AFL claims massive growth in participation in 2015
7th July 2014 - Cricket Australia advances national facility guidelines
30th August 2013 - Record numbers playing cricket
Asking a small favour
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?
The news we publish at www.ausleisure.com.au is independent, credible (we hope) and free for you to access, with no pay walls and no annoying pop-up ads.
However, as an independent publisher, can we ask for you to support us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine - if you don't already do so.
Published bi-monthly since 1997, the printed Australasian Leisure Management differs from this website in that it publishes longer, in-depth and analytical features covering aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues management.
Subscriptions cost just $90 a year.
Click here to subscribe.
The Complete Guide to Leisure Industry Products & Services.
Smart Connection Consultancy is a boutique sport and recreation consultancy who has become one of Australia’s leading advocates for the use of synthetic sports surfaces as a vehicle to grow…
read moreAs of the 1st July 2018, Enta Australasia Pty Ltd/Best Union has been rebranded as VIVATICKET Pty Ltd. 19th July 2018 - ENTA AUSTRALASIA REBRANDS AS VIVATICKET 17th October 2016…
read moreATS are global leaders in altitude training and research. From mask systems and inflatable tents to simulated altitude facilities, we help all athletes gain the competitive edge. Our…
read moreBODY BIKE® International is a leading manufacturer of indoor bikes with a 20-year track record of creating the best indoor bikes. Stay connected with Body Bike Australia…
read moreAs of 2018, TicketServ operates as SeatGeek Asia Pacific Pty Limited, part of international ticketing platform SeatGeek. Click here to contact SeatGeek Asia Pacific via their entry in…
read moreWe are Aussie Strength. The ultimate supplier for Commercial Gym Equipment that's built to deliver in the toughest environments. From USA-Built hardcore weight training equipment from Arsenal…
read moreSPORTENG are experts in the planning, design and construction inspection of sport Fields of Play
read moreAt easyemployer we've come up with a software solution that manages one of your most important, and often most costly, business resources - your staff. We are helping 100s of clients to…
read moreGet your business noticed in our targeted directory. Viewed by 10,000 industry professionals per week!