Poor crowd gives West Indies another headache

As if the defeat by Zimbabwe in the one-off Twenty20 international against Zimbabwe was not bad enough for West Indies cricket, the poor attendance for the match was another blow for the cash-strapped board.

Crowds in the Caribbean have fallen away in recent years, largely as a result of the ongoing weakness of the national team as well as interminable disputes between players and the West Indies Cricket Board.

While Zimbabwe are not a big draw, that fewer than 1000 tickets had been sold on the eve of the match was an embarrassment to both the WICB and the local board. But the pricing policy may well have been a major factor, and the marketing push for the game was left very late.

According to the WICB website, seats for the famous Trini Posse cost around US$75 with the cheapest for other stands at US$45, and although a buy-two-get-one-free promotion was launched, it appears to have largely failed.