Today’s Royal London One-Day Cup final between Hampshire and Kent Spitfires has attracted an attendance of more than 20,000 – maintaining an overall boost in crowds for this summer’s 50-over competition.
With pre-sales of almost 19,000, the combination of MCC members attending plus a substantial walk-up crowd on a glorious day took the crowd towards 20,500 – an increase of more than 15% on last year’s final, and only the third of more than 20,000 since 2009.*
Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “It’s already been a memorable summer of 50-over cricket with the record-breaking performances by England men in their Royal London One-Day Internationals, and today’s Royal London One-Day Cup final has been another success for the whole game to celebrate.
“Hampshire and Kent brought great followings up to Lord’s, many of whom came from the recreational clubs in their counties, which is especially fitting for this final, given Royal London’s support of other levels of the game through the Royal London Club Championship and the women’s Royal London One-Day Championship.
“We should also congratulate the other First-Class Counties who have played their part in an increase in attendances throughout the men’s Royal London One-Day Cup, with Notts Outlaws leading the way with their Family Fun Day for the game against Warwickshire in May which attracted a record crowd of 14,537 to Trent Bridge.”
Final figures are still being calculated, but aggregate attendances before the final rose from 144,489 in 2017 to more than 160,000 this year, and the average gate has gone up from 2,007 to around 2,350.
David Meliveo, Royal London’s Head of Group Brand and Consumer Marketing, said: ‘It’s great news that today’s Final has attracted such strong support and that this season’s competition has generated increased attendances country-wide. We’re proud to support the development of one-day cricket and be part of a tournament which has played such an important role in creating England’s world-number one-ranking team.’
*Final attendance figure to be confirmed later