When Australia and India locked horns against each other in the final of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Final on Sunday at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the game recorded a historic feat as 86,714 people witnessed the extravaganza. This is the highest number to watch a women’s cricket match. The attendance also marked the highest attendance for a women’s sporting event in Australia.
The official crowd for the Women’s #T20WorldCup final here at the MCG is 86,174.
Happy International Women’s Day! #T20WorldCup #WorldCupFinal #WT20#INDvAUS #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/rPOOkoW72u
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) March 8, 2020
In the previous six editions of the tournament, the highest Final crowd came in 2009 when 12,717 watched England beat New Zealand in Sydney. And seeing 73,000 more turn up in Melbourne for the same event 11 years later is a true testimony to how far the game has come.
“I never thought I’d be playing in front of a crowd like this. It was amazing to have all those people before us,” said Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner.
The stadium was filled with seas of yellow and blue. Men, women, children, young and old, came together to cheer for their favorite team. The atmosphere was electric and the noise was deafening right from the beginning and when Alyssa Healy hit those ferocious hits over the fence, the crowd was just hard to stop.
Since the 2018 tournament, there has been a 1600 percent increase in viewing minutes in Australia while the ICC’s digital and social platforms have attracted an unprecedented 701 million video views to date – 600 million more than the 2017 50-over tournament recorded overall.
The Women’s World T20 this year was so much more than just the figures – it’s a defining moment for men, women, cricket lovers and sport fans across the globe.
“Everyone is talking about what a big day this is for women’s game, I think it’s a big day for cricket. In small towns in India they’ll all be watching these girls and saying ‘I want to be her on the big stage as well,” averred Harsha Bhogle.
Australia setting a total of 184 is the highest in a T20 World Cup Final across both the men’s and women’s competition. There is no doubt that cricket is a sport that brings people together and gives joy to so many worldwide.
If women’s cricket is a circle, then, unequivocally it has the ability to expand and get bigger and better.
News Source: ICC Media Zone
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