Cricket in Australia
Cricket is the most popular summer sport in Australia at international, domestic and local levels. It is regarded as the national summer sport, and widely played across the country, especially from the months of September to April. The peak administrative body for both professional and amateur cricket is Cricket Australia. The 2017–18 National Cricket Census showed 1,558,821 Australians engaged in cricket competitions or programs – an increase of 9% from the previous year. 30% of cricket's participants are now female, and 6 in every 10 new participants are female, one of the highest year-on-year participation growth figures. In terms of attendance figures, more than 2.3 million people attended the cricket during the 2017–18 summer, surpassing the record of 1.8 million set in 2016–17.
| Cricket in Australia | |
|---|---|
The MCG hosting the 2015 Cricket World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand | |
| Country | Australia |
| Governing body | Cricket Australia |
| National team(s) | Australia |
| First played | December 1803, Sydney |
| Registered players | 1,558,821 |
National competitions | |
Marsh One-Day Cup Sheffield Shield Women's National Cricket League Big Bash League Women's Big Bash League | |
Club competitions | |
Victorian Premier Cricket NSW Premier Cricket South Australian Premier Cricket Queensland Premier Cricket Western Australian Premier Cricket Cricket Tasmania Premier League | |
International competitions | |
Cricket World Cup ICC T20 World Cup ICC Champions Trophy Women's Cricket World Cup ICC Women's T20 World Cup Under-19 Cricket World Cup Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup | |
Audience records | |
| Single match | Test (overall): 350,524 – Australia v England, 3rd Test 1936/37, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Test (day): 91,092 – Australia v England, Day 1 (26 December), 4th test 2013/14, Melbourne Cricket Ground ODI: 93,013 – Australia v New Zealand, 29 March 2015, 2015 Cricket World Cup Final, Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Separately, official audience data shows that 93.6% of Australians watched at least some cricket on TV in 2010–11 calendar year.