Unlike most sports, cricket traditionally has revolved around international play, regarded as more prestigious and lucrative than domestic competition. It is not just in glamour where domestic play lags; it is often subsidized by the money received from international play, too.
But in recent weeks in Australia, domestic matches have reasserted their ascendance. In the traditional Boxing Day test match in Melbourne that started Dec. 26, the total crowd over four days was 127,069, the lowest total in 21 years.
Meanwhile, crowds in the Big Bash League, the domestic Twenty20 tournament run by Cricket Australia, have hit record highs: 80,883 attended a derby match in Melbourne on Jan.