Sluggish ticket sales concern officials ahead of Pink ODI

Administrators at the Central Gauteng Cricket Lions Union hope a discount ticket special will help to fill seats for Sunday’s ‘Pink ODI’ after sales this week were extremely slow for a marquee event on the local sports calendar. 

Just over 12,000 tickets had been sold for the match between South Africa and the Netherlands at the Wanderers, a disappointing figure for an event that since its inception 10 years ago has usually been sold out weeks in advance. This year’s ‘Pink ODI’, played in support of breast cancer initiatives, is the first in four years not to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The sluggish sales have been put down to high ticket prices, less than stellar opponents and “cricket fatigue” among the public who in Gauteng have already had the SA20 tournament along with Tests and T20 Internationals in the last few months.

Ticket prices, which range from R250 on the open East Stand to R290 on the grass embankment, with the most expensive seats being in the main stands priced at R500, are seen as the major obstacle, however. 

A ‘Monday madness’ special run earlier this week by the CGL, where prices were halved, saw just 3,000 tickets purchased driving concerns that the ‘Bullring’ will only be half-full at the weekend. 

On Friday 1,000 tickets will be made available on a first come first serve basis through the Ticketpros website for R200, with 25% of the price being donated to the PinkDay Fund, which again this year will donate money to the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital Breast Care Unit. 

There has been criticism on social media platforms of the prices, with many questioning why Cricket SA — which sets prices in conjunction with the host union — didn’t follow the strategy used by the SA20 where tickets ranged from R50 to R200. 

However, the SA20 was a domestic tournament and there is a belief that despite the Netherlands not being one of the top sides, it is still an international match and ticket prices should fit that status.

“We do not want to be seen as being disrespectful to the Netherlands either,” said one senior official.

“This is a delicate balancing act. We don’t want people coming to us when Australia plays here and saying ‘Ya, but the tickets for the Netherlands were much less than you are asking now.’ This is still an international game.” 

While not the sexiest encounter on paper, the match is significant given the Proteas’ automatic qualification for this year’s World Cup will be at stake. 

The Proteas have to win both Friday’s and Sunday’s matches to secure a top-eight spot and avoid a pre-World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe later this year. 

Tickets for Sunday’s match can be purchased through ticketpros.co.za. 

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