PLUMMETING TV ratings, stagnant attendance figures and a fall in revenue are threatening to oust cricket from its lofty place in the national sporting psyche, a confidential document has revealed.
A sobering Cricket Australia (CA) discussion paper, which was prepared for 180 Australian cricket stakeholders to read before a five-day Australian Cricket Conference in August, reveals:
TV audiences have tumbled 24 per cent in the past decade.
Cricket Australia is in financial deficit for the first time.
There is a significant drop-off in players once they reach age 13.
Female fans are turning away.
CA confirmed on Friday the national Twenty20 competition would expand from six to eight teams from the 2011-12 season and teams could seek private financial backing. It will be renamed the Big Bash League.
They were told cricket must expand beyond its traditional audiences to counter declines in TV viewers and that, while there was strong growth in participation by five- to 12-year-olds, particularly among females, that was countered by a big drop-off in the 13 to 18 age group.
''We continue to struggle in some areas,'' the document said. ''Especially females and young people.''
''There was a particular concern that we need to do better at engaging females - the women and girls,'' he said. ''We are restructuring our junior playing program for children aged seven to 10 to increase the number of young players.''
''There have been positive discussions about what we need to do to engage females more effectively and to move things along faster,'' she said.
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