Twenty20 crowds boom

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced a five per cent increase in attendances for Twenty20 cricket – on the eve of Saturday’s Twenty20 Final between Essex, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey.

This summer’s group and quarter-finals stages attracted a total of 480,000 fans compared with 457,000 in 2005.

The Twenty 20 Finals day at Trent Bridge is a 15,400 sell-out and the total audience for Twenty20 cricket will be close to the half million mark.

ECB Commercial Director, John Perera, said: “We are delighted that Twenty20 has won more new converts than ever before in a summer when it has gone head-to-head with the soccer World Cup.

“With close on half a million people catching a slice of the action this summer the huge level of interest has also brought record sponsorship revenues for ECB. It’s a fantastic concept and one that is here to stay.”