The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has revealed that total attendance at cricket matches bounced back following the pandemic to reach 2.9 million in 2022.
The figure is the second highest annual attendance on record, and is the highest ever when excluding global events such as the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Some 13 million people described themselves as fans of cricket, including 11.8 million adults and 1.2 million children, according to the ECB’s data. Over 1.5 million more people played, attended or followed cricket in 2022 compared to figures in the launch of the ECB’s Inspiring Generations strategy in 2020.
The data was shared with representatives from within the cricket community at the ECB’s 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held at Emirates Old Trafford yesterday (Wednesday).
Richard Gould, ECB chief executive, said: “These figures show that cricket is in a good position today following strong growth in fans, players, attendances and TV viewers over recent years. The current health of the game is a credit to the work of many dedicated people across the cricket network.
“We know that there are challenges ahead and much more for us to do, particularly as the game unites behind efforts to make cricket more inclusive, more diverse and more equitable. But with strong foundations on which to build and an exciting summer ahead for our England teams, we have a huge opportunity to grow the game and deliver even greater impact in communities across England and Wales.”