England coach Andy Flower believes the disappointing T20 crowds may be partly the result of faulty scheduling.
England coach raises concerns after meagre turnout in Cardiff
England coach Andy Flower thinks the record low crowd in Cardiff for the second Twenty20 international against Pakistan may have been partly due to faulty scheduling.
Flower's men chalked up two comprehensive wins at the 15,000 capacity Swalec Stadium, the first in front of 11,000 people on Sunday but only 6,000 turned up to witness the second on Tuesday.
Flower concedes that the 'spot-fixing' controversy which has forced Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir out of the Pakistan's limited-overs squad could also have prompted some supporters to vote with their feet by staying away.
But he also senses the England and Wales Cricket Board should think twice before they again schedule two back-to-back September T20s at one venue.
Strange
"It was a strange atmosphere. That must be the smallest crowd I've ever been involved in with an England team in this country," he said.
"To have two Twenty20 games at the same venue at this stage of the season might have been an error. It's something the ECB might want to look at."
The corruption crisis which has rocked cricket over the past week, and the poor crowd, combined to provide a damp squib in Wales - even though Paul Collingwood's world champions returned in triumph to home soil in their first T20 fixtures since they beat all-comers in the Caribbean in May.
Their second success against Pakistan also put them on a world record equalling run of seven consecutive victories.
Yet the dearth of spectators took significant gloss off the achievement.
"It's a real pity," added Flower. "Perhaps the weather didn't help on Tuesday, but no one wants our national side to play in front of such a small crowd.
"The fact that we dominated so completely meant that it wasn't a great contest for the people who did come either.
"None of us want to see small crowds, but we don't know what the attendances will be like at the one-dayers yet.
"I hope the English cricketing public will come and support their team.
"We all hope people turn up in great numbers for the last five matches.
"The bottom line for spectators is that they want to be entertained - and whatever problems Pakistan have, they will play attacking cricket, as we will too."
Hot ticket
The good news for the ECB was is that the first of five NatWest Series one-day internationals against Pakistan on Friday is close to a sell-out already at the Emirates Durham ICG.
"The sales for the next matches at Durham and Headingley are strong - they are expecting close to capacity," said an ECB spokesman.
That will be especially heartening for staff in Leeds, where crowds for the mid-summer neutral Test between Pakistan and Australia were very disappointing - and the possibility of job cuts was subsequently discussed.
Meanwhile, it seems Flower's suggestions about scheduling policy may be taken on board by his employers.
"We always review how international matches perform, and I am sure we will look at how our games have performed right across the season - rather than focusing on one individual match," added the ECB spokesman.
