Signing you in

Listen 00:00 0.5x 0.75x 1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x AI Narration This audio is AI generated.

Former Australia opener David Warner has launched a scathing attack on the poor attendances at the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia, calling the crowds “pathetic” and questioning whether the format is truly thriving.

South Africa lost the first Test in Durban by 214 runs with large sections of Kingsmead empty, and the crowds have not picked up through the first two rain-affected days of the second Test in Gqeberha. A total of just under 20,000 fans reportedly attended the Durban Test across five days, amounting to less than a fifth of the venue’s capacity.

“We keep hearing how important Test cricket is, but where are the fans in South Africa?” Warner wrote on X.

“Empty stands, no atmosphere, and we’re supposed to believe the format is thriving? You can’t keep calling Test cricket the pinnacle of the game if no one turns up to watch it. Harsh reality, but someone has to say it. Pathetic,” he added.

We keep hearing how important Test cricket is, but where are the fans in South Africa? Empty stands, no atmosphere, and we’re supposed to believe the format is thriving? You can’t keep calling Test cricket the pinnacle of the game if no one turns up to watch it. Harsh reality, but someone has to say it. Pathetic

Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain were also critical of the turnout in South Africa.

“It started on a Friday, was played over the weekend. It’s the number one and number two ranked teams in the world, the first Test match at home for South Africa since becoming world champions. Plus there was all the context of it being the first Test between these two in South Africa since the infamous 2018 series. If you can’t drag a crowd in given that context, it’s a worrying sign,” Atherton was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

Hussain added that while the sight of empty stands plays into the narrative that Test cricket is dying, the bigger issue is the match-day experience. “The lights issue, and going off for bad light at half past three on day one, I think that’s more the discussion,” Hussain said to Sky Sports. “What can we do to make sure that sitting in a stand on a hot day is very much a good experience for the people that have paid their money? That they’re sitting there at 5.30 pm and not been sent home at 3.30 pm due to bad light?”

The KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union (KZNCU) said it would launch a “thorough internal review” into the reasons for the sparse crowds. The Durban Test was South Africa’s first at home since January 2025 and their first at home since becoming World Test champions.

Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.