‘Biggest since Taylor Swift': Ashes ticket rush on as cricket fans look to outnumber Barmy Army
Across five Tests last season, 837,879 fans watched Australia take on India – the highest total for any non-Ashes Test series in Australian history. The all-time attendance record for a Test series on home soil stands at 946,750, set during the 1936-37 Ashes when Bradman was Australia's rock at the top of the order.
The next biggest was the 2017-18 Ashes, with 866,732 fans through the gates.
'We've had more than twice as many pre-sale registrations than we had even for last season, which had a Border-Gavaskar series which broke all records,' Greenberg said.
'The Ashes is just synonymous with so many cricket fans in this country. On the back of the last Ashes series in England, I think there's a real appetite to see the return bout.
'We're seeing huge interest on travel packages for the Barmy Army. One of the things we've got to make sure is we don't give them a home advantage in our own Test match venues.'
Last year's Boxing Day Test against India drew 373,691 people to the MCG across five days – the highest ever attendance for a single Test in Australia.
Crowds also topped 47,000 across three days at the SCG for the final Test, in which debutant Beau Webster hit the winning runs.
'Everyone will typically talk about the opening days of Adelaide and Melbourne and Sydney, but I think there's a strong chance this year that we could have several sell-outs across all our Test matches, which would be quite amazing,' Greenberg said.
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Greenberg, who will oversee his first full summer as CA boss, says he'd love to see Australia beat England – but from a financial point of view, he would also be hoping for a few close encounters.
'Of course I want to see us win the Ashes and win them well,' Greenberg said. 'But as a cricket lover and a cricket enthusiast, I definitely want to see good cricket as well.
'I'm confident that it will be some really good cricket, and I think England will be looking to prove a point.'
Before the Ashes, Australia's men take on South Africa and India in white ball fixtures, while the national women's side have a multi-format series against India in February and March.
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