Ashes Series Grips Asia

[Old Croc]

Ashes battle grips millions across Asia

1:11 PM August 24

The titanic Ashes battle has not only fired the imagination in England and Australia but has also reignited cricket passions across Asia, where millions will be glued to the fourth Test this week.

From Islamabad to Auckland, cricket fans have been gripped by the unexpectedly close encounter as England challenge Australia's long dominance of the sport and 16-year Ashes monopoly.

The series has raised expectations in Pakistan, where officials hope England's tour from October will revive flagging interest in the country's traditional favourite sport.

Match-fixing, stringent stadium security after September 11 and a string of dull draws have led to falling attendances for Test matches in Pakistan.

"I am following the Ashes more than any series I have ever followed. England's comeback has impressed me a lot and raised expectations that we too will have a very exciting series against England," Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said.

"The interest in the Ashes is overwhelming," former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas said. "People are now glued to television sets more than before."

Top hotels have responded to customer demand by showing the series, which resumes on Thursday at Trent Bridge at 1-1, on giant screens.

"We have a 16-by-20 feet (4.8-by-six metres) screen for entertainment but the demand is huge for Ashes Tests," said Azeem Qureshi, general manager of Karachi's Mehran hotel.

Private TV channels have also reported big demand. GEO TV sports editor Syed Mohammad Sufi said viewers had been calling the channel for score updates despite regular bulletins.

Millions of dollars have also been placed with bookmakers - even though betting is illegal in Pakistan - with Australia still favourites.

"If you take into account the circuit of Pakistan, India and Dubai, billions of rupees (millions of dollars) are at stake with people wishing England upset Australia so that they make money," said a bookmaker speaking on condition of anonymity.

Blanket coverage

In neighbouring India, interest has also been huge with newspapers and TV stations providing blanket coverage.

Bar managers said customers were asking to watch the Ashes even when India were playing on another channel, while bookmakers were also doing brisk business.

"Customers wanted to watch the Ashes even on days when India were playing in a tri-series in Sri Lanka. This has not been seen in the past," said Rajneesh Malhotra, a hotel food and beverages manager in Delhi's satellite town of Gurgaon.

Meanwhile, bleary-eyed Australian fans have been ignoring the time difference to watch the series, with SBS Television reporting record audiences after it took up the free-to-air rights to show the action from 7:30pm to 2:30am AEST.

The thrilling end to the second Edgbaston Test outrated SBS's soccer 2002 World Cup coverage with 1.12 million viewers, rising to just over 2 million as it was decided in England's favour by only two runs.

During the third Test, and with leg-spinner Shane Warne poised on 599 Test wickets, SBS scored a 17.5 per cent national audience share, its highest rating for the first day of an Ashes match. Foxtel is also getting high ratings for its pay-television coverage.

In Hong Kong, where sports bars have been packed with expatriate cricket fans, there was an outcry when satellite broadcaster NOW TV switched to New Zealand's inconsequential romp against Zimbabwe instead of the nail-biting Edgbaston finale.

"Many of our members were very upset," said Burji Shroff, captain of the Kowloon Cricket Club amateur side.

The series is even making a small impact in Thailand, which was never colonised and has no cricketing tradition. Tourists are crowding sports bars, expatriates are watching it on pay-per-view and English-language newspapers have noted unusually high interest.

"Interest amongst the English and Australian communities is certainly higher than usual because the matches have been more competitive than many expected and we have received a number of emails on the topic for our letters section," said Bangkok Post sports editor Roger Crutchley.

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