Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg believes the high-intensity and aggressive tone of the ongoing series between England and India will boost interest and ticket sales for the upcoming 2025 Ashes, starting November 21.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been marked by several heated moments, beginning with verbal exchanges between India skipper Shubman Gill and English opener Zak Crawley during the Lord’s Test.
Tensions escalated further in the drawn fourth Test at Manchester when Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar declined to shake hands with England captain Ben Stokes and instead continued batting, resisting an early draw. The drama continued off the field as well, with India head coach Gautam Gambhir involved in a heated exchange with the Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis two days ahead of the final Test.
Greenberg, however, sees no downside to the fiery encounters. From a neutral perspective, he said, the series has made for compelling viewing. As a result, Greenberg is hoping the fans footfall during Ashes 2025-26 to exceed the 837,879 gross attendance during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia.
“It’s great, isn’t it? It’s great cricket (India vs England series for Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy) to watch as a fan,” Greenberg was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
The BGT was the highest attended Test campaign in Australian history outside of the Ashes and the record stands at 946,750, which was set during the 1936-37 Ashes when Sir Donald Bradman was in his prime.
“Everyone will have their opinion when our English friends arrive I’m sure, and we’re looking forward to that very much. I love the way they’re playing their cricket and I can’t wait to see them test themselves on our shores,” he added.
Greenberg said the pre-sale Ashes tickets have already doubled those of the Border-Gavaskar series.
“It’s great cricket to watch leading into them coming here on this Ashes trip. It will sell more tickets for us. We like to think that’s talkability,” he said.
According to estimates from Cricket Australia, tickets for the opening day of all five Ashes in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, have now been sold out. Additionally, ticket allocations for the first three days at the Gabba, Adelaide Oval and the SCG have also been fully exhausted.