Was the ICC Super Series over-hyped or does cricket under a closed roof fail to charm crowds?
Whatever the reason, the paying public gave the opening match of the ICC Super Series a miss at the Melbourne Telstra Dome in Australia as Ricky Ponting and Shaun Pollock went out to toss in front of a disappointing crowd of less than 5,000 at the start of play.
Though officials said the crowd grew to 18,435, there were vast tracts of empty seats in the 53,000 capacity stadium.
Australia outclassed the World XI team with a 93-run victory, after piling up 255 for eight.
Though the fixed seating capacity of the Telstra Dome for the Australian Football League (AFL) is 53,399, the stadium can alter seating plans to vary from 12,000 to 74,000 for sporting events and concerts.
The Telstra Dome multi-prupose stadium, sprouted from the silt and backwater of the Docklands, was inaugurated on March 9, 2000 and the first cricket match under roof was played between Australia and South Africa in August 2000.
When the idea of Melbourne's Telstra Dome was first talked about 10 years ago as a stadium for soccer and rugby union, its financial viability was in question. The stadium houses state-of-art facilities on an area of 19,053 square metres, and earns more during entertainment shows.
It uses a 'drop in' pitch for the cricket matches and the ground condition tends to be damp because of the enclosure.
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