Empty stands during hosts West Indies match against PNG sparks outrage

After the USA's impressive win against Canada in the 2024 T20 World Cup opener at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Saturday, co-hosts West Indies kicked off the Caribbean leg of the tournament on Sunday as they hosted Papua New Guinea at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. However, the lack of spectators and empty stands at the venue left fans on social media fuming as they lashed out at the International Cricket Council (ICC), report agencies.

Despite a decent turnout at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, as New York hosted international cricket for the first time, albeit with India playing a warm-up game against Bangladesh, West Indies, the two-time champions of the T20 World Cup, were welcomed by a sparse crowd in Guyana.

Amid the low turnout at the venue, ICC was severely criticised, with fans on social media highlighting that the increased ticket price could be the reason behind home crowd showing less interest.

West Indies survived a scare in their T20 World Cup opener after PNG gave them a proper run for their money, and almost gave them jitters with the asking rate touching 12 with half the side gone in the chase. But Roston Chase and Andre Russell held their nerves and produced some big blows to script a five-wicket win.

Reacting to the lack of buzz in the Caribbean nation, fans on social media labelled it as sad and disappointing.

Social media users had a number of stories as to why the stands were empty during the WI vs PNG match. Some users suggested it could have been due to the early morning time slot, while others suggested the phenomenon could be attributed to high ticket prices.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) while questioning low spectator count during WI vs PNG match wrote, "I have seen these stands fully filled during the CPL. West Indies fans are so passionate yet we can see empty stands during the West Indies match day only. Really surprised. What does this explain?"