Regional centres are rolling out the red carpet to travelling England cricket supporters with newfound time on their hands, and last-minute side trips are becoming the norm for the Barmy Army as Bazball changes what it means to tour Australia.<\/p>\n
The two-day Perth Test was unusually brief, leaving Cricket Australia with a $4m shortfall<\/a> and broadcasters bereft of live content to fill their schedules.<\/p>\n England\u2019s commitment to attacking cricket \u2013 the side has drawn just twice in three years under head coach Brendon McCullum and never outside of Manchester \u2013 also has wider consequences.<\/p>\n English fans in Perth may have suffered through the defeat in the stands, but the result opened up their diaries for non-cricketing activities.<\/p>\n Some visited Rottnest Island to see the quokkas, others went to wineries in Margaret River, while dozens gathered in Fremantle on Monday to enjoy a warm if typically windy spring afternoon in Perth.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s two sides to it, isn\u2019t there?,\u201d says Barmy Army tour group managing director Chris Millard, whose organisation works with local tourism groups to offer optional trips to fans on days where there would otherwise be play.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re watching the cricket and you\u2019re in and out, and you\u2019ve got your flights booked, you try and cram everything in, but when the cricket finishes early, you get more time to see the city and see the place you\u2019re in, so \u2013 taking the positives from it \u2013 we\u2019ve had a lot more time to enjoy the delights of Perth.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an opportunity others are now eyeing, eager to benefit from the roughly 40,000 English fans in Australia for the series. Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate was quick to remind them of the appeal of his region on Tuesday, if the next Test at the Gabba in Brisbane doesn\u2019t go the distance.<\/p>\n Travis Head celebrates reaching a century in the first Ashes Test at Perth Stadium. Photograph: David Woodley\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cWith the adrenaline still pumping, let it out by getting down to the Gold Coast,\u201d Tate suggested, adding the coastline is a good place for beach cricket or a barbecue, while the hinterland provides more opportunities for recreation. \u201cWith the way things have been going lately, the Barmy Army might have plenty of free time.\u201d<\/p>\n Tate\u2019s offer may have been partly in jest, but the implications of Bazball are serious for Cricket Australia<\/a>, which lost $11.3m in 2024-25. The governing body will have saved some money for not having to open Perth Stadium beyond day two, but the net impact of no cricket on days three and four will mean a loss of $3-4m.<\/p>\n CA has insurance to cover for the impact of wet weather, but there is no such safety net for the whims of McCullum and England captain Ben Stokes. One former cricket administrator told the Guardian: \u201cIf I were an insurer I wouldn\u2019t be underwriting Tests with England.\u201d<\/p>\n Cricket partners are also impacted. Millard said his organisation now faces pressure to meet its series targets to sell shirts, flags and other Barmy Army paraphernalia at its pop-up stores outside each venue.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Channel 7 reported record ratings for the first Test, and an increase of 60% in average audience compared to last year\u2019s contest against India. Across the two days, the broadcast averaged almost 1.2m viewers which would have been enough to top the national Sunday night ratings, if the match had lasted that long.<\/p>\n