Comment: Frustrated fans see stars after fiscal uppercut from Black Clash

That fans, especially families, were filling the $49 embankment space at McLean park, Napier, is perhaps where the fiscal equilibrium rests. Photo / Photosport

Okay so it's a great opportunity to see the who's who of New Zealand's biggest team sports but why are some fans of the Black Clash 20/20 cricket match feeling like they are going to see stars that boxers encounter when picking themselves up from the canvas after copping a wicked uppercut?

The fiscal fist of $49, with an asterisk, was tantamount to an $85 clout in the main stand to watch Team Cricket avenge their inaugural loss in pipping Team Rugby by two runs at McLean Park, Napier, last Friday.

"If the charges were not so steep maybe we could have far bigger crowds, which creates a better atmosphere for all to enjoy," writes Hawke's Bay Today reader Brent Single, of Napier, who attempts to attend and support most major sporting events at the venue.

Single rightly observes the numbers to the televised, free-to-air spectacle had empty seats in the stands but the embankment was near capacity.

"I guess, for some, the price of a ticket to get in was far too expensive," he pens to the letters to the editor column which was published on Tuesday. "$85 for a seat in the main stand a little greedy, I thought."

At this juncture it needs to be clarified adults could take a child in free for that price provided they had purchased their ticket two days before the match and organisers Duco Events had offered group discounts.

For the record, no one is questioning the selfless acts of the former All Blacks, Black Caps and other personalities who have helped make the Black Clash match a roaring success.

The Team Cricket and Team Rugby brigade put on a spectacle so the fans' frustrations shouldn't be a reflection on the players' selfless act annually. Photo / Photosport

The clash is the brainchild of former Black Caps skipper Fleming and Duco Events founder/director David Higgins. The inaugural one at Hagley Park, Christchurch, last year brought fans together to celebrate both codes to help raise money for the welfare funds for the New Zealand Rugby and Cricket Players' Associations.

Loosely based on South Africa's Nelson Mandela Legacy Cup — a biennial charity cricket match in which the Springboks take on the Proteas — the event entices predominantly former and current rugby and cricket players. Last year it was reportedly the most watched live cricket event in New Zealand in the past 10 years, luring more than a million viewers.

For argument's sake, Sri Lanka greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardene negotiated a shade more than 11,000km — as the crow flies — to turn out at McLean Park.

However, Single raises some pertinent points that also were echoed on social media platforms well before and after the event.

While it must cost money to stage such an entertainment event, a feasibility study is required to ascertain the fine line between supply and demand. Can dropping the price help fill the venue and even boost the players' welfare fund while creating an even more electric atmosphere?

We live in an era when number crunchers can argue they are barely breaking even. It makes one wonder why such events are staged in the first place when the outlook is so dire.

That fans, especially families, were filling the $49 embankment space is perhaps where the fiscal equilibrium rests.

There are many sixes to be had but, as the Black Clash T20 last Friday shows, the yawning gaps in the stands at McLean Park tend to make it quite tricky. Photo / Photosport

What is probably gnawing away at many is why the country's two thriving codes, which pay individuals exorbitant sums of money, need funds from their loyal supporters to keep the players' welfare chest full.

It is understandable when parents and grandparents — intending to take children out for a treat — start grizzling about who pays for the health and happiness of average workers when they hit the doldrums of life.

The timing of the event — which is returning to Hagley Oval, Christchurch, next year — soon after Christmas doesn't help. According to the latest Paymark stats from the traditional shopping day, the Bay spent $3.9 million last year alone on Boxing Day, a 10.6 per cent jump on 2018.

At a people level, a couple with two children can end up spending up to $250 — taking into account food and drinks at the park — for a night out of a T20 magnitude.

It seems many fans instead opted to watch the match on free-to-air TV One. How much sense does that make if you want people to pack a park?

The Alternative Cricket Commentary (ACC) got a thumbs-down reportedly from some older viewers but that is something that can be fixed with, funnily enough, alternative narration at the press of a button on one's remote control.

If The Alternative Cricket Commentary isn't everyone's cup of tea then that is something that shouldn't be easily fixed on the remote control with a press of a button in this era. Photo / Photosport

The event, I suspect, is one where fans tend to giggle at the sight of rugby stalwarts — many, in fairness, who have had some cricket exposure in their heyday — giving their cricketing counterparts a run for their money.

Former Black Cap Mathew Sinclair does make a relevant point when he asks if club competitions should be postponed to allow the players to partake in the T20 although there's nothing wrong with the lux of the floodlights.

Like it or not, the event is more than just a fundraiser. It's what keeps starry-eyed, autograph-hunting youngsters keen on the codes more than another day at the park.

HB Cricket CEO Craig Findlay's argument on whether that should extend to suspending play at the annual Riverbend Cricket Camp on a day to cater for the T20 is also of interest.

Will the Black Clash eat into the profit margin of a participation camp, considering a sizeable number of the youngsters and their families come from outside the province?

Mmm ... you be the judge.