Date-stamped : 01 Jan97 - 02:12 31 December 1996 Bacher confident of crowd appeal By D. J. Rutnagur in Durban ATTENDANCES over the three days of the truncated first Test against India, at Kingsmead, confirmed that Test cricket in South Africa is fast regaining its popularity. A crowd of 20,000 on the opening day, Boxing Day, was a record for the ground since South Africa`s re- admission to international cricket in 1992. Officials are confident the one-sided opening Test, in which In- dia lost in three days, will not diminish interest in the rest of the series. In fact, Ali Bacher, managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, is certain that the Allan Donald- inspired blitz of India`s second innings will stimulate it. Crowds for the Indian series in 1992 were depressingly small, although grounds were packed for the one-day internationals. That prompted a seminar in which players and the media were in- vited to participate. It led to an aggressive marketing drive, which brought quick results. A survey revealed it was not so much a lack of appeal of the longer version of the game that affected attendances as the high prices of admission. "Cricket is a family game and prices as they were in 1992 meant an outlay of R1,000 [#135] for four or five days of watching Test cricket. That sort of money was beyond the average family`s budg- et," said Bacher. The crowds have been brought back by a substantial reduction in admission prices and the co-operation of the press, radio and television. The role of the media has been to acquaint the younger generation of cricket watchers who grew up in the years of isolation with the nuances of four and five-day cricket. To keep Test cricket before the largest possible audience, the Board have sacrificed additional revenue that cable television would provide and stayed loyal to the SABC, the South African counterpart of the BBC. Crowds for the domestic four-day competition have not grown correspondingly, however. Michael Owen-Smith, a Cape Town jour- nalist, explained: "That is a matter of budgeting. Interest in domestic cricket is high and it is keenly followed in the press, as county cricket is in England." Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)