Summary Cricket has a huge audience too, with a fanbase of more than a billion people.
NEW DELHI (AFP) - The football World Cup may be attracting viewers across the planet but cricket has a huge audience too, with a fanbase of more than a billion people, a major new survey says.
The report, conducted by Nielsen Sports for the International Cricket Council, put the number of fans at 1.039 billion -- mostly male, living in South Asia, and with an average age of 34.
However, 39 percent are female, the survey says, adding that the venerable, five-day Test format remains popular, attracting interest from 70 percent of fans.
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Fan cheering in Cricket ground. Photo: File
The ICC said it was the biggest market research project into the sport, involving 19,000 interviews around the world with fans aged 16-69.
ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said it showed the sport needs to retain its focus on all three international formats: Tests, 50-over one-day games and Twenty20s.
"We get a number of doomsayers predicting the death of Tests, even 50-over cricket, but actually the strategy to focus on all three formats is still probably the right way to go," Richardson said in a conference call from Dubai.
He added that the upcoming World Test Championship, starting in July next year, will only enhance the popularity of the game s traditional format.
"I hope it (Test championship) will be a significant rise in interest around the world and will add to the number of fans following Tests," Richardson said.
The ICC also said that a "global strategy" was in the works to make cricket "an easier sport to follow" -- the arcane "Laws of Cricket" published by Lord s Cricket Ground has 82 pages.
Jargon such as googlies, jaffas, maidens and chin music make cricket notoriously inaccessible to newcomers, while the sport s support remains rooted in its traditional markets.
"Passion for cricket in the sub-continent drives 90 per cent of the fans," said Aarti Dabas, the ICC s head of media rights, broadcast and digital.
Passion for cricket in the sub-continent. Photo: File
The survey also identified almost 300 million active participants over the age of 16, and said 87 percent of fans want T20 cricket included in the Olympics.
