The cheers of the fans when a six flies over the boundary. The noise when a wicket falls. The atmosphere after a big home win. Travelling to watch cricket is one of life’s best experiences.
To help you plan your next cricketing adventure, we’re looking at the best destinations for cricket across the world. We’ve focused on the best and most passionate fans with our fan engagement index and the world’s best grounds with our cricket grounds index. This is what we found.
- Take me straight to the fan engagement index
- I want to know who the best cricket teams are
- I’d rather read about the cricket grounds
- Show me what’s going on in cricket in 2024
Fan engagement index: the top international cricket fans
How did we pull together our fan engagement index? Well, we looked at more than 417,000 tweets sent in the last year which mentioned the fan accounts for each country*.
Specifically, we assessed the social media reactions of cricket fans across the world to understand how they feel about their home teams. Then we divided these reactions by fans experiencing the most anger, joy, sadness, and surprise during the year.
Take a look at our index of the world’s best cricket fans...
Indian cricket fans: how we match up
Whether you’re a member of the Bharat Army or not, we all know Indian cricket supporters are right up there with the best cricket fans in the world.
We have the biggest numbers of supporters, with 22.1 million followers of Indian cricket on Twitter/X – no surprise there. But what is a surprise, is given how outspoken we are when it comes to cricket, we’re a little quiet on Twitter. We have just nine tweets per 10,000 cricket followers.
But when we do tweet, it’s mainly positive. A quarter of all tweets (25%) are positive, 27% express joy (after all, we love cricket) and 14% express surprise.
We do get negative sometimes – 17% of our tweets are negative and 8% show anger. That’s OK though, we’re all entitled to get a little frustrated when we lose to the West Indies by 4 runs!
The most passionate fans: it’s all about England
They call them the Barmy Army for a reason. It’s no surprise to see England with the most passionate fans. They top the table for the most tweets in general with 305,485 and the most per 10,000 supporters (1909).
The 5 most passionate teams based on number of tweets are:
- England (305,485)
- Pakistan (37,025)
- India (19,349)
- Scotland (13,014)
- Australia (11,473)
The 5 most passionate teams based on number of tweets per 10,000 supporters:
- England (1,909)
- Scotland (645)
- Jersey (342)
- Denmark (184)
- Ireland (178)
When it comes to emotions, both Indian and English cricket fans are similar. Cricket is so ingrained in our cultures! Similar to India, 27% of English fans’ cricket tweets are positive and just 14% are negative.
Positivity vs. negativity: who can take a win but not a loss
You’ve just seen a six, your side has taken a wicket, or your captain hits a hundred. It’s so easy to be positive when your team is flying high, but if things take a turn for the worse, that’s when you see the true positivity of fans.
Argentina cricket team fans are way out in front for positivity, with 75% of all their tweets being positive. Good going for one of the lower ranked teams in the sport. South African fans are in second place – reflecting their 4th position in both the men’s one day international (ODI) rankings and the test rankings.
The rest of the top five for positivity is made up of Netherlands (45%), Namibia (43%) and Guernsey (39%).
And in the negativity stakes, it’s those Aussies. It seems like they’re not happy with second place in the test rankings and third in the ODI rankings. Nearly a quarter (23%) of all Australian cricket fans tweets are negative.
Also in the top five were Jersey (18%), Namibia (17%), Afghanistan (17%) and Oman (17%).
Joy, sorrow, and surprise: it’s all in a day’s cricket
A day or two at the cricket brings the full set of emotions. Other key highlights from our data include:
- Oman has the most frustrated fans with 13% of their tweets airing their annoyance over the state of play.
- Namibia shows the most joy (despite also showing frustration) with 47% of their tweets being joyful.
- Afghanistan shows the most sadness with 17% of all tweets being disappointed in the way the matches are going.
- Australian fans express their shock the most, with 11% of their tweets focusing on surprise.
Check out our index of the most popular cricket teams here…
Cricket Grounds Index: the best cricket grounds in the world
The best fan experience at a cricket ground comes down to many factors: a great atmosphere with plenty of home team wins is important, as are cheap tickets, a high volume of matches, affordable drinks, and good online reviews.
We built a cricket index looking at all of these factors, and a few more too.
We covered each of the members of the International Cricket Council, and focused on the main ground for international cricket in each respective country. We checked the following:
- Average cost of a single ticket
- Average cost of a drink
- Distance to city centre
- Number of home wins
- Online review score
- Number of online reviews
- Number of test matches held
- Number of one day international matches
- Number of T20 matches
Each ground was given a score by adding together the positives:
- Number of home wins
- Online review score
- Number of online reviews
- Number of test matches held
- Number of one day international matches
- Number of T20 matches
And subtracting the negatives:
- Average cost of a single ticket
- Average cost of a drink
- Distance to city centre
Here’s our index of the world’s best cricket grounds…
Still wondering why we ranked each cricket ground the way we did? Let’s take a deeper look at how these cricket grounds fought their way to the top of our index…
1. Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Top of the pile and best cricket ground on the list, is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia. It is the biggest cricket ground in the Southern Hemisphere with a capacity of 100,024. It hosted the Grand Final for the 2022 T20 World Cup and is a fortress of Australian cricket.
The MCG is world renowned, and has seen plenty of famous moments for Indian cricket too, such as Virender Sehwag’s stunning 195 innings in 2003. We’ve also had some controversy as well, with the duel between Virat Kohli and Mitchell Johnson in 2014 and Sunil Gavaskar’s planned walk off with fellow batsmen Chetan Chauhan in 1981.
Today, the MCG ranks at the top of our findings with an overall score of 348. It comes down to:
- Affordable tickets
- A distance of 3.3km to the city – you can easily walk to it
- 110 test matches
- 150 one day international (ODI) matches
- Over 9,000 trip advisor reviews
2. Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe
With its beautiful gabled pavilion, the Harare Sports Club is in the heart of the city of Harare. It’s been hosting test cricket since 1992 and is the county’s major test and one-day venue.
India have enjoyed plenty of success here, winning 16 and losing just five of 21 one day internationals. It scores highly in our Cricket Grounds Index too, due to cheap tickets and the 1.7km short walk from the city. It’s also seen over 180 ODI matches since the early 90s.
3. National Bank Cricket Arena, Pakistan
Also referred to as the National Stadium, this is the home of cricket in Pakistan and has been since 1955. It has a capacity of around 35,000 and is based in Karachi. The last Indian player to score a century here was Yuvraj Singh with 122 in 2006.
The cricket experience here today scores at third place in our index. The cheap cost of tickets (less than 70 Rupees) and the number of home wins (23) offers a great atmosphere for cricket fans.
4. Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
The Wanderers Stadium in the Sandton district of Johannesburg has been hosting cricket since the 1950s. It has a capacity of 34,000 and is known as the Bullring for its intimidating atmosphere. An atmosphere Indian cricket fans experienced when being on the losing side in the first ever ODI held here in 1992. India lost to South Africa by six wickets. India also experienced heartache here in the 2003 World Cup final against Australia.
However, cricket fans today still can’t get enough of the Bullring’s atmosphere. It scores highly in our index due to its 1.1km distance from the city, heritage, and price of tickets (around 440– 1101 INR).
5. Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh
Also called Mirpur stadium, this international cricket ground is the focal point of cricket in Bangladesh. It’s only been open since 2006 and has only hosted 20 test matches in that time, although it has seen 113 ODIs.
It’s been a happy hunting ground for Indian cricket especially in ODIs. Who could forget Virat Kohli’s 183 against Pakistan here in 2012 in the Asia Cup?
Today, cricket fans can enjoy cheap tickets and a short 2.8km journey from the city.
6. Lord’s Cricket Ground, England
Lord’s is one of the most famous cricket grounds in the world. Owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club, it’s been hosting cricket matches since 1814. And whilst England have enjoyed plenty of success on the hallowed turf at Lord’s, so have India. It will always be remembered as the scene of India’s first World Cup triumph, against the West Indies in 1983.
The ground has a capacity of over 31,000 and is 5.6km from the city centre – although it’s easy to get to by tube or bus. It has hosted the highest number of test matches (131) of all the grounds across our index and the biggest number of home wins (57).
But what lets it down for cricket fans today is the price of a ticket at 8668 INR and the cost of a drink at 891 INR for a pint of beer. It might have the history, heritage, and home wins, but it’s definitely on the more expensive side.
7. Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, UAE* (current home ground of Afghanistan)
Opened in 2004 at a cost of 182 Million INR, the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium is arguably one of the best-looking cricket grounds in the world.
It has two large stands and grass banks for spectators to sit on. Only 15 test matches have been hosted here down the years and 37 ODIs. It has however seen 100 T20 matches – the most of any ground in our index.
It however falls down the pecking order in our index for a small number of home test wins – just 2 – and the 23.5km distance from the city centre.
8. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Located in Mumbai, we all know the significance of the Wankhede Stadium. It has been the home of Indian cricket since it opened in 1974 and has a capacity of 33,000. It’s seen 25 test matches, 23 ODIs and eight T20 encounters.
It is also the headquarters of the Mumbai Cricket Association, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and the Indian Premier League (IPL). India won the ICC Cricket World Cup here in 2011 for the first time in 28 years (remember those celebrations?). Virat Kohli hit 235 vs. England in 2016. And Sachin Tendulkar retired here with his final test match in 2011.
But it’s low down on our index. Despite such heritage and arguably being the best cricket ground in India, it all comes down to other grounds hosting a higher volume of test matches and ODIs. It also scores poorly in online reviews with 440 compared to the MCG’s 9103 and the 1570 for Lord’s.
9. Kensington Oval, Barbados
Located in the western part of Bridgetown in Barbados, the Kensington Oval has been hosting international cricket since 1895. It has a capacity of 28,000 and has hosted 55 test matches and 47 ODIs here down the years. The West Indies also have a strong home record here too.
India played here on the 2023 tour of the West Indies, winning the first ODI by five wickets and losing the second by six wickets.
Unfortunately for cricket fans, it’s the cost of a ticket that pushes it down our index – at 4088 INR it’s the second most expensive after Lord’s.
10. Galle International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lanka
The Galle International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka has been hosting cricket since 1876 but has only seen 44 test matches, 11 ODIs and 12 T20 encounters in that time.
It has a sublime setting, perched right next to the Indian Ocean. Yet it’s the 93km distance to the closest major city that lets it down in our index.
11. Bay Oval, New Zealand
With the beautiful Mount Maunganui as its background and the ocean close by, the Bay Oval in New Zealand lucks out in the beauty stakes. Its record of two home wins, four test matches and 11 T20 encounters holds it back in our index.
12. Malahide Cricket Club Ground, Ireland
Also called, The Village, this Irish cricket ground has been going since 1861. Yet with a capacity of only 11,500 and one test match held here, it’s last in our index. Ireland have never won here in test cricket either. A ticket also costs 3536 INR, and a pint of Guinness will set you back over 574 INR.
Find out which cricket ground ranked the highest in our index of the world’s best cricket grounds…
Cricket season preview 2024
Whether you want to meet the best fans in the world, show your support for Indian cricket or pay homage to world renowned cricket grounds, there’s plenty of cricket to savour in 2024.
Bangladesh is touring India in September, with two test matches and three T20 internationals scheduled. England have a busy summer of test cricket with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Australia all heading over for a mix of test, ODI and T20 cricket.
The ICC T20 Cricket World Cup is also taking place in the West Indies and USA in June 2024.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| India Tour of South Africa | JAN 3-7 |
| Afghanistan Tour of India | JAN 11-17 |
| England Tour of India | JAN 25 – MAR 11 |
| T20 World Cup 2024 | JUN 4-30 |
| India Tour of Sri Lanka | JUL |
| Bangladesh Tour of India | SEP – OCT |
| New Zealand Tour of India | OCT – NOV |
| India Tour of Australia | NOV – DEC |
Take a look at our key cricket tour locations below.
*The cricket account handles included were that of the men’s cricket teams.
With flights, hotels and car hire all booked through Skyscanner, it’s time to show the passion on your next cricket tour.
