Cricket Australia’s published figures show a sport measured across several scales: grassroots participation, professional finance, officials, international fixtures and major-event audiences. The periods range from 2017-18 through 2024-25, so each figure below is tied to its reported season or financial year.
Contents
- Participation and community cricket
- Women, girls and inclusion
- Finance, revenue and funding
- Teams, competitions and international activity
- Officials and umpiring milestones
- Attendance, audiences and major events
Participation and community cricket
The 2017-18 National Cricket Census recorded 1,558,821 Australians engaged in cricket competitions or programs. Cricket Australia reported that this total was 9% higher than the previous year. Female participants accounted for 30% of the total, while six in every 10 new participants were female. These figures come from “Cricket Australia announces annual results for 2017-18.”
Community cricket remained a substantial part of the 2020-21 season. More than 170,000 games of community cricket were played, according to “Cricket Australia announces annual results and Board appointments.” Girls’ registrations in club cricket and Woolworths Cricket Blast increased 17.5% during that year.
The later census figures provide a more specific view of registered community participation:
- In 2022-23, registered community-cricket participation rose from 598,931 to 627,693, a 5% year-on-year increase. Source: “Cricket Census Reveals Cricket Participation Continues to Grow.”
- Registered participation in Woolworths Cricket Blast and club cricket grew from 393,921 to 409,642 in 2022-23, an increase of 4%. Source: “Cricket Census Reveals Cricket Participation Continues to Grow.”
- Community-cricket registered participation increased from 627,793 to 661,161 in 2023-24, another 5% year-on-year rise. Source: “Cricket Australia announces annual results 2023-24.”
The two community totals are reported in different annual comparisons: 627,693 is the 2022-23 figure in the census release, while 627,793 is the comparison figure reported for the 2023-24 result. They should therefore be kept as published rather than combined into an unsupported calculation.
For younger players, Cricket Australia reported that the number of children aged 5-12 playing cricket reached 129,000 in 2022-23. That represented an 11% increase for the year. Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations reached 69,879, up 24% in the same period. Both figures appear in “Cricket Australia records big uptick in female participation.”
Selected participation figures
| Measure | Reported figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Australians in competitions or programs | 1,558,821 | 2017-18 |
| Community-cricket registered participation | 627,693 | 2022-23 |
| Club and Blast registered participation | 409,642 | 2022-23 |
| Children aged 5-12 playing cricket | 129,000 | 2022-23 |
| Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations | 69,879 | 2022-23 |
| Community-cricket registered participation | 661,161 | 2023-24 |
Women, girls and inclusion
The 2017-18 census established two useful participation benchmarks. Women and girls made up 30% of all cricket participants, and six in every 10 new participants were female. In 2020-21, girls’ registrations across club cricket and Woolworths Cricket Blast rose 17.5%.
The strongest later club figure in the supplied period was recorded in 2022-23. Registered participation among women and girls in cricket clubs reached 50,377, up 26% year on year. The same year, children aged 5-12 playing cricket reached 129,000, an 11% increase, while Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations climbed to 69,879, up 24%. These figures are from “Cricket Australia records big uptick in female participation.”
Cricket Australia also said that more than 5,000 all-girls teams were operating around the country in 2024. That figure is presented in “Women & Girls” and describes the national position in 2024 rather than a season-on-season percentage change.
The 2020-21 Rebel WBBL season had 36 of 59 matches broadcast. This gives the reported broadcast count and the total scheduled-match count for that season, without requiring an additional percentage calculation. Source: “Cricket Australia announces annual results and Board appointments.”
Inclusion targets were also specified in Cricket Australia’s third Reconciliation Action Plan. The plan set a target of 100% staff cultural learning, a target to double Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement investment to 10% by 2027, and a target to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation to 3% of overall employees. It also set a target to increase spending with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses by 5% year on year. Source: “Cricket Australia launches third Reconciliation Action Plan.” These are targets, not achieved outcomes, and the 10% and 3% measures refer to different areas of the plan.
Finance, revenue and funding
Cricket Australia’s financial results changed considerably across the reported years. In 2017-18, Cricket Australia reported an operating surplus of $8.3 million, compared with a $50.8 million deficit in the prior year. The same annual-results release said the 2017-18 broadcast-rights agreement was worth $1.182 billion over six years. Cricket Australia also committed $35 million over three years to grow and support community cricket. Source: “Cricket Australia announces annual results for 2017-18.”
The 2020-21 result was shaped by the COVID period. Revenue rose 6% to $414.7 million. Cricket Australia delivered $54 million in savings but incurred $23 million in additional COVID-related costs. Its net deficit for the year was $151,000. Source: “Cricket Australia announces annual results and Board appointments.”
The following comparison shows the reported financial figures without treating revenue, surplus, deficit, savings or costs as interchangeable measures.
| Financial measure | Reported figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Operating surplus | $8.3 million | 2017-18 |
| Prior-year operating deficit | $50.8 million | Prior to 2017-18 |
| Revenue | $414.7 million | 2020-21 |
| Net deficit | $151,000 | 2020-21 |
| Total revenue | $391 million | 2021-22 |
| Net deficit | $5.1 million | 2021-22 |
| Net loss | $16.9 million | 2022-23 |
| Net deficit | $31.9 million | 2023-24 |
For 2021-22, Cricket Australia reported total revenue of $391 million and a net deficit of $5.1 million. Funding to States and Territory Associations increased to $112.7 million. Source: “Cricket Australia announces annual results.”
The 2022-23 annual report showed a net loss of $16.9 million, while total revenue increased 9%. Funding to States and Territory Associations reached an all-time high of $120 million, which was $7 million higher year on year. Total expenses excluding player payments rose 5%. The 2022 T20 World Cup delivered a $43 million dividend to Australian cricket. Source: “Cricket Australia (CA) today released its Annual Report for 2022-23.”
The 2023-24 annual report recorded a net deficit of $31.9 million, described in “Cricket Australia reveals $32 million loss in 2023/24 financial year.” The figure is the reported annual deficit, not a forecast.
Teams, competitions and international activity
Cricket Australia’s 2021-22 sporting results included a 4-0 men’s Ashes series win and the men’s ICC T20 World Cup title. The men’s team also toured Pakistan for the first time in almost 24 years. These are season-specific achievements reported in “Cricket Australia announces annual results,” rather than measures of participation or finance.
The 2023-24 men’s and women’s international schedule included six Tests, nine ODIs and nine T20Is. Those fixtures were scheduled across 11 venues in seven cities. Source: “Schedule revealed for 2023-24 Aussie summer of cricket.” The counts describe the published schedule and should not be read as attendance totals or completed-match counts.
Several figures connect professional competitions with broader cricket economics. The 2017-18 broadcast-rights agreement was valued at $1.182 billion over six years. In 2022-23, the 2022 T20 World Cup delivered a $43 million dividend to Australian cricket. The 2020-21 Rebel WBBL season had 36 broadcast matches out of 59. Each figure uses its own period and financial or broadcast definition.
Officials and umpiring milestones
Cricket Australia’s 2020-21 National Umpire Panel had 10 members, including five women contracted as officials. Source: “Choose to Challenge: Grassroots and umpiring.”
Claire Polosak’s milestones provide a timeline for women’s representation in men’s cricket in Australia. She became the first woman to stand as an on-field umpire in a men’s domestic fixture in Australia in 2017, the first woman to stand in a men’s ODI in 2019, and the first woman to officiate a men’s Test match as fourth umpire in 2021. Source: “Choose to Challenge: Grassroots and umpiring.”
For the 2024-25 season, Cricket Australia established a Contracted Umpires Panel of 18 umpires. Claire Polosak and Eloise Sheridan became the first female umpires to stand at Sheffield Shield level. Source: “New 2024-25 Contracted Umpires Panel established.” The 18-member panel and the Sheffield Shield milestone refer to the 2024-25 panel announcement, while the earlier Polosak milestones refer to their respective years.
Attendance, audiences and major events
More than 2.3 million people attended cricket during the 2017-18 summer. Cricket Australia reported that this surpassed the previous record of 1.8 million in 2016-17. Source: “Cricket Australia announces annual results for 2017-18.” These are attendance totals for the summer periods, not the number of unique individuals.
The 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy drew 837,879 attendees. More than 6,000 travelling fans bought tickets from India for the series, and over two-thirds of Boxing Day Test tickets were sold to Indian travellers for that match. Source: “Record Indian fans flock to Australia for NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy.” The travelling-fan figures are ticket-purchase and ticket-allocation measures, while 837,879 is the reported series attendance.
Television audiences were also reported for the same Border-Gavaskar Trophy. At least eight sessions averaged more than 2 million viewers. Source: “Record Indian fans flock to Australia for NRMA Insurance Border-Gavaskar Trophy.” A session average is a broadcast-viewership measure and is not directly comparable with stadium attendance.
Taken together, these figures show how Cricket Australia tracks the game through different lenses: registered players and programs at community level, participation among women and children, financial results and association funding, officials and milestones, scheduled international cricket, in-person attendance and broadcast audiences. The periods remain important: the 2017-18 census and summer attendance record, the COVID-affected 2020-21 finances, the participation growth reported in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy figures from 2024-25 measure different parts of Australian cricket at different times.