Michael Hussey blames packed schedule for poor crowd attendance

Stands were empty in the third ODI at MCG [Source: Twitter]

On Tuesday, Australia decimated England by a whopping 221-run margin in the final ODI to accomplish a clean sweep in the three-match series. But what bothered the cricket fraternity more than England's surrender was the poor crowd attendance at the iconic MCG for this match. 

As per this series' official radio broadcaster SEN Cricket, the final crowd count in the third ODI was a mere 10,406, significantly lesser than the average crowd count of 17,993 at the venue in ODIs in November. Furthermore, only 42,827 people watched the entire series live from the stands, indicating a massive slump in the popularity of ODI cricket. 

However, legendary former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey held a jam-packed international schedule responsible for the record-low crowd attendance. 

Hussey reckoned that scheduling an ODI series just after the World Cup didn't make sense, simultaneously calling the chilly weather another probable reason for the crowd not turning up in Tuesday's face-off. 

Here's what Hussey told sen.com.au

"It was a Tuesday night; it was freezing cold and pretty wet down in Melbourne. They tried to squeeze this series in at the back end of a T20 World Cup and just before the Test matches,

“There’s so much cricket on these days as well (so) there’s only so many days of cricket you can actually go to. If you ask the current player, the schedule is very busy. There’s just one tournament after the other."

Australia's next international assignment will be a two-match home Test series against the West Indies starting on November 30. 

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