Pakistan v Australia: Yorkshire miss out as neutral Test fails to deliver

The poor turnout for the game between Pakistan and Australia has dealt a heavy blow to the cash-strapped club.

Yorkshire's chief executive Stewart Regan admitted the shortfall as the Leeds Test headed for an early finish.

Going into day four, Pakistan require only 40 runs for victory with seven wickets in hand.

Regan told the Yorkshire Post: "The match has cost us several hundred thousand pounds in terms of lost ticket revenue.

"I would say we're in the region of 500,000-750,000 short of what we were expecting, which is a big disappointment.

"We've probably had a total of around 15,000 people come into the ground over the first three days, which is a long way short of the numbers we'd anticipated.

"We knew we were never going to get anywhere near our 18,000 capacity, but we hoped the ground would have been somewhere near half-full for the first three days."

Yorkshire relinquished the England versus Bangladesh Test that was in their staging agreement specifically to stage the neutral fixture.

The club anticipated a significant walk-up of Pakistan supporters in a county with the second-biggest Asian population outside London.

"We don't regret the decision to go for the Pakistan-Australia game because it was the right one based on all the information we had," insisted Regan.

"All the feedback we had from the England and Wales Cricket Board, our partners and the Asian community pointed to the fact it was the right thing to do.

"We also had to take into consideration that the new Carnegie Pavilion would not have been ready for the Bangladesh match.

"The prospect of having two successive Tests without that pavilion up-and-running was not a prospect that really appealed.

"The bottom line from our point of view was that England versus Bangladesh in May was not a particularly attractive fixture, whereas Pakistan versus Australia in July most certainly was.

"We've got a significant Asian population in Yorkshire and if there's one thing they like, it's cricket."

With the Test likely to be over before lunch today, Regan said Yorkshire will miss out on around 5,000-10,000 of commercial revenue today and tomorrow.

Catering has been out-sourced to Headingley Experience, so it is only areas such as the club shop and merchandise where the club will be hit.

Spectators who have already bought tickets for today will be entitled to claim a full or partial refund depending on the number of overs bowled.

Yorkshire have slashed ticket prices on the gate to 5 adults, with each adult allowed to bring up to four juniors for free.

Regan said he had been taken aback by the apathy surrounding the fixture.

"I'm surprised more people haven't turned out because it's been a great match for the neutral and I really thought after the first day, when Australia were bowled out for 88, that we'd have seen a big pick up in the walk-up," he added.

"Unfortunately, the game just hasn't captured the imagination and I've spoken to a number of people who are genuinely sorry about the position we find ourselves in.

"They have been surprised how little reaction there has been from the Pakistan community and from cricket fans in general.

"At our board meeting on Thursday, Geoffrey Boycott raised a good point when he asked: 'Are we really surprised at this? If Pakistan were to play Australia in South Africa, would they really have expected a big walk-up over there?'"

Regan last week warned there could be redundancies at the club if the Test was not a success.

"In some ways that's a bit of a red herring because we haven't got a Test match in 2011, and we would have been looking at our cost base anyway," he said.

"All it does is bring into sharper focus that we have to take action probably sooner rather than later.

"Part of that could involve jobs, and we'll be having a good look at our cost base and the savings we can make.

"But we'll have to wait until we've looked at all the figures arising from the Test, which won't be for another few weeks."

Despite the financial disappointments, Regan stressed there had been significant benefits to staging the match.

"It's not just about money," he added. "People often accuse us of focusing on money alone, but there are plus factors.

"We've proved to the Pakistan Cricket Board this is a good home for them, while we've also strengthened our links with the Asian community."