David Warner has hit out at the “pathetic” attendances in the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia, after the first Test in Durban drew fewer than a fifth of Kingsmead’s capacity across five days. The Kwa-Zulu Natal Cricket Union (KZNCU) has said it will launch a “thorough internal review” into the poorly attended match.
South Africa lost the first Test by 214 runs, with large sections of the ground empty. The crowds have not really picked up through the first two rain-affected days of the second Test in Gqeberha.
“We keep hearing how important Test cricket is, but where are the fans in South Africa?” the former opener said in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Empty stands, no atmosphere, and we’re supposed to believe the format is thriving?
“You can’t keep calling Test cricket the pinnacle of the game if no one turns up to watch it.
“Harsh reality, but someone has to say it. Pathetic.”
Warner was a central figure in the infamous “sandpapergate” scandal that dominated Australia’s last tour of South Africa in 2018. As vice captain at the time, he was found to have led the plot to alter the condition of the ball, including guiding fellow opener Cameron Bancroft on how to use the sandpaper. Warner received a one-year ban and was told he would never be considered for a leadership position within the team again.
‘Thorough internal review’ launched into crowd size
The KZNCU said it would examine the reasons for the sparse crowds following the first Test. Just under 20,000 fans attended across the five days, less than a fifth of Kingsmead’s capacity.
The match was South Africa’s first Test at home since January 2025, and their first at home since becoming World Test champions.
“A Test match of this quality, featuring the Proteas and Australia, deserved greater support in the stands,” KZNCU CEO Heinrich Strydom said in a statement. “While we recognise that supporters face competing demands on their time and finances, we must also understand better what influences their decisions to attend and what more we can do to make live cricket an attractive and worthwhile experience.
“This is something we will reflect on as a Union, through a thorough internal review, and as a cricket community. We need to listen to our supporters, reconnect with our communities, and continue to find ways to make Test cricket more accessible, engaging and appealing to families and cricket lovers of all ages.”
Atherton: South Africa crowds ‘a worrying sign’
Michael Atherton also criticized the turnout at the first Test.
“It started on a Friday, was played over the weekend. It’s the number one and number two ranked teams in the world, the first Test match at home for South Africa since becoming world champions,” Atherton said on the Cricket Podcast.
“Plus there was all the context of it being the first Test between these two in South Africa since the infamous [ball-tampering] 2018 series.
“If you can’t drag a crowd in given that context, it’s a worrying sign.”
Fellow former England captain Nasser Hussain added: “It plays into the narrative that Test match cricket is dying when you watch that and see no one there. But I don’t think that it is dying.
“Even sometimes out in India the crowds aren’t full. Pakistan, we went out there after however many years [of them not hosting Tests], England were back and they weren’t sold out. But people there care deeply about their Test side.
“The lights issue, and going off [for bad light] at half past three [on day one], I think that’s more the discussion.
“What can we do to make sure that sitting in a stand on a hot day is very much a good experience for the people that have paid their money? That they’re sitting there at 5.30pm and not been sent home at 3.30pm due to bad light?”
This is the first time South Africa is hosting Tests as early as October in a summer, as increasing demands on the cricket calendar squeeze premier fixtures into the shoulder windows. South Africa’s prime Test period runs from November to March, but the SA20 occupies most of January and February and the IPL begins in March, which pushes Tests to the margins.