<i>The mystery of the empty seats</i>

The grandstand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium was near-vacant throughout Bangladesh's second ODI against Australia yesterday, a curious situation considering the demand for tickets outside the stadium and at the official distributors. Photo: STAR

Half-empty grounds during international cricket matches have become a rarity in Bangladesh, especially after the heady days of the World Cup during which the world sat in awe of the Bangladeshi people's passion for the game.
But half-empty stands were the surprising sight that greeted spectators when they entered the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium during the second match of the three-match ODI series against Australia yesterday.
In itself, the scene should not have been surprising, considering that a momentous cricket event had just ended a bit over a week ago. Moreover, it was a hot weekday and also a day match which may render schoolchildren and office-goers unable to attend.
What added to the confusion, however, was the sight of a large crowd gathered in front of the South Gate trying to get in, suggesting that there was healthy interest in the match and that something had gone awry somewhere along the demand-supply chain.
Tickets are being sold at Grameenphone centres around the city, and there have already been stories of people being turned away because of a lack of tickets. When contacted, the member secretary of the ticket committee Qazi Aynul Islam said, "There are various reasons for the ground not being full. The hot weather could be one. Also, being a day match on a weekday means that a lot of office-goers could not come, as well as schoolchildren, many of whom are sitting for their exams now."
According to Islam, of the 25,500 available tickets, 4,000 are set aside as complementary tickets given to the various clubs affiliated with the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) and around 1,500 are made up of accreditation holders. That leaves around 20,000 seats for the general public; 19,900 were expected during the first match, while around 13,000 passed through the turnstiles yesterday. During most of the second ODI, all the seats in the lower tiers of the Grandstand remained empty, filling up much later.
That is where the confusion and murkiness lie, giving rise to some questions about the process of distributing tickets.
The most important of these questions is: If none of the matches were sold out, why were people being turned away from Grameenphone centres? The crowd of people at the gates and the myriad stories of distributors running out of tickets, point to a sell-out crowd, which was obviously not the case.
Something does not add up.