Shortened test results in financial loss says Crummy

Kane Williamson leads his team off the field after the loss during day three of the test match between the Black Caps and South Africa at Basin Reserve in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images.

The Black Caps' test match against South Africa at the Basin Reserve over the weekend has left New Zealand Cricket with a not just an on-field loss, but a financial one too.

The New Zealanders came up well short in the second test match of their series against the Proteas in Wellington, losing by eight wickets as the match was wrapped up inside three days, resulting in New Zealand Cricket (NZC) losing out on money they would have received if the match had gone for the full five days, according to NZC chief operating officer Anthony Crummy.

Speaking with Radio Sport Breakfast this morning, Crummy said it was "not ideal" the test did not play out for the full five days.

"The revenue implications are there because we refund tickets. If you bought tickets to the fourth day or if you bought a match day pass and you lose a whole day, we have a formula, a sort of pro rata [for] the value of that ticket so you'll get a refund on that ticket, so we have to refund the tickets," Crummy said.

"But as much as anything, it's disappointing for a raft of reasons of course because you want the games to go all the way through. Operating costs, we have a few costs that we can't avoid so we've got to hire some infrastructure and stuff like that.

Listen: Anthony Crummy on the Radio Sport Breakfast

"But really, the gate revenue is the one that does impact us."

Crummy said that NZC would not be receiving a partial refund pro rata from the Basin Reserve for the hiring fee of the ground for the match.

Crummy did reveal, however, that NZC is following the lead of cricket assocations in the UK, who are taking out insurance on days four and five in test matches to protect the loss of earnings.

"We take insurance out every year for certain games. Our model changes depending on who's touring and what's involved, so that can vary, but we do take insurance from time to time."

Crummy also said he had no concerns with sponsors of NZC, who include ANZ and Ford, who may have lost revenue as a result of the shortened test.

"Our partners are fantastic, so we don't normally have any major worries about that because it's not the norm that this happens. It actually is [that] most tests are going four days at least and into the fifth day quite often.

"We've had long standing partners in the game that have been with us for 23 years, I think maybe one of the longest sponsorship partnerships in the country, so they're well aware of how cricket works, and they've ridden that with us the whole way."