On Friday, October 9, the Test series between Australia and South Africa began at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban. The opening Test was anticipated to bring a sizable crowd in what was described as a blockbuster series between the top two teams in the 2025–27 WTC standings. Fans were taken aback by the low attendance at the event, though, and a number of them responded on social media.
Less than one-third of the seats at Kingsmead, which can accommodate 25,000 fans, were taken for a match between the current World Test Championship winners and one of the most competitive touring nations in the sport. Although limited-overs internationals continue to garner acceptable support, Cricket South Africa administrators have previously noted that Test match audiences at locations outside of matchups against high-profile opponents like England remain a recurring concern.
Some T20 purists would have the world believe that Test cricket is fading. However, Durban’s scant stands provided an unsettling preview of what that prediction would actually look like. The poor attendance on Day 1 of their series-opening first Test on Friday, October 9, indicates that a match between two of the top Test teams in the world during the previous three years did not draw the expected number of spectators to the Kingsmead Cricket Ground.
There is a noticeable difference between red-ball and white-ball support at the same location. Approximately 12,000 fans entered the gates for Kingsmead’s season-opening ODI against Australia on September 24, 2026, a public holiday. Even though that number was just around half of the stadium’s capacity, it was still significantly more than what the Test match drew on its first day.
Only four Tests have been held in Durban since 2019, demonstrating how infrequently the longest format has returned to Kingsmead in recent years. A consistent local audience for the format may be difficult to maintain because to the uncommon scheduling of Test cricket at the stadium, as supporters have had little chance to develop a habit of attending.
