Trent Bridge is expected to be less than half full for its debut as the new home of English cricket’s traditional one-day final.
Around 4,000 of 17,000 tickets have been sold for the Royal Cup showpiece on August 19, which has been shunted to a midweek slot due to the pre-eminence of the Hundred.
With the semi-finals of the competition not due to take place until 48 hours earlier, Nottinghamshire are not expecting a late surge in demand unless their own team progresses – the Outlaws are currently on course for the quarter-finals via a top-three finish in their group.
Trent Bridge is expected to be less than half full for the Royal London Cup final this month
The showpiece fixtures has been moved away from Lord’s and will now take place midweek
The decision two years ago to take the final away from Lord’s was met with discontent from players and fans alike given the fixture’s prestige and long-standing in English summers.
The switch from Lord’s, which has hosted dozens of memorable domestic finals over the years, was meant to happen in 2020 but did not because 50-over cricket was not included in the truncated season’s schedule.
However, it has now been sacrificed by the ECB – in line with a competition which is now viewed as a developmental environment for emerging youngsters – and switched to a floodlit contest with a 1pm start time.
The inaugural 100-ball final follows two days later.
The ECB have sacrificed it as they look to prioritise the inaugural Hundred competition instead