An attendance of 10,929 on day one was considered reasonable given the Wednesday start time,before 8,695 turned up for day two and double centuries to Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.
Roach said that given the complications of scheduling a Test after the Twenty20 World Cup,as one of four matches in five weeks in the run-up to Melbourne’s immovable Boxing Day,the midweek fixture was part of dual prime-time Tests for the east coast,to be followed by the day/night match in Adelaide.
“Our ideal days to start the first Tests of the summer would be Thursday and Friday,that would be our ideal plan,” Roach toldThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald. “But as it turns,that’s not always possible. This was a year where it wasn’t possible.
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“Starting on a Wednesday in Perth,while it has some challenges for attendance,it also allows a great portion of the country to watch it in some prime time,so we think that’s a real advantage for having a Test match,where it falls,the weekdays aren’t as bad as other days out of the school holidays as other parts of the country.
“From an engagement and eyeballs point of view,our first two Tests will be pretty significant being in prime time back to some of the major markets on the east coast. Scheduling is always a balancing act.”
The broadcast audience for day one of the series,drawn across Foxtel,Kayo streaming and the free-to-air rights holder Seven,stood at around 800,000 in total. The Ashes Tests last summer drew audiences of more than 1 million.