Graphic: the cost of watching cricket

Kevin Pietersen became £20,000 richer yesterday just by flying across the Atlantic to join his team-mates in Antigua. That is assuming, of course, that England win the $20 million winner-takes-all Stanford match on November 1. The collapse of sterling yesterday to a five-year low may be bad news for most of us, but for those paid in US dollars it is easy money.

When Allen Stanford landed his helicopter at Lord's in June and wheeled out his wads of greenbacks, the promise of $1 million to each of the winning XI in the game between England and Stanford's Superstars meant that Pietersen and his team could win about £500,000 each. Since then, the exchange rate has dropped from $2 per pound to $1.62, meaning that $1million is worth more like £618,000. As the market fell by 3 per cent yesterday, Pietersen's possible winnings grew by almost £20,000.

Not that Pietersen will be gloating. The England captain made it clear on Monday that in the present economic climate he would frown on anyone who placed a higher priority on money than playing for England. But it is another sign that for all the economic turmoil around the world, cricket and cricketers are doing quite nicely. In an interview with The Times last weekend, Stanford claimed that he had not lost a cent in the credit crunch and his multimillion-dollar tournament is assured for five years.

In England, the prize-money for winning the County Championship next season will increase fivefold to £500,000; Sky recently signed a four-year TV deal with the ECB worth £300 million; and tickets for next year's Ashes series have gone on sale with prices approaching £100 each.

A seat in the Compton Stand at Lord's for the first or second day of the Ashes Test next summer costs £95, £20 more than it cost to watch South Africa this year. However, MCC has kept the price for a ticket for the third day at £75 and cut fourth-day prices.

The cost of watching a day's play at the home of Test cricket has increased substantially. In 1999, when New Zealand were the touring side, it cost £32 to watch. That increased by £10 for the 2001 Ashes, was cut by £4 in 2002 when India toured and since then has increased every year.

Even excluding the increase for the first two days of next year's Ashes, the price of attending the Saturday of a Test has increased by 134 per cent in ten years, or £43. If tickets had kept pace with the retail price index, they would have gone up by only about £10.

Lord's is not the only venue to hike its prices. The most expensive Ashes ticket costs £75 for Edgbaston and Headingley Carnegie, £85 for the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff and £92 for the Brit Oval. Furthermore, the most expensive ticket for the one-day international between England and Australia at the Oval will be £102.

All the grounds are reporting high demand for tickets. Their relatively low capacity and the perennial draw of Australia ensures that. The credit crunch has also had little effect on corporate sales. “There is overwhelming demand for boxes and other types of hospitality, a waiting list for long-term boxes, and perimeter advertising is already sold out for the whole of 2009,” an MCC spokeswoman said.

And what of India, the most booming growth market for cricket? The eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises met in Bangkok last weekend and agreed to increase the cap for purchasing players from $5 million to $7 million. This will apply for the next auction of players in February, but the owners also agreed a one-month trading window from December 15 in which, as one source said, “trading can be done for players with absolutely no budgetary limits”.

The franchise owners have been buoyed by recovering, from television, sponsorship and ticket sales, almost 80 per cent of the money they paid to the Indian board for their teams. The franchises were bought for between $67 and $112 million, but are said to be worth between $250 and $300 million. They will also benefit from sharing the $1 billion of media rights that were recently sold for the Champions League.

There is speculation in India that the Deccan Chronicle Group wants to sell its 80 per cent stake in Deccan Chargers, who came last in this year's IPL, and cash in on the increase in value. Tim Wright, the chief executive of the Chargers, refused to comment but said the IPL had been more successful than anyone had expected. “The franchises did all their financial modelling before anyone knew how big IPL would be,” he said. “It has vastly exceeded expectations.”