Cricket in Australia
In 2007, "The Age" reported that a survey by Sweeney Sports had found that 69% of the Australian public have an interest in cricket, second to none. Cricket is often known as Australia's national sport due to its equal popularity in all parts of the country. Cricket is also a mass participation sport in Australia: a census conducted on behalf of Cricket Australia found that in the 2003–04 season there were 471,329 participants in Australian cricket programmes and competitions, including 47,780 female participants.
In 2015–16, a record 1,300,000 Australians played formal, organised cricket during the year, an increase of nine percent over the previous year, making cricket Australia's biggest participant sport.
Cricket in Saudi Arabia
Cricket was first referenced in Saudi Arabia in 1960 and was contested by Parish teams. By the 1970s the game became structured and more organised, with associations formed. The game was mostly played by expatriates in its early days and this remains the case today, with the majority of players coming from the Indian subcontinent, England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.