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.
Sport in Tasmania
Cricket is the most popular game in Tasmania. Cricket Tasmania administers the Tasmanian Grade Cricket competitions of cricket in Tasmania, and selects the players for the Tasmanian Tigers, who are the state's first class cricket team for men. They are also responsible for the selection of players for Tasmanian Roar, the state's women's representative side. The Tasmanian Tigers are based at Bellerive Oval and represent the state in domestic competitions such as the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, the Sheffield Shield, and formerly in the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. As of 2016 the Hobart Hurricanes represent Tasmania in the KFC Big Bash League. At present the Tasmanian Roar only compete in the Women's National Cricket League Twenty20 competition. Bellerive Oval also hosts international matches (Tests and One Day matches) of the Australian cricket team and touring sides.