Engaged community, bigger crowds and some Nicholas Pooran magic decorate ILT20 2.0

The organisers of the DP World International League T20 probably won’t ever allow themselves to think they have cracked it.

But they might have permitted themselves a collective smile of satisfaction an hour before Saturday night’s finale to Season 2.

The lower tier of Dubai International Stadium was already almost as good as full. At the same time, cleaning staff were busy dusting down all the seats in the upper deck.

At a similar stage 12 months earlier, they were not nearly so optimistic. Back then, huge canvas banners still blocked off most of the seats in the upper tier, just as they had done for the majority of the tournament.

Even as the crowd swelled ahead of the start of the 2023 final, they were reticent about peeling back the sheets for fear of how empty seats might look on TV.

A year on, they had every reason to be confident. Attendances had been vastly improved throughout the season. Not so much that a packed house for the final was guaranteed, but still there was plenty of reason to hope.

By the time Nicholas Pooran was flaying his sixth six as MI Emirates signed for a record score, halfway to beating Dubai Capitals, you had to look very closely to find an empty seat.

The No 1 priority ahead of ILT20’s second season had been to improve crowds. Unquestionably, it was mission accomplished.

It bears pointing out the growth was not entirely organic. A significant number of supporters for all matches had been taken by bus, whether it be by the individual franchises supporting their partners by giving away tickets to their members of staff, or by the league itself.

Either way, they deserve to be lauded for the enterprise. The target crowd was the right one. Few were complaining about getting transport, a ticket,