MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 26: A general view of the large crowd during day one of the Fourth Ashes Test Match between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Cricket now has has the highest participation rate of any sport in the country.
It has overtaken AFL as Australia's most popular sport in terms of participation, with an 8.5 per cent growth in 2015.
Cricket had 1.31 million participants in Australia in the summer of 2015-16 according to the National Cricket Census, which was released by Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday.
The AFL in comparison had 1.25 million participants in 2015.
“Cricket is clearly the sport of choice for many Australians and we’re proud to be billed as one of the biggest participation sports in the country,” Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said.
“As another exciting summer approaches, we continue to be focused on growing our sport and inspiring Australians from all walks of life to pick up a bat and ball and play cricket.”
The recent success of Australia Big Bash League has no doubt helped grow the game, with the BBL now ranked inside the top 10 highest attended leagues in the world.