‘It becomes a crazy time’: How England v Pakistan test match brings a business boom to Headingley
‘It becomes a crazy time’
Thousands of fans are flocking to Headingley this week - with banana costumes and bucket hats a common sight down North Lane.
England are facing Pakistan at the Leeds stadium for a first Test match, before further Tests at Lord's and Edgbaston.
But what does the extra footfall in the suburb mean for the businesses nearby? We went down to the ground to find out.
Ram Selvarathinam runs Munch cafe in Headingley with partner Sandhiya Prasad. They offer a traditional English breakfast selection in the morning and a fully vegetarian South Indian menu in the afternoon.
Their business and food have proved particularly popular with the cricket crowds.
Ram told Yorkshire Evening Post: “It makes such a big difference whenever there is a match here. On a normal day it is just our regular customers who are locally based. But on a cricket day it’s people from all over coming in.
“It becomes a crazy time.”
He explained that on match days they have to bring in additional staff to cope with the increased demand, compared with the two core workers who run the business from Monday to Friday.
Ram said, however, that not all local businesses benefit from the influx of cricket fans, with businesses such as the numerous letting agencies in Headingley unlikely to see the same boost from the crowds.
Oscar Rice, who has worked at the natural foodstore in Headingley for two and a half years, agrees that the cricket crowd seems to only benefit the food and drink industry.
He told us: “The cafes and pubs up the road do tend to do quite well, but for some reason shops like ours just don’t. It could be because the locals know that it is going to be very busy in Headingley so they don’t come out on those days.”
Fans arrived as early as 9am at the stadium from across the UK, including Wales, Scotland and London.
Cricket lovers Ruth Whiteley and Caroline Hill told Yorkshire Evening Post the cricket is what brings them to Headingley, but they wish they’d come here more often to visit all the independent cafes and local pubs nearby.
With thousands of cricket fans like Ruth and Caroline flocking to Headingley throughout the summer, Oscar welcomes the extra footfall in the area - even if it doesn’t always bring in extra trade.
He added: “The cricket does bring a much wider audience to our area.
“It’s good bringing new people in and around to see what we’ve got.”