Of course, those local matches are something I have always loved. Local as in a few people just playing on some ground (rarely the full ICC size, which is good; otherwise, it becomes too difficult to track) - just playing for the sake of playing - with no intention or plan to show the game to anyone else, as sometimes I am the only spectator sitting near the fence. You know the ones where you are sometimes asked to join if they are short on players and they notice you are wearing sports/running shoes. At least for cricket, this happens.
Probably because there was way less people (the density was only slightly less, mostly just a significantly smaller facility - so no significant traffic trying to park, enter, or leave). They also had a lot more family-friendly entertainment.