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A ton for a ticket
By Will 8 months ago, 12 Comments »
We ran a story today about ticket prices for this summer exceeding £100 at The Oval. The piece was originally in this month’s issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine - our ex-sister publication - and it’s quite a shock. But it should be noted that most tickets on sale this summer are sold “at around £50 to £62 for the ODIs and a bit cheaper for the Tests”.
Nevertheless, a hundred quid for one day’s cricket - which could be rained off or excruciatingly dull viewing - is an extraordinary amount of dosh. Considering the opposition England face this year - New Zealand, specifically, at The Oval - it begs the ominous question of just how inflated prices might become for the Big One: the 2009 Ashes.
How much are you willing to pay?
12 Comments »Barmy Army Ashes tours 2006-07
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of June, No Comments; be the first!
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It’s been mere hours since I last mentioned the A word, so it’s high time we mentioned it - and the Barmy Army.
From humble, albeit boistrous beginnings, England’s Barmy Army has morphed into a commercial venture offering serious fans the chance to tour with Brits (and others) following England. From what I can gather, they’re a great help and offer great support to the team; during England’s darker days in the mid-1990s, it always brought a smile to my face that hundreds of people could drunkedly chant “Barmy Army! Barmy Army!” in the face of 70 for 8 with Gus Fraser at the crease. Not Gus’ fault, of course - in fact, he’s an utter legend in Barmy parts and even not-so-barmy parts.
With the own-goal netted by Cricket Australia this week, it looks like the Barmy Army (who according to an insider have deals and connections in the cricket-ticket-world - the illuminati, if you will; ticketing masons, even) have a feast of tickets to go along with their other tour offerings. See here for details.
No Comments »2006-07 Ashes tickets farce
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of June, 9 Comments »
Tickets went on sale for Australian Cricket Family members yesterday, and sold an incredible 182,000 in the first eight hours. That’s a heck of a lot, but it’s left thousands of others ticketless and frustrated, as the website and telephone system crashed under the weight of Ashes fever.
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Cricinfo has a feast of goodness on the whole affair, including:
Supporters who missed out have described the system as a “fiasco” and a “farce”. “I became part of the Australian Cricket Family, but feel like a stepchild,” Chris Flaherty said. “At age 53, do you think I’m too old to be adopted by a nicer family?” wrote Jillian Mitchell.
“I am absolutely devastated and near tears,” Cindy Gibbins said. “I was on the phone from 9.01am to 3.11pm and am still trying to get through. I want two tickets to the first day of the first Test, which is a tradition for my father and I.”
They’re already appearing on eBay, topping £8,000! Madness.
9 Comments »Langer on the 2006-07 Ashes
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of May, 18 Comments »
Justin Langer was interviewed by the BBC, whose audio production and delivery is peerless, and comments that the Ashes loss in 2005 was (”to a degree”) good for Australian cricket. It probably was, too, in a perverse kind of way.
But the most revealing comments stem from the spiralling, near-fanatical interest in the tickets some five or six months before the series begins.
“This is the moment Australians have been waiting for,” said Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland, who has described the series as “the biggest celebration of cricket in this country in living memory”.
Team captain Ricky Ponting has urged fans to order tickets early.
“The Australian team can’t wait for this Ashes series to start and having a sea of green and gold supporters in the stand will give us a massive boost,” he commented.
Last year’s Ashes series was a sporting triumph, propelling cricket in England to the front and back pages in equal measure. It was unique for many Britons who, certainly in my generation, had never tasted how sweet beating Australia could be. It was like tasting a pudding in a posh restaurant; at first glance it looks perfectly edible, if a little boring. But only when you take a bite do you realise just how impossibly tasty it is. I don’t do posh restaurants, but get the same satisfaction from a sausage roll, if you care to know.
It explained Australia’s euphoric celebrations when they beat us over the past two decades, which pained and confused me because, in all honesty, England were crap for a long time and we knew it. “Why are you so pleased to beat us? You have McGrath, Warne, a couple of Waughs and whole lot more. We have Phil Tufnell and an inferiority complex. We couldn’t beat a panel in a panel-beating garage full of experienced panel beaters,” I used to ask myself.
Perhaps my memory fails me, but it wasn’t until Edgbaston that the country really got behind England - our belief mirrored the team’s. And in winning the Ashes, it seems as though England has stirred a giant hornet’s nest in Australia: they’re buzzing; bubbling with a mixture of anger and pride and are surely going to break some ticket records in Australia.
Don’t underestimate the significance or hype of this Ashes series. If you thought 2005 was big, forget it. This winter’s promises to be positively massive. Incidentally, get preparing! Get your Sky subscriptions (or at the very least, look into the cost). If you can’t get Sky, consider NTL or Cable. If you’re an ex-pat, and I know there are hundreds of you reading, look into watching it online (Cricinfo.com is quite good for that apparently). Buy yourselves a digital radio
Ashes tickets will sell out ‘in hours’
By Will 2 years ago, mid-May, 5 Comments »
I cannot wait for the Ashes. That’s not to do a disservice to Sri Lanka or Pakistan in the summer and, on the basis of England’s performance at Lord’s, they really need a rocket up their derrieres. But after last summer’s extraordinary happenings, the next Ashes is going to be massive.
And there’s a distinct possibility the MCG could host 100,000 people in the Boxing Day Test! 100,000 - can you imagine? English grounds hold about 30,000 (I think) - 100,000 is taking the mick.
5 Comments »