Ashes Tickets

The Ashes series tickets went on sale yesterday (Thursday June 1st), to members of the "Australian Cricket Family". Before I came to Australia I had asked Will to join this group as I knew that tickets were going to go on sale to it's members more than two weeks in advance of sales to the general public. I also joined the "family" when I arrived, to double my chances.

Before the ticket release rumours were that the tests in Melbourne (starting on Boxing Day) and Sydney (on January 2nd) - the fourth and fifth tests - would be the most popular. So on Thursday I primed myself for a long session in the internet cafe, armed with my Australian Family credentials. The only way to get them was online or over the phone.

By the time I could get into the site, all four days of the Sydney test had been sold out. I couldn't really believe it, I mean I knew the first day would probably be the most popular and the most likely to go, but surely not all four days in such a quick time. It probably didn't help that each member was allowed to buy 10 tickets each, for each day of the test (the Aussies are fearful of a Barmy Army invasion). Anyway, I watched the evening news with interest, and it too confirmed what I had been told on the web. All the tickets "that were made available" for the Sydney test had gone. And, a la Glastonbury, there was the token EBay shot of someone selling tickets for more than ten times the face value. However, all is not lost as a further 15k (or maybe it's 1500?) are going on sale on June 19th, to the general public, including to punters overseas. I'll try again then.

It'll be a shame if I can't get any, especially and Mikey R and Chewie will be in town, but I won't be too disappointed as we'll probably go to the ground anyway, check out the prices that the touts are selling their tickets for, and maybe get some from them, or we'll watch the games on the big screens that are bound to be outside the ground or in the city. Or I'll be at work.

Oh yeah, I did manage to get tickets for a couple of One Day'ers which I am well chuffed about. The first is for the game between England and Australia, and the second is for the final, which will be between England, Australia or New Zealand. Those games are at the SCG in February.