The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is set to kick off with a bang, with capacity crowds tipped to roll into four venues across Australia and New Zealand.
Tickets for the much-anticipated clash between traditional rivals Pakistan and India at Adelaide Oval sold out in just 20 minutes when they went on sale last year, ICC-Cricket.com reported Wednesday.
The match between Pak-India could be the most-watched game in cricket history and has been eagerly anticipated right across the globe since it was announced.
Two matches have already sold out, while only limited tickets remain for the games in Melbourne and Hamilton.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Local Organising Committee chief executive John Harnden said he was delighted with the response from fans.
“We’ve already sold over 825,000 tickets a few days before the first ball is being bowled.
“We’re very close to being at full capacity for Australia v England on Saturday at the MCG. There’s a few thousand tickets left and I’d urge people if they want to be there, to buy now and don’t leave it until the last moment.
“The message to everyone is there are still great tickets available, there’s a lot of games over the tournament and don’t miss out. If you want to be here, if you really want to be part of history make certain you come.” Harnden said.
So there are four games that make up this bumper weekend of World Cup cricket:
On Saturday 14th February 2015, the tournament kicks off in New Zealand, with the co-hosts opening match against Sri Lanka at Christchurch completely sold out at the newly launched Hagley Oval in Christh church.
Later in the day, the Ashes rivals face off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Only a few thousand tickets remain for the opening game in Australia.
With three days remaining more than 85,000 tickets have been sold putting things on track for the highest crowd ever for an ODI at the ground, which is currently the 1992 World Cup final, when 87,789 people watched Pakistan defeat England.
The capacity for the MCG in World Cup mode is 90,000 due to sight screens, sponsor displays and camera positions that mean thousands of the seats in the ground can’t be used.
On Sunday, the action heads to Seddon Park in Hamilton where one of the favourites to take out the tournament – South Africa – plays Zimbabwe. Already over 8000 tickets have been sold for the 10,000 capacity ground, with fans no doubt hoping to see more brilliant batting from the Proteas’ AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla who have been in a rich vein of form. (APP)
