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Cricket

World Twenty20 ticket prices aimed low

24/06/2008

Ticket prices for next year's World Twenty20 in England are being kept low, in a bid to make the tournament "the people's game".

Organisers announced today under-16s will pay as little as £10 for the final at Lord's, while a three-tier pricing structure featuring a non-alcoholic 'family stand' is aimed at widening cricket's appeal.

In a further bid to improve value for money, all but one of the tickets are double-headers – meaning spectators can enjoy two matches and see four international sides play.

Nottingham's Trent Bridge features lower prices than will be levied at Lord's and the Oval in London because of their location. Meanwhile a women's tournament, featuring eight teams and 15 matches in 11 days, will take place at the same time. Under-16s will pay just £1 for entry to these games.

Tournament director Steve Elworthy, who has been hired to repeat the success of the inaugural World Twenty20 he ran in South Africa last year, told journalists at the Oval this morning he was seeking to repeat the 80 per cent take-up seen in 2007.

"The strategy we've used is understanding the domestic market," he said. "The blend is from a domestic price point. We sold 400,000 out of 500,000 tickets in South Africa - that's exactly what we're trying to achieve [in 2009]."

The move will be welcomed by cricket analysts who criticised the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. Some blamed low crowd levels on the ticket price structure which many fear prevented locals from attending many games.

International Cricket Council (ICC) president-elect David Morgan said the tickets represented "great value for money" with prices set "as low as possible".

"It is all part of our desire to ensure this event truly is the people's game," he explained.

"We want it to be fan-focused, accessible to as many people as possible and to excite the next generation of players and supporters in the host country by giving them a chance to get close to their heroes."

The World Twenty20 will run from June 11th 2009 to the final on June 21st. Tickets go on sale from 10:00 BST on June 30th this year.