ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka crosses 100,000 tickets-sold mark

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday that more than 100,000 tickets for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 to be staged between 18 September and 7 October have already been sold and the majority has gone to the Sri Lankan market.

Commenting on the ticket sales, Upekha Nell, the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament Director, said: “Surpassing 100,000 in ticket sales in this short time is proof of the interest cricket fans have in this year’s ICC World Twenty20. It is also a proud moment for us as it acknowledges the success of the new ticket sale methodology we have implemented for this tournament.”

 “We are less than 100 days away from the greatest celebration of the game that Sri Lanka has ever seen and the tickets are selling fast but some still remain. So I urge all cricket fans to purchase their tickets early as this tournament promises to be a breathtaking example of the power of nation versus nation cricket.”

Around 55% of the sales generated are from the local market and nearly 40% of the tickets sold were purchased by fans over the internet. The highest demands so far are for the matches featuring Sri Lanka, the semi-finals and the final. A majority of the ticket sales were recorded at the Colombo and Kandy Box offices and selected MoneyGram outlets in the main cities.

The first phase of the ticket sales began on the 26March while the second phase was launched on the 12 June. The third and final phase will begin on the 1 August and continue until the start of the tournament in September. None of the matches are sold out and tickets for all matches will be released in the final phase.

Ticket prices start from as little as US $0.25 for the single group games and the final itself in Colombo on 7 October is attractively priced between US $2.50 and US $45.

Meanwhile the women’s matches will be free of charge for spectators in the group stages which will be played in Galle. The women’s semi-finals and final will be played on the same day and the same grounds as the Men’s semi-finals and final and both the men’s and women’s matches can be watched using the same ticket respectively.

Tickets can be purchased from the box offices located in Colombo, Kandy and Hambantota and at selected MoneyGram outlets in Bank of Ceylon branches. It is mandatory for those purchasing tickets to produce their NIC or a valid passport. A maximum of four tickets can be purchased by each person for the Super Eight, semi-finals and final, and a maximum of six tickets per person for the group stage.

Online booking of tickets is available by logging onto www.icc-cricket.com . Ticket collection will take place from 1 August, 2012. The ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012 is the second international cricket tournament to be hosted by Sri Lanka in the past 18 months and it is the first time the ICC World Twenty20 is being held in Asia. The matches will be held at the stadiums in Colombo, Pallekele, Hambantota and Galle.