Ashes fever grips Australia

James Sutherland admits the huge demand for tickets has been a surprise © Getty Images

Tickets for this winter’s Ashes have been selling at a rate of 10 per second in Australia - faster than at any time in its history.

Tickets went on sale to members of the Australia Cricket Family on June 1, and an astonishing 160,000 were sold in the first six hours.

Though agencies have been working at full capacity to cope with the hoardes of fans wanting tickets, some remain available for the 41 days of international cricket to be played Down Under.

James Sutherland, chief executive of Cricket Australia, said: “We knew Australians would be straining at the leash to purchase tickets today but even the experts have been surprised at the demand we’re experiencing.

“Agencies are telling us that this is unprecedented in the history of major event
ticket sales in Australia.

“We understand that, due to the volume of interest, systems are sometimes slower than expected and this is naturally frustrating for our customers and fans.

“However, I would urge all members of the Australian Cricket Family to continue to be patient through this process as the day continues.”

England play five Tests against Australia, the first starting in Brisbane on November 23.

The other Tests are in Adelaide (Dec 1-5), Perth (Dec 14-18), Melbourne (Dec 26-30) and Sydney (Jan 2-6).

A Twenty20 international and a Tri-Series featuring New Zealand follows the Tests.

Tickets go on sale to the general public and overseas customer on 19 June.