Ashes tickets scrapped

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland with an Ashes ticket © Getty Images

England fans holding Ashes tickets bought on internet auction sites face being turned away from matches this winter.

Selling tickets online is a violation of Cricket Australia’s sales conditions and 1,300 such tickets have been cancelled.

CA did not reveal full details of the tickets and matches affected, but spokesman Peter Young admitted those cancelled were bought in clusters or involved suspicious transactions.

“We also identified a number of scalpers and have cancelled all the tickets they sold online and reissued them,” he said.

“If people took the risk and bought tickets off internet sites such as eBay, there is a risk they will turn up to the ground and not be able to get in.

“The message is simple: If you are holding a ticket you purchased through the internet, you could be holding a dud.”

The five-match series begins in Brisbane on November 23.