Cricket World Cup officials have instigated immediate refunds to hundreds of fans who missed the start of the game between Pakistan and the West Indies as they queued to collect tickets that had not been posted out on time.
The ICC has defended its ticketing framework for the tournament in England and Wales, noting it has successfully delivered almost three quarters of a million tickets for the event to fans in more than 100 countries.
However, it was apologetic over problems on the opening two days of the World Cup. Following issues with some gaining access to the game between England and South Africa at The Oval, further chaos was on show at Trent Bridge on Friday as fans attempted to collect tickets at the stadium because they had not been sent out by post as planned.
In a statement, World Cup managing director Steve Elworthy said: “I sincerely apologise to every single fan who was affected by the queues today. It is certainly not what we want their first experience of what is already proving to be a fantastic Cricket World Cup to be.
“We have delivered over 700,000 tickets to more than 120 countries, but not all tickets were successfully delivered and as such we have seen a higher volume collecting at the venue. It is only right that we refund these fans by way of apology. The refund will happen automatically so the fans do not need to do anything.
“We are working closely with Ticketmaster and our venues to implement measures to prevent this happening again.
There has been no sign of a repeat of the issues at games in recent days.
Elworthy said: “We would urge fans who haven’t yet received their tickets to go onto their Cricket World Cup account and utilise the print at home function. In addition to this we will improve the way we are distributing the tickets in venue and, if necessary, will provide additional support to the venue.”
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