Ticket frenzy begins for Ashes

Cricket Australia has delayed an announcement of the ticketing structure for next winter's Ashes series, amid concerns that the five Test venues in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney could become over-run by English fans in one of the most eagerly awaited series of all time.

"Pricing details are still being decided," said CA in a statement, after overnight reports that they were ready to unveil their plans. But the scale of demand is already overwhelming. "The Ashes Test series is shaping as the biggest sporting event in Australia since the 2000 Olympics," said James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, "We've had unprecedented interest."

The Gabba at Brisbane, which yesterday attracted a record crowd in excess of 38,000 for the Twenty20 international against Australia, can expect to reach its capacity of 45,000 for the first time in history when the series gets underway on November 23, and a similar story is expected across the country.

How many of these spectators would be Australian, however, is open to debate. Already more than 7000 English fans have asked for tickets, with Sutherland offering a "cautious estimate" that the final total would be nearer 20,000. Paul Burnham, the head of the Barmy Army, said: "If they give us 30,000 tickets for the Sydney Test we could get rid of them."

Privately, Australia's authorities are concerned that an overdose of Brits would turn the Ashes into a virtual home series for England. Burnham voiced his concerns that England's fans were once again being treated as "cash cows", and expressed the hope that local fans would not buy up their allocation of tickets and sell them on at a profit - a pattern that has developed in recent series in West Indies and on the Lions tour to New Zealand last summer.

"English supporters are the best in the world - it is a shame they are sometimes treated as a cash cow," said Burnham. "It is a shame people are pushed to their financial limits. It will be a real shame if those who have spent £5,000 travelling on previous Ashes tours cannot get in this time."

Some English fans have already found a way round the ticketing problems, by taking out annual "country" membership of the WACA at Perth, the venue for the third Test in mid-December. At £60 a year, with a joining fee of £90, the package includes Test match tickets and is infinitely preferable to the prices in excess of £360 that are being reported for the two showcase fixtures at Melbourne and Sydney, after Cricket Australia sold the exclusive rights for tickets to two firms of handling agents.