The Gabba joins Ashes sell out

Tickets for the first Ashes Test from November 23 sold out in 90 minutes this morning as the Gabba became the fourth ground to exhaust its public seating allocation. The staggered release came after Sydney, Adelaide and Perth sold out on Monday, and Melbourne fans get their opportunity to fill the MCG on Wednesday.

About 2000 seats for each of the first four days were available for the opening Test against England and they were quickly taken by phone, internet and outlet buyers. Tickets to the two one-day games involving Australia and England on January 19 and England and New Zealand on February 6 are still available.

The final general admission seats for the first four days at the SCG sold out in 40 minutes and Perth's allocation disappeared in half an hour on a frantic Monday morning of buying. Adelaide quickly joined the other two grounds when all of its tickets for the opening four days were gone in two hours.

More than 12000 were sold for the fifth Test at Sydney and there was only a small allocation on offer for the three one-day matches at the ground and the Twenty20 on January 9. The WACA reported sales of more than 6,500 seats as supporters rushed to be part of the biggest series in Australian history.

However, the Daily Telegraph reported supporters trying to get into the SCG Test were told the seats had gone in the first five minutes. "Why can't they admit they had a problem and cancel some of these tickets that they have sold at ten per person?" Michael Jones, a fan who has seen the past 30 SCG Tests, told the paper. "They could reallocate by ballot."

Cricket Australia will review the process after thousands of members of the Australian Cricket Family were left disappointed. "We wanted to reward the regulars but unfortunately because it's been so popular it's hard to please everybody," a Cricket Australia spokesman told the paper.

The ticket frenzy continued a record-breaking selling period and most Tests should be sold out for the highly anticipated series, with the majority of final day purchases available only when the match goes the distance. About 2000 treasured spots for Boxing Day will be fought for on Wednesday, but there are a significant number of seats available for days two to four.