Lord’s is set to have 20,000 empty seats at this week’s specially dedicated Jubilee Test match between England and New Zealand, according to the Telegraph. Test cricket returns to the famous ground to kick off England’s summer, with new captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendan McCullum beginning their reigns.
But England’s new era is set to take place in front of a less than capacity crowd, with ticket sales dwindling across all five days of the match. Members of the England supporter group the Barmy Army have blamed high ticket pricing for the lack of interest.
Chris Millard, managing director of the Barmy Army told the Telegraph: “We do not get tickets at Lord's as a group, but speaking to a lot of people who go every year they have been put off due to price and the cost of living crisis."
Many of the tickets remaining are priced at over £100, with under-16 tickets appearing at £136, despite the MCC confirming that elsewhere the prices for children are between £20 and £40. They confirmed last month that the opening Test of the English summer will be commemorating the Queen’s Jubilee, but this failed to surge any further interest.
Barmy Army co-founder Paul Burnham blamed a whole host of aspects for the lack of interest, including: “The recession, Queen's celebration, poor red-ball form and entertainment level very slow/poor and no Barmy Trumpeter allowed.”
In a statement the MCC confirmed that tickets were priced between ‘£50 and £160 for adults, and between £20 and £40 for Under-16s in certain categories’ for day one, two and three of the match. Discounted rates are then introduced on day four and five, with adult tickets starting at £35 for the former and £10 for the latter.
The statement added: “MCC has undertaken significant reorganisation of its ticket pricing for international matches in recent years, recognising the exceptional demand for tickets that Test matches at Lord’s are expected to generate. With The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee double bank holiday weekend also taking place, we have seen a reduction in our usual expected attendance numbers.
“However, sales remain strong for the opening two days of the match and across our other international fixtures this year, with our India ODI being sold out.” Despite the scrutiny, the statement added that the MCC felt the ticket pricing ‘represents good value to watch top-class international cricket at one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues’.
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It continued: “Whilst we recognise that the top price tickets available are at a premium price, we believe that across the whole ground, this represents good value to watch top-class international cricket at one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues, with many pricing points available. Furthermore, there are opportunities to watch cricket at Lord’s to suit many budgets in 2022.
“Adult tickets in The Hundred begin at £10, with tickets for Under-16s priced at £5. The England v India Women’s One-Day International sees all adult tickets priced at £25, and Under-16s also at £5, whilst Vitality Blast tickets begin at £20 for adults and £10 for Under-16s."
