Ashes Series Tickets Sell Out at Record Pace

SYDNEY: Demand for tickets to the upcoming Boxing Day Test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) reached unprecedented levels, with the first day’s allocation selling out in record time on Wednesday.

Cricket Australia reported phenomenal interest in the Ashes series, noting that pre-sale allocations for the first three days of the Brisbane and Sydney Tests, in addition to the opening day of the Melbourne Test, were completely purchased.

The pre-sale’s inaugural day saw an extraordinary surge in demand, eclipsing all previous records with a total of 311,611 tickets sold for all international matches scheduled for the 2025-26 season.

This figure represents almost three times the previous single-day sales record of 111,741 tickets, which was established prior to the 2017-18 Ashes series.

Cricket enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to the five-Test battle between Australia and England, where the Australian team will defend the highly prized Ashes urn.

Todd Greenberg, Chief Executive of Cricket Australia, conveyed that the exceptional demand underscores the considerable anticipation surrounding the approaching international cricket season.

“The unprecedented desire for tickets highlights the excitement fans have for the sensational international season ahead,” he stated.

Australia will enter the series as defending champions, having secured a 4-0 victory in both the 2017-18 and 2021-22 home series, also retaining the urn with a 2-2 draw in England the previous year.

England’s most recent Test series triumph on Australian soil occurred in 2010-11, adding to the eagerness for the matches to come.

The Ashes series is set to commence in Perth towards the end of November, followed by a day-night Test in Brisbane, the third Test in Adelaide, and the traditional matches in Melbourne and Sydney spanning through December and January.

Additional ticket allocations will be made available for fans who registered during the pre-sale, with general public sales scheduled to begin on June 13.

Beyond the Ashes, Australian cricket supporters can anticipate Twenty20 and one-day series against South Africa and India leading up to the major event.

Notably, England is scheduled to tour Australia for the Ashes series this year, beginning on November 21, 2025, and featuring five Test matches between the two nations.