When Phase 2 of ICC CWC 2007 Public Ticketing - a 'first come, first served' process – begins, each individual will now be able to purchase a maximum of 14 tickets per Warm-up match; 10 tickets per Group Stage match and 8 tickets per Super 8 match. The previous limit of four tickets per person per match, which obtained during Phase 1 – Application, will no longer apply.

However, any tickets received in Phase 1 – Application will count towards a fan’s overall ticket tally and there's still a limit of two persons per household being allowed to purchase tickets.

"Therefore if one bought three tickets for the first tournament match – West Indies versus Pakistan at Sabina Park in the Group Stage – one can now only buy seven more tickets for that match to reach the maximum ten-ticket limit for that game," explained ICC CWC 2007 Commercial Manager, Stephen Price, adding that tickets purchased on the same application form will be grouped sequentially, thereby facilitating families and friends sitting together.

The limits have been relaxed because the Application Phase is now over. That initial phase gave all fans a fair and equitable chance of being allocated tickets, especially for the high-demand matches such as the Finals and Semi-Finals.

"What has been done here is standard practice for all world-games events," noted Price. "There was the Application stage and now Ticketing operations have progressed to the 'first come, first served' stage. Fans worldwide will have equal access to whatever tickets remain for sale through the Public Ticketing programme. They can log on to the tournament website (www.cricketworldcup.com) or go to the Official Ticket Centres in the nine Host Venues to buy tickets. Their purchases will be authorised immediately and they will receive email or hard-copy confirmations of their transactions within minutes."

The second wave of Public Ticketing starts online (www.cricketworldcup.com) at 12 a.m. Eastern Caribbean time with ICC CWC 2007 Official Ticket Centres opening later tomorrow morning to resume business following a one-month break at the end of the Application segment. Phase 2 will close on November 30, 2006.

Though Follow A Path and Venue Combination packages – which proved extremely popular during Phase 1 – are no longer available, Price pointed out that there is still a wide variety of match tickets for sale. He urged regional fans, in particular, not to miss out on the opportunity of experiencing one of the world’s major sporting events "in their own backyard."

"We had a strong showing from Caribbean territories during the Application phase, with a number of them ranking among the top ten countries from which applications were received. We would love to see this level of enthusiasm continue into Phase 2 and we believe it will."

"Several persons have been waiting for this stage – where they can actually go and buy tickets as they are accustomed doing for international cricket each year – and now that ticket limits have increased, we anticipate that this will generate even more interest among the regional, as well as international, fan base," said the ICC CWC 2007 Commercial Manager.

Reminding the public of how the ICC CWC 2007 Ticketing system works, Price reiterated that fans will not be able to choose actual seats but rather "seats within a particular price category." Seat allocations will be done in December 2006 and tickets will be printed and prepared for distribution.

To minimise risk of loss, fans will receive their tickets in February 2007 - a month before the tournament starts. Residents of Host Venues can collect their tickets at Official Ticket Centres or have them couriered to them subject to courier fee. International purchasers will have their tickets couriered to the address indicated on their application form and will be required to pay a courier fee.

Source: ICC Cricket World Cup