Public ballots to decide ticket distribution

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	Fans haven't had the best deal with regards to tickets this World Cup © AFP Enlarge
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The ICC has decided to set up a public ballot system for ticket sales for the semi-finals and final of the 2011 World Cup. The ballot opens on February 28 and closes on March 6, and the application form can be downloaded here. The tickets were initially meant to go on sale on February 21 but the website selling them, Kyazoonga.com, crashed due to heavy traffic, forcing the ICC to take up an alternative measure.

"It was most unfortunate and no blame should be directed at Kyazoonga, the ICC's official ticketing partner, as no one could have anticipated that tens of millions people would be trying to access the site an hour before it went live," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, told reporters in Bangalore. "In truth Kyazoonga have been an innocent third party in all the issues we have had with ticketing.

"In conjunction with the hosts, we have now agreed that a ballot system is the best means of releasing any available tickets for the semis and final. The high demand clearly proves the massive attraction of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and format of 50 overs cricket."

A limit of two tickets applies to each application. Once completed and submitted, the applicant will receive a Ballot Application Number, which will be part of the draw made by computer on March 10. Successful applicants will be informed on March 11 and following an online payment through the Kyazoonga website, the tickets would be sent from the third week of March.

The semi-finals will be held in Colombo and Mohali on March 29 and 30, followed by the final on April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The lack of a centralised ticketing system in the Indian leg of the World Cup has exposed two major issues: the lopsided availability of public tickets as well as a delayed distribution system by local associations, which has led to anger from fans and disgruntlement amongst sponsors.

People queuing up for tickets for the India-England game in Bangalore were at the receiving end of a baton-charge by the police, as the number of tickets made available to the public simply failed to match the overwhelming demand. Lorgat described the incident as "unfortunate" but said a centralised ticketing system was something the ICC was looking to implement in the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.