Tasmanians have answered the call of Test cricket in emphatic fashion with the first two days of the fifth Ashes Test already selling out.
The Test was moved to Blundstone Arena after Perth was stripped of hosting rights, beating out the SCG and MCG, which had both put their hands up to host a second match of the tour.
Perth was stripped of the right to host the match earlier this month over the state’s insistence that players, broadcast staff and officials would need to quarantine for two weeks following the New Year’s Test in Sydney, making it impossible for Optus Stadium to host the match.
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Tickets were quickly snapped up when they went on sale on Monday afternoon, with the first two days selling out.
As of 6pm Tuesday, tickets to the third day were down to a tiny sliver of ‘restricted view’ seats, and only a couple of bays are still available for day four.
The record attendance for a Test match at the ground – 12,254 against the West Indies in 2005 – will be shattered, and the record crowd for any match, 18,149 at a Hobart Hurricanes fixture, is also in heavy doubt. The official capacity is listed as 19,500.
“Since announcing that the fifth men’s Ashes Test will be hosted at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, we have received huge interest to attend the match from cricket fans both in Tasmania and right across Australia,” Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley said on Monday.
“Tickets went on sale today and judging by the initial take up, we encourage fans to get in quick to avoid missing out.
“We would again like to extend our sincere thanks to the Tasmanian government and Cricket Tasmania with whom we are working closely to ensure that the Test is held safely for players, match officials, staff, broadcast partners and fans.”
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