England fans get their chance for Ashes tickets

Ashes tickets go on sale to England supporters from Tuesday after more than 160,000 were sold to Australian fans last week. Members of the Australian Cricket Family received a head start for the series beginning on November 25, but there are still spots available for the public release.

Four years ago approximately 42,000 English supporters, including 20,000 from the Barmy Army, attended the contests, which ended in a 5-0 victory for Australia. There is no chance of a repeat of the record-breaking crowds at the end of the year.

"We're not expecting the same extraordinary numbers," Cricket Australia's public affairs general manager Peter Young said. England held the Ashes after a 16-year drought when they arrived last time and there was huge excitement from their supporters at the prospect of retaining the urn.

"That series was one out of the box, probably an all-time record," Young said. "The UK-Australia exchange rate is also very different this time, making it more expensive for UK visitors."

The Barmy Army has been allocated a block of seats at each venue and one of their supporters will be the trumpeter Bill Cooper, who was banned from playing his instrument on the previous tour. "He is coming into venues on an agreed basis to work within our guidelines," Young said.

He said Cooper would provide entertainment but fans nearby would not be subjected to all-day tunes. Cooper, who does like to watch cricket, will be the only one blowing any sort of trumpet as vuvuzelas are not allowed.

General sales are available for the Tests at the Gabba and Adelaide Oval on Tuesday, the SCG on Wednesday and the MCG and the WACA on Thursday. Cricket Australia has warned that scalpers are already offering seats at inflated prices and that those tickets can be cancelled at the admission gates.