Lord's struggling to sell out Test match as Ireland label it not a 'pinnacle event'

Over 11,500 tickets remain unsold for the first three days of England’s Test match against Ireland at Lord’s next week, with 5,000 still available for day one.

This comes after Ireland’s high performance director, Richard Holdsworth, defended the absence of his team’s excellent young fast bowler Josh Little on the grounds that the match is not a “pinnacle event” for his team.

Marylebone Cricket Club remain confident the Test will be a fitting opening to an Ashes summer despite the unsold tickets and a train strike scheduled which is likely to cause disruption for those with tickets.

As of 3pm on Friday, more than 11,500 general admission tickets remained unsold across the first three days, including almost 5,000 for the opening day. The Lord’s capacity is currently 31,150 (expansion will continue in the coming years), although the MCC never quite know how many of their 23,000 members (18,000 full and 5,000 associate) will turn up on any given day.

Last year, MCC responded to criticism of their prices, including from Ben Stokes ahead of the Test against New Zealand, by launching a “comprehensive review”. Then, Test tickets were largely priced above £100, with a top of £160, and while Ashes tickets remained in the same region, tickets for the Ireland Test have been more accessible – those still on sale range between £70 and £90, with U16s at £20. The Ireland Test offers a cheaper opportunity to watch Stokes’s Bazballers in one of their six Tests this summer. The five Ashes Tests are sold out.

MCC expect more tickets to sell over the coming week, with a good weather forecast and half term beginning. There is also strong availability for the fourth and final day of the Test, which is priced at £25, although there is no certainty that the game will make it that far. When these teams met in 2019, England were bowled out for 85 on day one but ended up winning on day three.

While prices and the cost of living crisis may have contributed to the unsold seats for the Ireland Test, there is also the threat of disruption caused by train strikes across the first three days. As things stand, train drivers are striking on Friday (day two) and Saturday (day three), while disruption is also expected on Thursday. MCC wisely opted to allow fans with tickets for the disrupted days to swap to others, but uptake was low, suggesting fans still plan to attend. Good crowds made it to the ground for last August’s Test against South Africa, despite strikes being held on trains and tubes.

“Despite two train strikes across the four days, ticket sales are very strong with an expected attendance of over 26,000 for each of days 1-3,” a spokesperson told Telegraph Sport. “There are a limited number of tickets remaining which can be purchased at lords.org.  With great weather forecast for next week we expect to continue to see strong interest in the lead-up to the match.

“The first Test match of the summer is always an exciting landmark, and we very much look forward to welcoming both sides to the home of cricket on Thursday.”

The absence of Little, who is yet to win a Test cap but is a proven white-ball international, is a blow to Ireland’s chances in the match. He has been at the Indian Premier League with Gujarat Titans, where he had a deal worth around £400,000, and will rest ahead of the qualification tournament for this year’s World Cup, which takes place in Zimbabwe two weeks after the Test – Ireland’s second at Lord’s – ends. Only two of the 10 teams at the qualifier will make it to Lord’s.

“What we have to understand is that while we are incredibly proud to go and play against England at Lord’s… it’s a special occasion, but it’s not a pinnacle event,” he said. “Going to a World Cup qualifier where only 10 teams can qualify for the World Cup, that is still the biggest priority in the game as far as we’re concerned.”

Lord’s also saw a modest crowd of around 15,000 for last night’s London derby between Middlesex and Surrey in the T20 Blast, but the England and Wales Cricket Board report that advanced sales for the tournament are up 25 per cent (or 73,000 tickets) year on year.

The other Test in London in June, the World Test Championship final between Australia and India at the Oval from June 7 has just a handful of tickets remaining across all five days, mainly due to the huge demand to watch Rohit Sharma’s wherever they play in the world.

In further positive ticketing news, the ECB have announced that they have now sold more than 70,000 tickets for the women’s Ashes, well over twice the total attendance for the same series four years ago.