Last Updated on 5 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
The 43% price increase for a 2027 Ashes ticket at Edgbaston has been slammed, with former England captain Michael Vaughan leading the chorus of discontent.
In his piece for The Telegraph, Vaughan wrote that the price increase “makes mockery of ECB’s aim for cricket to become the country’s most inclusive sport.”
To sit in the Hollies Stand, a fan would have to fork out £165 (approximately AU$308) for a single ticket. The cost to sit in the same stand for next week’s Test against Pakistan is exactly half (£82.50).
For next year’s Ashes Test, an adult ticket anywhere else in the ground for the first three days is £115, while members can purchase tickets for a still hefty £92.
Vaughan has called this a greedy move, with the host clubs setting the prices and ECB overseeing it all.
“That is pure greed. This is the biggest series of them all, the game’s greatest shop window. It looks to me like clubs have thought “we know the tickets will sell out, so we will get as much money as we possibly can out of fans,'” Vaughan wrote.
Fans and Michael Vaughan criticise ticket prices for Ashes 2027 Test at Edgbaston
Test cricket is in a tricky predicament. The ECB forecast to make a financial loss in 2027 despite hosting an Ashes series, compared to the profitable 2026 season thanks largely to India’s visit for white-ball matches.
In addition to the need for longer matches in a world filled with rapid Tests, administrators need to engage fans positively to keep the format alive. Exorbitant ticket prices means “this has become a game for the middle classes and above,” according to Vaughan.
“It will soon be cheaper to fly to Australia to watch an away series than one at home,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“Unless there are blocks of empty seats on tv during the Ashes, the ticket prices will keep going up,” wrote another.
“This sport will die because of short term greed,” was another take.
Here are some of the reactions.
