how to get refunds for days 3 and 4 of MCG Ashes cricket
Updated ,first published
Tens of thousands of cricket fans will receive automatic refunds following the completion of the second day of Melbourne’s Boxing Day Test (the second match of the current Ashes series to end so quickly) after England beat Australia.
An estimated 90,000 people had refundable tickets for day 3 at the MCG, while many more had purchased tickets for day 4.
A Cricket Australia spokesperson told this outlet that ticket holders for those days will be refunded through their purchasing agents.
Ticketek said on its website on Saturday afternoon: “Due to the result in the Boxing Day Test, customers will automatically be refunded the fees for days 3 and 4.”
The ticket agency also sent a text message to ticket holders with the same message about refunds early Saturday evening.
The shortened Test comes just weeks after the first Ashes Test in Perth cost Cricket Australia nearly $4 million in lost revenue after the match lasted just two days. However, potential losses for the MCG Test are likely to be much higher due to anticipated patronage and larger ground capacity; one estimate puts the deficit at $10 million. Melbourne crowds on days 1 and 2 were 94,199 and 92,045 respectively.
“The simple phrase I would use is ‘quizzes are bad for business’,” Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg said on SEN on Saturday morning. “I can’t be clearer than that.
“We want Test cricket to continue for longer.”
In the final hours of Saturday’s game, Day 3 tickets were still available for sale, ranging from $88 to $187. Day 4 tickets were no longer on sale.
But not everyone is disappointed with the result. Speaking to this masthead from the bar on Saturday evening, England teenager Tommy Lamb said the win, despite being less than ideal playing time, was worth his mammoth journey.
“Back in the old days of cricket, if you wanted a proper Test match that was definitely four days long and you wanted a proper match there, I’m not going to lie, if you offered me an England win I don’t care how long it takes,” Lamb said.
Lamb, 18, traveled to Australia for four months, passing through 21 countries to reach the MCG on Boxing Day.
“This is an absolute dream come true and to have traveled for 125 days, all this to get here even though we are three nil down, is absolutely incredible,” he said.
“To get a result in my first game is absolutely incredible. It’s absolutely surreal, it would have been worth it no matter what the result was, but I definitely wanted the boys to have a bit of pride and a bit of a fight and I really think we got that today.”
“I’m absolutely delighted and plan to go out and have some celebratory drinks to mark the day. I now have a few days off before heading to Sydney for the New Year’s test.”
Up to 3,500 England fans have flown to Australia to join the Barmy Army on their official tour. Up to 40,000 British fans are expected to attend the band’s events in Melbourne this week.
Despite Australia winning the Ashes series, England won the Ashes Test in Australia for the first time since 2011. The tourists’ victory has prompted calls for anyone running a bar in Melbourne to start calling in more staff for Saturday night and possibly into the next day as well.
“Melbourne will be very rich if England win,” Barmy Army general manager Chris Millard said. “Bars and restaurants will be very happy.”
But on social media on Saturday afternoon, cricket fans expressed their disappointment with the short match.
“What a terrible match,” one user wrote to X. “2 days of play.”
“The Boxing Day Test could have been an email.”
“Not enjoyable, not exciting,” said another. “We were deprived of a good Boxing Day test.”
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