Anyone been to an away Ashes series

[cutterman]

I am super keen to head to England next year for a couple of Ashes Tests, being an accountant I can't go early July due to the end of financial year. So I wanted to hopefully squeeze the 3rd,4th and 5th Tests out of it. Also coinciding with the start of the EPL season and would love to see a Liverpool game at Anfield.

Back to the cricket though. Has anyone done this before? Did you do it by yourself or with a tour group? How hard was it to get tickets? Positives and negatives of a tour group?

I have just returned from the UK and went to Liverpool v Man Utd at Old Trafford, tickets were organised by an Aussie tour company (unsure if I can name them here), who also organised accommodation and transport from London. They were really good, everything ran smoothly but were quite pricey. I'd imagine they would have options available for the cricket tied in with the EPL.

Anyway, just interested to hear of your experiences and what the best way to go about it is? I have preregistered for information with a couple of tour companies.

Cheers all.

 

[Slax]

Went to some matches when I lived over there. You might find tying in EPL with the Test matches is a bit difficult as pretty sure the EPL wouldn't of started when the Test matches finish.

If you go with a group make sure you use one certified by either CA or ECB, lot of scammers out there especially for big tours. If you do it privately get in early as the matches will sell out quickly. Most English grounds hold a max of 30,000 so tickets are at a premium.

Good luck and admit bit jealous though.

 

[cutterman]

Did check the dates of the 2009 series and matched it to the EPL season starting and the Fifth Test was from 20-24 August. The 2011/12 EPL season started on August 15, so really hoping for a similar schedule when it comes out.

Leaning towards using the Fanatics and getting individual packages for each Test I want to attend, the going through the same company I just did for the EPL tickets.

Just wondering if there have been any bad experiences with tours? If it's easy to do on your own etc?

Really getting excited for this!

 

[Gough]

I lived in England for ten years and watched a lot of cricket while I was there. Tickets for Ashes tests are generally pretty hard to find. I had a mate who was a member of Middlesex and he could always hook me up with Lords tickets. He also got me tickets to the tied World Cup semi in '99 and the final.
It's also worth remembering that on the ECB doesn't sell tickets to the final day and they are available to walk ups on the day, I think they were 10 quid last time I went.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

I lived in England for ten years and watched a lot of cricket while I was there. Tickets for Ashes tests are generally pretty hard to find. I had a mate who was a member of Middlesex and he could always hook me up with Lords tickets. He also got me tickets to the tied World Cup semi in '99 and the final.
It's also worth remembering that on the ECB doesn't sell tickets to the final day and they are available to walk ups on the day, I think they were 10 quid last time I went.

Test cricket tickets are incredibly pricey in England. I've never been to Ashes matches but have been to other tests series.

The Oval is far better experience than Lords if you are thinking of either or.

 

[cutterman]

Test cricket tickets are incredibly pricey in England. I've never been to Ashes matches but have been to other tests series.

The Oval is far better experience than Lords if you are thinking of either or.

That's good to hear mate. Given I'm probably only gunna be doing the 4th and 5th Test and Lord's is always early I'll see The Oval test which has generally been the 5th. After hearing all your words about how hard it is to get tickets I'll definitely go through a tour company.

Hoping for the series to be alive, if I see a couple of dead rubbers it could be a massive letdown. Unless we are the ones in front of course!

 

[W.C. Fry]

I was on my honeymoon in London on the last ashes tour during the 5th test at the Oval. Mate who lived over there at the time was able to get me a ticket for the 4th day. 50 pounds for a seat square of the wicket and that was a face value ticket, so its not cheap. My mate basically said he was lucky he knew someone who worked for the ticketing company and got some through him. A tour group would be your best bet if you want to see every day of a few tests.

Rate it up there with the 05 grand final as the most devastated ive ever been at a sporting event

 

[Disco_Roach]

Agree Fry.

There wasnt a bowler that ever lived that was getting Ponting out that day. Was the most switched on I've ever seen him & thats saying something given his amazing career.

It was a monster total to chase granted. But to this day until this happened....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvh-rh3S7hM

Think Ponting & Hussey would have given it a massive massive shake & retained the Ashes. They were set & Hussey went on to fill his end of the bargain.

 

[W.C. Fry]

Pontings and Clarkes run outs still haunt me. Only difference with that is i dont have to see them 50 times a year unlike that ****ing Leo Barry mark

 

[jethro11]

Went to the first 2 '05 tests.

Great expierence but the tickets were super expensive as we webt for every day. If your a big cricket fan it's a must do in your lifetime for sure

 

[usalion]

Been to a couple Ashes Tests in England, but it has been a while. As others have noted, the prices are steep- I went over last summer and saw day 1 at Trent Bridge v India- cost me 40 quid. I bought the ticket through Trent Bridge in April, but mthe ashes will go a lot quicker than India.

Would think you are much better with a tour group- you know you'll get the tickets- you'll pay more, but you know what you will have.

Also found the hotels were unbelievable in Nottingham for the test- the night before no problem, but rates doubled during the Test. London won't be that bad, I would think, and really depends where the other Test is.

I've seen Tests at Lords, Old Trafford and Trent Bridge- well worth the visit. Plan ahead and you will have a great time.

 

[DamoESP]

Also thinking about doing the same thing, so hopefully we start seeing some travel packages emerge soon so we can get a better idea

 

[jefffff34]

Cricket wise, I've done the tour of Lords....I went to England in February of 2009. Saw three Premier League games....all booked by myself.

* West Ham vs Manchester United - 5th row, Bobby Moore Stand @ Upton Park
* Bolton vs West Ham - Away game, top deck, 7th row @ Reebok Stadium
* Hull vs Tottenham - Front row, KC Stadium

Getting tickets is easy if you prepare yourself early. I also went to Reading for a championship game (front row), and in Berlin, I saw Hertha vs Bayern Munich infront of 74,000 insane people.

 

[Plugger35]

I went to the 2001 Lords Ashes test. I was living in London at the time and was fortunate to get a couple of tickets at face value from a friend of a friend who worked at Lords. Would have been virtually impossible to get tickets otherwise without paying scalpers prices.

The seats I got weren't great though, they were under one of the grandstands and not a great view. After lunch we ended up sneaking into a couple of free seats on the other side of the ground out in the sun and right on the boundary. They belonged to some guys in one of those Aussie tour groups and they had left for the day after getting too hammered at lunch, the other people in the tour group didn't mind us sitting there so we stayed the rest of the day.

Was a great afternoon sitting in the sun, drinking full strength beer and watching the Waugh twins and Damien Martyn smash the English bowlers around the ground.

 

[Cotchin 9]

Packages have come out from the fanatics and through Cricket Aus. Thought I'd bump this to see if anyone has any feedback to share?

 

[linda]

Trent Bridge is the place to watch the ashes in England .Best pitch, faciliites and atmosphere .Also if you are lucky you may get to see Ponting crying his way off the pitch ranting at the England balcony .

 

[Miqar_Baqfhied]

An Ashes series in England is my idea of a perfect holiday - cant wait to do it.

 

[woofles]

Booked a package with tests 2 and 3 included with the fanatics for next year. Will be travelling on my own but meh, who knows when I'd get this chance again

 

[Furn]

Yeh I go to the mcg and usually the Gabba every four years or so

 

[TheSaviour]

Ashes tickets for the last series were pretty easy to get. I went to about 2-3 days of each test match and got the mwith relative ease. Lords is the Hardest but not impossible. You can buy from touts on the street and these days these guys are lucky if they even break even. The ECB do release day 5 tickets in advance now.

Although it may be a dream tbh watching cricket in England is boring. Its nothing like Australia, and to give you an idea I recently knocked backed day 1 tickets at Lords for England South Africa because I can't be bothered going.

Don't pay a tour package. Those companies are starting to go out of business I hear because it's easy to get tickets