Tickets for final rocket to £8,000

FANS wanting to attend Sunday’s final were being asked for more than £8,000 for a top ticket last night – 20 times its face value.

The International Cricket Council has appealed to those who do not want to go to the game at Lord’s to return their tickets so they can be sold to other genuine supporters at face value.

Cricket lovers have until midday tomorrow to return tickets to the ICC website rather than selling them to ticketing sites on the internet.

Many tickets were originally snapped up by India fans who expected their team to reach the final before they were beaten by New Zealand on Wednesday in the first semi-final.

In the months before the tournament began fans could buy top-rated platinum tickets for £39 , gold for £29 , silver for £19 and bronze for £9 . However, yesterday the StubHub ticket website was offering platinum tickets for £2,428 with other categories on sale for £1,336 and £1,882.

And following England’s victory, a pair of tickets in the Compton Stand Upper were last night being offered for more than £16,000 – more than 20 times their value of £39 each.