Next summer's Ashes cricket series is "heading for a record-breaking sell-out," according to Andy Wilson of the London GUARDIAN. Nottinghamshire, which will stage the first Test at Trent Bridge starting on July 10, put its 23,500 remaining tickets on general sale on Monday morning. The tickets were "snapped up within six hours" in the busiest and most-lucrative day in the club's history, ensuring a capacity 22,000 crowd for each of the first four days. Lancashire "experienced a similar rush" when it put tickets on general sale for the third Test of the series last week. All 25,000 tickets for the redeveloped Old Trafford sold for the second and third days. Durham has "also reported rapid sellouts" of all the tickets that have so far been released for the first Ashes Test in the northeast. Surrey County Cricket Club is "already guaranteed to sell out" The Oval for the last Test of the series later in August. A total of 26,500 people have signed up for the "public ballot of the tickets that remain after they go on sale," initially to members only, on Dec. 1 (GUARDIAN, 10/16).
