MCC confident England Lord

The MCC is confident that England’s first Test match of the summer, starting tomorrow at Lord’s against New Zealand, will be a sell-out despite some seats still being available yesterday.

England face the Black Caps looking to rediscover their form after a humiliating winter Ashes series in Australia. They could do so in front of a small number of empty seats after a number of tickets were returned at short notice, which the MCC insists isn’t unusual.

The Lord’s owners say all public tickets have been sold out for some time after last year’s Test against India saw bumper crowds. The remaining tickets still available for the opening day were priced at £115 for adults, with tickets available for the next three days too.

MCC chief executive Rob Lawson, said: “Tickets for the first three days for the England vs New Zealand Test at Lord’s have been sold out for some time.

“Any tickets available on the website reflect a small number of tickets that have been made available at late notice, mainly due to returns, which isn’t uncommon for major sporting venues.

“We are looking forward to welcoming supporters to Lord’s for the 150th Test to be held at the ground, a number unmatched by any other ground, and what promises to be an excellent first match of the series between England vs New Zealand.” 

Matches against India are always top sellers, with July’s scheduled one-day international at the Home of Cricket already sold out.

England will then play a Test match in August against Pakistan at Lord’s as part of a wider series.

The 31,100-capacity north London venue will also host four matches in this year’s Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup, including the final.

Play begins at 11am but could be hit by rain throughout as Ben Stokes’s side look for a much-needed win.