"Pure greed": England legend slams Ashes pricing

Michael Vaughan has accused the England Cricket Board of pure greed and ripping fans off after announcing astronomical increases in ticket pricing for the 2027 Ashes series.

A basic ticket to the Edgbaston Test next year will set fans back approximately $315 for a single day in what Vaughan said makes a mockery of the ECB’s quest to make cricket “the most inclusive sport in England”.

Using the price of a seat in the Hollies Stand as the example, Vaughan slammed the 43 per cent increase on what fans would have paid in 2023 and while levelling his criticism at the ECB he also acknowledged the clubs played their role in deciding costs.

“That is pure greed,” Vaughan wrote in his weekly Telegraph column. “This is the biggest series of them all, the game’s greatest shop window. It looks to me like clubs have thought ‘we know the tickets will sell out, so we will get as much money as we possibly can out of fans’.

“None of that justifies ripping off loyal fans, who have been coming year after year to the cricket.

“There will be plenty of people looking at the ballot this week again and realising that they just cannot afford their day at the cricket next summer. That is a very sad thought.

“You look at these prices and have to recognise that this has become a game for the middle classes and above.

“The working class, which have made up a huge proportion of the game’s support historically, are priced out.”

Edgbaston will host the third test of next year’s series between England and Australia which gets under way in Nottingham on June 18.

Tickets for the London Tests at Lord’s and the Oval are predictably the most expensive with prices starting at $356 per day.

"Our prices for the 2027 Ashes Test are broadly in line with other host venues and major British sporting events such as Wimbledon and the Formula One at Silverstone,” a spokesperson for Edgbaston said.

"Our entry level ticket prices roughly match inflation compared to the last time Australia visited Edgbaston in 2023 - but like the rest of the country, we're battling increased costs and trying to manage these wherever we can."

The Utilita Bowl will be the fifth venue for the series marking the first time the men’s Ashes will be played in Southampton.