ENG vs IND: Any Spare Tickets? Cricket's Informal Economy Returns

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The gates had only just opened at London's Oval cricket ground before the fourth day of the fourth Test between England and India on Sunday but a frenzied marketplace was already active.

While fans thronged pubs and cafes in the morning sunshine, an informal economy of ticket touts and unofficial merchandise sellers scrambled to ply their trade on the streets. Touts buy as many tickets as they can get their hands on and resell them above face value to supporters desperate to watch their sporting heroes.

And with stadium capacity limits scrapped in England in July, touts could again feast on high takings after a pandemic-induced famine while matches were played behind closed doors.

"I've been doing this for 60 years. There was no work last year because of Covid," a bespectacled tout told AFP before continuing to prowl around the ground.

English cricket's governing body warns against purchasing tickets from  touts as invalid duplicates and forgeries can leave fans stranded outside venues and out of pocket. There are also fears that the astronomical cost of some tickets will price people out of cricket and make the game less accessible.

Groups of mostly middle-aged men loitered outside the two underground stations near the Oval in south London offering to buy or sell, rhythmically repeating their coded cry of "any spare tickets" to passers-by. Many were dressed to blend into the shadows of sport's black market, wearing grey flat caps and large, dark coats while puffing on cigarettes.

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