Cricket World Cup ticket sales from May

London: The first phase of public ticketing for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean will start from May 1.

A total of 800,000 tickets will be available for 51 tournament matches and 16 warm-up fixtures that will be played across nine Caribbean countries next March and April.

While fans worldwide will be able to apply online (www.cricketworldcup.com) from May 1, sale through ticket centres at seven host venues - excluding Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago - will start a day later due to May Day holiday.

The ticket pricing range from $10 for warm-up matches to $300 for best seats in the final, ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Managing Director and CEO Chris Dehring said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The application process will be fair and transparent and everyone will have equal chance to get a ticket," Dehring said.

There will be combination packages that will allow fans to either follow a particular team throughout the tournament or watch all matches at a given venue.

"We have 16 teams competing in this tournament, some of them with massive fan bases. Added to those commitments, we want to ensure that the people of this region - who have long supported cricket - have ample opportunity to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience on their home soil," Dehring said.

The first phase of public ticketing will run from May 1 to July 31, allowing fans to apply for Single Match tickets, Venue Combinations or Follow A Path Combinations.

Applications and payments from Phase 1 will be processed in August, ahead of Phase 2 which runs from September 1 to November 30.

The second stage will be conducted on a "first come, first served" basis, with the remaining tickets again being available via the ICC CWC 2007 website and Ticket Centres.

The third and final phase runs from January 9, 2007, up to the morning of the Final on Saturday April 28, 2007 - again on the "first come, first served" principle.

Prior to this, between December 1, 2006, and January 9, 2007, ticket sales will be closed while seat locations are assigned to all ticket purchasers and tickets are printed and prepared for distribution.