Cricket: World Cup tickets up for grabs

Black Caps batsman Luke Ronchi. Photo / Alan Gibson.

Fans will this afternoon have the chance to snap up tickets for the premier matches at this summer's Cricket World Cup.

Tickets for some games have been unavailable since the original allocation for exhausted in February but, with 100 days until the tournament kicks off, a new batch will be on sale on a first-come first-serve basis at 2pm.

Matches that have been unavailable until today include the opening game between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Christchurch, the first to sell out, along with the transtasman battle at Eden Park in February 28.

Half a million tickets for the tournament have been sold on either side of the Tasman and Therese Walsh, head of the New Zealand arm of the organising committee, was thrilled with the response of the public.

"It's quite a significant number and it did exceed our expectations," she said. "It's been quite unprecedented, the ticket sales levels, and we were quite surprised how early a couple of the games sold out - one sold out the very first day we put them on sale in February."

It's not just the big centres that have got behind the tournament in number, with a clash in Nelson between the West Indies and Ireland also in hot demand.

"They tends to be smaller grounds but they've got some really interesting fixtures," Walsh said. "It's some of those teams that capture the imagination and, with smaller grounds, I'm confident they'll all be full."

The grounds that were unfamiliar with the demands of the international game would be the focus for organisers in the coming 100 days, with logistical issues like temporary seating and signage needing attention to ensure the venues reached the required standard.

Security was another issue and, after Prime Minister John Key this week said the World Cup could bring an increased terror risk, Walsh was confident the event would be ready to deal with any threat.

"With major events there's always the perception of increased threat around security," she said. "There's actually nothing from a fan-facing perspective - there will be nothing different that we're not used to as Kiwis from a Rugby World Cup or a normal ODI perspective.

"In the background we continue to work with agencies and police and the ICC to understand any specific threats, of which there are none at this stage. But it's a watching brief - if something happened between now and the tournament, that might change. But at the moment it's just business as usual."