West Indies look to control ticket sales to visitors

Fears that locals would be unable to buy tickets for next winter's West Indies v England Test at Bridgetown have been dismissed by the West Indies Cricket Board. With around 10,000 visitors expected to travel to Barbados for the match, there had been speculation that local fans would miss out.

On the last two England tours so many tickets were sold to visiting supporters that angry locals were left unable to watch the match. "I don't think they need to fear," Darren Millien, the WICB's marketing manager, told the Barbados-based Nation newspaper. "We are mindful of what happened in 1994 and 1998, and it's not going to happen. We are in discussions with the Barbados Cricket Association about trying to see how we can increase the seating capacity at Kensington with a view to satisfying demand."

Millien added that the WICB were determined that visitors and tour companies would not be allowed to buy all the tickets. "We're trying our best to organise a scenario where we have enough seats for locals and enough for visitors. Whereas tickets are going to be available early, we're not going to sell out all of them to the visitors. We're going to be liaising with all the tour operators to try and identify their quotas."

The issue of how to accommodate the high demand from overseas is also likely to be an issue for the authorities in Antigua, the other most popular venue for traveling supporters.