Cricket fans snapped up tickets for next year's Ashes series yesterday, with the first three days of the third Test at Edgbaston sold out within hours.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club membership and ticket office manager David Bunce said today there were no tickets available for the match on July 30, 31 or August 1 at the venue, which seats nearly 20,000.
"We knew there was going to be huge demand because it's Australia but we were very, very surprised at the demand for the tickets," Bunce said.
The club's ticket office fielded 3,200 phone calls yesterday from people wanting Ashes seats, which were also available online and via Ticketmaster.
"About 9,000 calls hit Ticketmaster at 10 o'clock yesterday morning," Bunce said.
Warwickshire initially released tickets for sale to members last month.
Yesterday's release was for anyone who had previously bought tickets to an international match at the ground over the past four years.
Any returns or additional tickets will go on sale to the general public on October 1.
Bunce said Australia's 5-0 series whitewash in 2007 had no bearing on demand for seats next year.
"That's all gone out of the memories of the majority of people," Bunce said of Australia's triumph on home soil.
"They're just looking forward to next year rather than looking back and saying, `we got thrashed last time, I'm not going this time.' "With the renaissance of England under (new captain) Kevin Pietersen, I think that has helped, but it doesn't really seem to matter how well England are playing.
"It's just England versus Australia, the old enemy as it were, brings out the people." The other 2009 Test venues - Cardiff's SWALEC Stadium, Lord's, Headingley and The Oval - will begin selling tickets to the public in November.
Edgbaston tickets for the first three days were priced at STG75 ($NZ210) for adults, the same as the most expensive seats at Headingley and STG10 cheaper than in Cardiff.
The London grounds have yet to set their ticket prices.
The series starts in Cardiff on July 8.
