World Cup empty seats are an insult to fans and provide unwelcome distraction

NICK HOWSON AT TRENT BRIDGE: The ICC's deluge of sponsors and partners were given first refusal on tickets - but have failed to show up.

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In tribute to the Pakistan fan dressed as the Riddler for the clash with England, here is a poser for you: what is big, blue, elusive and impossible to miss? And no, it is not a pulsating Jofra Archer in full flight.

For anyone who has watched either of the World Cup matches at Trent Bridge, the answer is an obvious one. And that is half the point.

Located at all 11 grounds during this tournament, including in Hound Road stand in Nottingham which is located in a prominent position behind the bowler's arm and is full view of television cameras and those in attendance, is rows of seats set aside for the ICC's raft of sponsors and partners.

Cricket's world governing are braced for record-breaking revenue from the 2019 event, partly thanks to the eight-year broadcast deal worth in excess of £1.5 billion which has just reached the half-way stage.

More than 3.5 million applications for the 800,000 available seats also ensured the ICC have maximised profits from the 10-team tournament, which increases the number of big-ticket matches not least with hosts England having nine games across the country.

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Are fans being taken for a ride by the ICC?

Ticketing has been one of the few blotches on this tournament's copybook and is a curse which follows major sporting events on these shores like a bad smell. The Olympic Games in 2012 and the 2015 Rugby World Cup were also afflicted in a similar fashion.

Many of those who bought a ticket for the West Indies' clash with Pakistan missed the majority or all of play, and not just because the Champions Trophy holders were beaten before 2pm BST. Plenty were unable to gain entry to Trent Bridge for the start of play, while some gave up altogether.

Refunds have been offered but if that was the only ticket you were able to afford, not least purchase through a competitive buying process, then your memories of this World Cup will not be of how you broke even.

The difficulty of getting hold of tickets has now been further exacerbated by the raft of empty seats, many of which have been set aside to the more than two dozen of the ICC's commercial partners. At Trent Bridge for England's second game of the tournament, you could not ignore the rows of seats which went unfilled throughout play.

VISIT THE WORLD CUP PORTAL: Your one-stop shop for the summer spectacular

Granted, we're not talking an entire stand or even tier of the stadium - it was around 50 on this occasion - but for a match advertised as sold out it is a poke in the eye for those supporters who strived to attend and whose friends or family were unable to join them.

The ICC advertised ballot applicants as having first access to tickets, with those who were initially unsuccessful allowed to purchase seats in a 'priority window'. It appeared, at least initially, that dedicated fans had been looked after.

But the reality is somewhat different. In fact, the ICC offered their sponsors and partners tickets to each of the 48 matches this summer before they went on sale. Each company were asked how many they would like for certain matches, with the ICC doing their best to accommodate. Then the fans were taken into account.

The allocation is part of the deals the ICC have signed with these various companies, which include the likes of Emirates, Coca-Cola, Veuve Clicquot. But quite clearly, the system is being abused.

Such is the volume which have been requested by at least one major sponsor, they have offered me tickets for any match I wish to attend during the tournament. Some tickets have been handed back, allowing them to be released on general sale - some as recently as the evening before England v Pakistan - but it has only eased the problem rather than cured it.

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Steve Elworthy (left) is leading the organisation of the tournament

The ICC are constantly reviewing the number of no-shows and did remind all partners to ensure they turned up before the tournament started. Another reminder is imminent though there will not be individual prompts to repeat offenders.

For a television audience estimated at 1.5 billion across these six-and-a-half weeks empty seats at a tournament sold as the biggest and best edition is an embarrassment. Social media is already awash with angry fans who are scattered across the world rather than at the game itself.

For the atypical cricket fan, the knowledge they have been relegated to second behind sponsors is a real kick in the teeth. Will those who have paid £395 for the privilege of watching the final at Lord's be tempted to do the same again aware they are not the priority? Prices at the bars, concessions and merchandise stands have already relegated them to the consumer as it is.

This 2019 event might well be the best executed World Cup in living memory, and revenue wise among the most lucrative in history for the ICC. But it might be the summer when cricket's governors, whose supporters are already on a precipice, lose the total confidence of their core fanbase. And that is a price they can't afford to pay.

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk

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