SUNDAY’S one-day international cricket match between the Proteas and England in Port Elizabeth is set to be a full-house affair, with 13000 tickets already sold for the 17500-seater St George’s Stadium.

This is in sharp contrast with the poor turnout of fans at previous matches so far during the current English tour.

“The tickets are going very well. We are quite close to being sold out, especially with the unreserved seats. There are still a few reserved tickets available. Sales will surely pick up drastically between today and Friday,” said EP cricket spokesman Leigh Deysel.

Cricket SA (CSA) appointed IFM Sports Marketing Surveys SA to look at possible reasons behind poor attendances at the opening international matches against England.

The Wanderers Stadium attracted 16600 fans for the first Pro20 match while 7934 spectators turned out at Centurion’s SuperSport Park for the second Pro20 game.

The ODI at St George’s looks set to be sold out and fans are encouraged to buy their tickets early to avoid disappointment at the gates on Sunday. The match starts at 10am.

Tickets are available from Computicket outlets. Prices range from R150 to R250 with scholars and pensioners at R75.