Kasbah, Coventry – 8th November
Metropolitan University, Leeds – 9th November
HMV Ritz, Manchester – 10th November
O2 ABC, Glasgow – 11th November
O2 Academy, Newcastle – 12th November
Pyramids, Portsmouth – 14th November
U.E.A., Norwich – 15th November
O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London – 16th November

On presale at 9am

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HALESTORM

O2 Academy, Birmingham – 21st September
Rescue Rooms, Nottingham – 22nd September
Academy, Manchester – 24th September
O2 Academy2, Oxford – 26th September
The Cockpit, Leeds – 27th September
O2 Academy, Islington – 28th September
Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth – 30th September
The Fleece, Bristol – 1st October

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DJ FRESH

Extra tickets for the O2 Academy, Liverpool – 12th May

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JOHN BARROWMAN

At the Tower Festival Headland, Blackpool – 23rd June

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THE CESARIANS

O2 Academy2, Islington – 13th May

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FIREWIND

O2 Academy, Islington – 22nd September

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VIVA LA HOUSE

IndigO2, London – 30th June

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SPIRITUALIZED

Extra tickets for the Sage Arena, Gateshead – 1st November

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CATE LE BON

At shows in Liverpool, Newcastle and London

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CRICKET ODI – ENGLAND V AUSTRALIA

Durham County Cricket Ground – 7th July

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After spending so much time touring with England before the World Cup, Anderson seemed to suffer from fatigue more than most. But he has accepted that this was not the only reason.

“It was a different ball game than the Ashes,” Anderson told M.E.N. Sport.

“In Australia, the red ball was swinging but in India the pitches were flat and the white ball wasn’t doing as much. I found it tough and in a competition like the World Cup if you are not on top of your game you get found out, and I got punished.

“I couldn’t argue when I was left out. I hadn’t done anything to keep my place, I wasn’t bowling well.

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After Ponting’s resignation yesterday, Clarke, 29, was confirmed as captain at a press conference today.

Clarke said: “What an honour it is to be named captain of Australia.”

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Warne wrote on his twitter page: “Congrats to Michael Clarke on his appointment as skipper of Australia – I believe and know he will do a great job.”

Warne’s message  pre-empts an official announcement which is expected tomorrow, although Clarke does appear to be the overwhelming favourite.

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Ponting, 36, made the announcement in Sydney after arriving home from the Cricket World Cup, where his team were soundly beaten by co-hosts India at the quarter-final stage.

“I have decided to stand down as captain of the Test and one-day teams as of now,” he told a news conference.

Michael Clarke is favourite to replace Ponting as captain.

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Young had spent almost nine years working for the International Rugby Board, who own the World Cup. In this time, Young played a major role in 2003 in Australia, and 2007 in France. He is now working on New Zealand’s preparations for this year’s World Cup.

Since Young has been involved, Rugby’s biggest tournament has generated record surpluses for the IRB to invest in the development of the Game. Now installed as one of the world’s top three global sporting events, Rugby World Cup attendance topped over 2m in 2007.

Rugby tickets are available here.

“Hopefully never tries to cover one of my songs because she’s an idiot,’ he said. “It wouldn’t be so bad if she said, ‘Look I’m a singer,’ but the fact that she claims to be some kind of rebel, she’s not rebelling against anything. She’s rebelling against sanity”.

Example, real name Elliot Gleave, spoke of a situation at a party in England.

“She came to a party in the UK and didn’t have any friends to go with,’ he added. “She’s meant to look like this crazy person who is partying so they paid loads of models to be her friends. It’s like [1998 Jim Carrey movie] ‘The Truman Show’, but you’ve got this scraggy haired cow who can’t really sing”.

Example tickets are available online

New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia have already made it out of Group A, and Pakistan will join them if they beat Zimbabwe this afternoon.

Group B has been much more unpredictable with no team securing a quarter-final place yet. Bangladesh are the team causing problems, as India and South Africa will go through as soon as Bangladesh lose a match. A lot hangs in the balance of England’s next match against the West Indies. If the West Indies win, Bangladesh could go through after their win today against the Netherlands. If England win the game, Bangladesh will have to beat South Africa as well to stand a chance.

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Morgan, 24, missed out on selection after breaking a finger playing in Australia. He was replaced by Ravi Bopara, but with Pieterson now out of the tournament with a hernia problem, Morgan will get his chance after all.

The left hander is a similar player to Pieterson, and England will hope his talent at finishing games off will boost their chances of winning the title.

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The Six Nations will bring together Europe’s biggest Rugby Union teams, and always provides big games with old rivalries. So make sure you don’t miss the excitement and the opportunity to make Christmas special for that special fan.

Compare and buy Six Nations tickets online. See the fixture list below:

One of the best batting displays in Ashes history means that England feel they have turned their luck around, and shown the Australians that they will be tough to beat in the next tests. Captain Strauss will lead the team into the Second Test on Friday.

After a poor performance on the first day, England batted a more than respectable 517-1 to get a comfortable draw, and give them confidence going into the Second Test at Adelaide Oval, which begins on the 3rd December.

England batsman Alastair Cook was the hero, hitting an astonishing 235 runs during England’s second innings.

The first day of the First Test has seen England get off to a slow start, with Australian bowler Peter Siddle taking a hat-trick, the first in the Ashes since Shane Warne in 1994. England were all out for a weak 260,  after looking strong at tea-time with an impressive 174-4. However three wickets in three balls by the impressive Siddle started a quick demise. Australia then batted 25-0 before the end of the day.

Today will see more excitement as England’s bowlers try to reduce the deficit, and stop the Aussies running away with the First Test.

The Ashes tickets are still available to compare and buy online, so fans are still able to join the Barmy Army for the next exciting days in crickets most exciting duel.

The South Africans come to Twickenham to try and take their run of wins against England to seven. However the England team are looking very strong after two convincing victories over Samoa and old rivals Australia in their last two matches. With some people comparing their form to that of the World Cup winning squad of 2003, Twickenham expects another strong display over the Springboks.

With an huge atmosphere and big rivalry, this clash will sure to be a sell-out, so be quick to compare and buy last minute tickets online at tixdaq.com, and don’t miss the chance to witness this fascinating display of Rugby.

England vs South Africa – Twickenham Stadium, London – 27th November – £121
Wales vs New Zealand – Millenium Stadium, Cardiff – 27th November – £73
France vs Australia – Stade de France, Paris – 27th November – £49

However South Africa have beaten England in the last 6 games, so it remains to be seen if the table can be turned at Twickenham this weekend.

England vs South Africa tickets are available to compare and buy online now.

With what is arguably the biggest event in cricket, certainly for the two participating sides, and a rivalry lasting over one hundred years, getting to experience the event live would be memorable for any cricket fan, even more so if England win in Australia.

Luckily The Ashes tickets are available to compare and buy online.

Wales will host South Africa on Saturday 13th November at Cardiff Millennium Stadium whilst on the same day, England will take on Australia at Twickenham Stadium in London. Scotland vs New Zealand will also take place on Saturday at Murrayfield Stadium.

Wales vs South Africa tickets start trading at £47, and there are over 1,500 still available from various ticket outlets.

England vs Australia tickets start at £60, and despite being entirely sold out from primary vendors, are still available from fan-to-fan ticket exchange websites.

Scotland vs New Zealand tickets are still available at face value, with prices starting at £48.

Compare all Autumn Internationals tickets and find the cheapest available.

There are over 500 tickets still remaining for both games with prices starting at around £45.

Autumn Internationals tickets for these fixtures and more are available to buy online.

England welcome the Aussies to Twickenham on November 13th 2010 for an Autumn International, and the match will show what kind of shape the countries are in for the forthcoming 2011 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. Neither team is expected to treat the match as ‘just another game’.

There are over 2500 England v Australia tickets on sale now for the match, and prices begin at £84 for Upper Tier seats from GetMeIn. Lower tier seats close to the pitch are available from £108 from Seatwave.

After all, South Africa are the world champions, the All Blacks of New Zealand are a tremendous attraction, any match against Australia is always fantastically competitive, while Samoa and Argentina have improved a huge amount in recent years.

Autumn Internationals tickets are on sale now for all fixtures taking place this year.

Fortunately for English confidence, they have an almost immediate chance to redeem themselves. They will take on Bangladesh in three ODIs: at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on July 8th, Royal Sun & Alliance County Ground in Bristol on July 10th, and Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on July 12th.

England v Bangladesh tickets are available for all three matches, and the first match at Trent Bridge is currently the cheapest available. Tickets are on sale from £29 from Viagogo, while the prices for games in Bristol and Birmingham are from £33 and £39 respectively.

There is much left to play for though, and Australia have started brightly in the second ODI at Cardiff SWALEC Stadium. Captain Ricky Ponting opted to bat first, and at present his side are a respectable 66-1, with Tim Paine caught by Craig Kieswetter from Stuart Broad’s delivery. It completed a century of One Day wickets for Broad, and at 24 years of age he is the youngest ever Englishman to reach one hundred.

There are England v Australia tickets available for each the remaining games of the series, with the cheapest coming for Wednesday’s match at The Oval Cricket Ground. Tickets for the matches at Lancashire County Cricket Club and the potentially decisive fifth ODI at Lord’s are also on sale now, and both sides will want to put on a good show with the Ashes fast approaching.

That match made England world champions, and with the current pessimistic air surrounding the national football team, it is natural to want to latch on to the buoyant wave of enthusiasm surrounding English cricket. Players such as Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Craig Kieswetter have all firmly made their mark on the team, and having beaten Bangladesh comprehensively in their last match, England will want to keep their momentum going.

All five matches will most certainly be fantastic battles between old rivals, and England v Australia tickets are cheapest for the second ODI – held at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff – at £40. With tickets for the final test at Lord’s Cricket Ground on sale from £175, this offers a significant saving.

Results after the ICC World Twenty have been impressive – with England defeating Bangladesh twice in Test matches, and with the Ashes looming on the horizon, this is a chance for England to keep the momentum they began so impressively in the West Indies.

England v Australia tickets for the June – July ODI series are available for cheaper prices the earlier fans go to see them.

The first match at Southampton Rose Bowl has tickets available from £50 from Seatwave, while the fifth ODI at Lord’s Cricket Ground is substantially more expensive. The current cheapest tickets are on sale – again through Seatwave – for £145 apiece.

Tickets get gradually more expensive the later the match is in the series. With the Lord’s match being the last in the series, it is more likely to be critical in the overall outcome, and this and the fact that it is to be played on a Saturday mean that demand is inevitably higher. Furthermore, it will take place in London, which harbours the densest population per square mile in the UK.

Still, the high surrounding English cricket is a rare one – particularly when facing Australia – and star players such as Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann, Eoin Morgan and Craig Kieswetter will hope to spur England on to victory. That will give the nation much cause for optimism for the Ashes in Australia this November.

A listless first half was characterised by a lack of finesse, poor tackling and an over-reliance on the forwards to break the gain line which they failed to accomplish.

Yet the second half was a pitch-perfect display in how to scrummage while some improved distribution of the ball through the hands hinted at the potential flair that resides in the back division.

It must be remembered that Martin Johnson’s side were playing a team that is starting to pride itself on their positive outlook with the likes of James O’Connor and Drew Mitchell given license to attack from deep at every opportunity.

While those two are certainly slippery customers, the ease with which they were able to wriggle out of tackles will have perturbed England coach Martin Johnson.

The precision – both in hand and via his boot – of Quade Cooper also continually pushed the tourists on to the back foot and it was not until past the half hour mark that England had any sustained possession in the Wallabies’ half.

They were unable to convert that opportunity but the renewed vigour with which England came out in the second half will have relieved their suffering supporters.

Referee Nigel Owens was kind enough to award them two penalty tries as the Australia forwards creaked and then crumbled under immense pressure from the England scrum.

It was a moral victory if sorts but, as Johnson admitted after the game, you need more than just a strong front eight if you are to win down under.

From an individual perspective, the one real plus for the tourists at the Subiaco Oval was the substitute performance of scrum half Ben Youngs.

The Leicester man replaced the stuttering Danny Care and immediately transformed the back division from a static line of plodders into a more vibrant and dangerous unit.

His zippy flat passes coupled with the odd delayed distribution brought another string to England’s bow even though they were still unable to get over the whitewash by traditional means.

While it might be too early to expect much from an international rookie, it would be a surprise if Johnson did not give him a starting berth in the second test in Sydney.

England must sharpen up defensively if they are to have any chance of levelling the series but they could do worse than take a leaf out of Audtralia’s book and trust their attacking instincts.

England Autumn International Fixtures:

Nov 6 – England v New Zealand, Twickenham

Nov 13 – England v Australia, Twickenham

Nov 20 – England v Samoa, Twickenham

Nov 27 – England v South Africa, Twickenham

England v Australia tickets are available for each of the matches but there is a large discrepancy in the prices of the cheapest tickets.

The cheapest England v Australia tickets available are for the 3rd ODI at Old Trafford with Seatwave offering seats in Block A from £49.

Unsurprisingly the most expensive tickets are for the matches in London with the fifth and final ODI taking place at the home of cricket – Lord’s.

The cheapest available tickets can be bought through GetMeIn for the Mound Stand at £143. There are 200 tickets still on sale for that particular fixture and the prices will fluctuate depending on the state of the series.

If the match proves to be the decider, fans can expect to pay markedly more for the same seat.

England v Pakistan tickets are on sale now, and there are plenty of bargains to be found. We’ve drawn out a list of the best prices available for you to compare and buy:

Competition / Fixture:                                                    Venue:                         Lowest Price:sfafdfdafaga Date:

England v Pakistan 1st Test Match Day 1 tickets:   Trent Bridge, Nottingham               £38                  July 29th 2010
England v Pakistan 1st Test Match Day 2 tickets:  Trent Bridge, Nottingham                £35                  July 30th 2010
England v Pakistan 1st Test Match Day 3 tickets:  Trent Bridge, Nottingham                £66                  July 31st 2010
England v Pakistan 1st Test Match Day 4 tickets:  Trent Bridge, Nottingham                £67                  August 1st 2010
England v Pakistan 1st Test Match Day 5 tickets:  Trent Bridge, Nottingham                £80                  August 2nd 2010

England v Pakistan 2nd Test Match Day 1 tickets:  Edgbaston, Birmingham                 £80                   August 6th 2010
England v Pakistan 2nd Test Match Day 2 tickets:  Edgbaston, Birmingham                 £75                   August 7th 2010
England v Pakistan 2nd Test Match Day 3 tickets:  Edgbaston, Birmingham                 £80                  August 8th 2010
England v Pakistan 2nd Test Match Day 4 tickets:  Edgbaston, Birmingham                 £80                  August 9th 2010
England v Pakistan 2nd Test Match Day 5 tickets:  Edgbaston, Birmingham                 £80                   August 10th 2010

England v Pakistan 3rd Test Match Day 1 tickets:          The Oval, London                    £69                    August 18th 2010
England v Pakistan 3rd Test Match Day 2 tickets:          The Oval, London                    £70                    August 19th 2010
England v Pakistan 3rd Test Match Day 3 tickets:          The Oval, London                    £68                    August 20th 2010
England v Pakistan 3rd Test Match Day 4 tickets:          The Oval, London                    £67                    August 21st 2010
England v Pakistan 3rd Test Match Day 5 tickets:          The Oval, London                    £40                    August 22nd 2010

England v Pakistan 4th Test Match Day 1 tickets:             Lord’s, London                       £76                    August 26th 2010
England v Pakistan 4th Test Match Day 2 tickets:            Lord’s, London                        £76                   August 27th 2010
England v Pakistan 4th Test Match Day 3 tickets:            Lord’s, London                        £76                   August 28th 2010
England v Pakistan 4th Test Match Day 4 tickets:            Lord’s, London                        £49                   August 29th 2010
England v Pakistan 4th Test Match Day 5 tickets:            Lord’s, London                        £101                 August 30th 2010

England v Pakistan 1st ODI tickets:                         Durham County Cricket Club           £79            September 10th 2010
England v Pakistan 2nd ODI tickets:                             Headlingley, Leeds                      £61           September 12th 2010
England v Pakistan 3rd ODI tickets:                              The Oval, London                       £79            September 17th 2010
England v Pakistan 4th ODI tickets:                                 Lord’s, London                         £77             September 20th 2010
England v Pakistan 5th ODI tickets:                     The Rose Bowl, Southampton             £78            September 22nd 2010

Remember, if you want to see England’s other matches against Bangladesh and Australia – at home as well as in the Ashes this winter – the England Cricket Tickets page has all the information you need.

Thanks to their success in the ICC World Twenty20, England cricket tickets are valuable commodities, but there are still plenty of bargains to be found for many England v Bangladesh tickets.

England v Bangladesh 2nd Test Match Day 4: tickets available from £67 – Lancashire County Cricket Ground at Old Trafford
England v Bangladesh 2nd Test Match Day 5: tickets available from £67 – Lancashire County Cricket Ground at Old Trafford

England v Bangladesh 1st ODI: tickets available from £50 – Trent Bridge, Nottingham
England v Bangladesh 2nd ODI: tickets available from £77 – Royal Sun & Alliance County Ground, Bristol
England v Bangladesh 3rd ODI: tickets available from £77 – Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham

Tonight the national team will board an aeroplane at Heathrow to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, and then business will truly begin.

With ten days until England’s opening match against the United States, there is still time to join them in South Africa – and thousands of World Cup tickets are still on sale from just £81.

England v USA tickets at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg are available from £153
England v Algeria tickets at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town are available from £103
England v Slovenia tickets at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth are available from £81

Although Capello’s final squad has attracted plenty of questions, there still remains a very real undercurrent of hope in England that this could be the most successful tournament since the  run to the semi-finals in 1990. A look at their projected path to the final – should they progress that far – shows that the knockout stage features some dangerous teams, but ones that can be beaten.

Having won their most recent two international friendly matches against Mexico and Japan, England are the favourites to top Group C, and in that scenario would play the second placed team in Group D: Germany, Serbia, Ghana, or Australia.

Group C winners v Group D runner-up tickets at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg are available from £123

Should they emerge from the second round victorious, they would be expected to play France in the quarter finals.

World Cup Quarter Final tickets are available from £164

While French coach Raymond Domenech has attracted widespread criticism for his bizarre management style – which reportedly includes selection based on astrology signs – his team still has a number of talented players in their ranks. France have also participated in two of the last three World Cup Finals, in 1998 and 2006.

If England were to triumph over the French, their semi-final would be at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town – against the best national side in football history: Brazil.

World Cup Semi Final tickets are available from £355

Stars of Brazil sides over the years have included Pele, Zico, Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and this year’s tournament offers Kaká the chance to shine behind Luis Fabiano up front. With a world class keeper in Julio César, and solid defence thanks to the likes of Lucio, this will be a tremendously difficult task for England to overcome.

There would be no shame in going out at the semi final stage, and a bronze medal might be some consolation.

World Cup Third Place Playoff tickets are available from £131

Still, should they put in an incredible performance and beat Brazil for the first time since March 1990, they would then perhaps face either Spain or Argentina in the World Cup Final.

World Cup Final tickets are available from £560

Capello has publicly stated that he is aiming no lower than the final, but England haven’t beaten Spain since 2001 in Sven-Göran Eriksson’s first match in charge. They have since lost the last three encounters.

The record against Argentina is a sight better, and England v Argentina matches certainly have a history of drama. A wonder goal from the eighteen year old Michael Owen could not prevent England being eliminated on penalties in the 1998 World Cup second round – with David Beckham being sent off for a kick on Diego Simeone. Still, Beckham was redeemed four years later in South Korea, when he scored the winning penalty in the 2002 Group Stage match.

Although he is contracted to Los Angeles Galaxy, there will be no Hollywood climax to Beckham’s career with a World Cup win; an injury to his Achilles tendon has ruled him out of the tournament.  Nevertheless, Beckham is set to play a role in England’s effort to claim the FIFA World Cup trophy – he will travel with the squad as moral support.

You could still do the same yourself.

The latest generation of England cricketers features big hitters with the bat such as Kevin Pietersen, Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter, who take the initiative to the opposition rather than play cautiously. Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy terrify batsmen on the crease everywhere with their bowling.

It almost seems odd to say it, but England may be the most entertaining team in cricket at present.

Tickets are on sale now for the 1st ODI of England v Australia at Southampton Rose Bowl from Row G at £44.

English cricketers have a busy summer ahead of them, and will look to build on their tremendous results at the ICC World Twenty20. Pundits and fans are in agreement – this could be the best chance to claim the Ashes urn on Australian soil. Tickets can be bought for £88 for England v Australia, 2nd Test from Ticketmaster subsidiary GetMeIn – with a buyer’s guarantee from FanGuard. Tickets for the 4th Test between England and Australia are available at the same price.

England have a realistic chance of retaining the Ashes with a first victory in Australia in 23 years, and you could be a part of it.

Of course, English champions of the world has a nice ring to it. It almost goes without saying that England Cricket tickets are currently most prized commodities indeed, but there are still bargains available if you look in the right places.

The  secondary market of the UK ticket industry has a stigma attached to it, but there is a good reason that it is still thrives – and is keeping thousands of fans happy. The rather dogmatic view of seedy touts waiting outside venues is rapidly becoming an outdated one, for there are now plenty of secure sources for re-sales – sometimes at less than the original price.

England have just began a two Test series against Bangladesh. The more intrepid consumer can save a lot of money by choosing the vendor and day they attend carefully.

England v Bangladesh, 1st Test, Day 5 at Lord’s on Monday 31st May, is clearly the most expensive beginning at £80, but tickets for England v Bangladesh, 1st Test, Day 3 on Saturday 29th May can be obtained from just £35.

Because primary sites are retailing their allocation for the same match for £40, it shows there is excellent value to be found in the secondary market.

There are similar bargains to be found in the Second Test. England v Bangladesh, 2nd Test, Day 2 Tickets at Lancashire County Cricket Club on Saturday 5th June can be picked up from just £18 each.

England v Pakistan tickets are also on sale at surprisingly prices on the secondary market. Day 5 of the 3rd nPower Test at the Oval in London will set consumers back £40 from dependable seller Seatwave, and they will come with a great view in line with the wicket from the 10th row of stand 11.

Those looking for tickets to see England’s traditional rivals Australia will of course have to pay slightly more, but the One Day International Series will no doubt be a thrilling occasion, with aggressive cricket akin to that in the Twenty20 game.

The latest generation of England cricketers features big hitters with the bat such as Kevin Pietersen, Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter, who take the initiative to the opposition rather than play cautiously. Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy terrify batsmen on the crease everywhere with their bowling.

It almost seems odd to say it, but England may be the most entertaining team in cricket at present.

Tickets are on sale now for the 1st ODI of England v Australia at Southampton Rose Bowl from Row G at £44.

English cricketers have a busy summer ahead of them, and will look to build on their tremendous results at the ICC World Twenty20. Pundits and fans are in agreement – this could be the best chance to claim the Ashes urn on Australian soil. Tickets can be bought for £88 for England v Australia, 2nd Test from Ticketmaster subsidiary GetMeIn – with a buyer’s guarantee from FanGuard. Tickets for the 4th Test between England and Australia are available at the same price.

England have a realistic chance of retaining the Ashes with a first victory in Australia in 23 years, and you could be a part of it.

Although the outcome of both England’s group matches were preposterously determined by the weather – sending the woefully unlucky Ireland home – in the Super Eights stage they have been excellent. England defeated South Africa, Pakistan and finally New Zealand to top their Super Eights group and qualify in top spot for the semi-finals.

They are likely to face Sri Lanka or the West Indies in the last four, with Australia looming on the horizon for the final. The Aussies are the only team left in the competition with a 100% record, and the old rivalry could yet be resumed.

Before that though, there is the small matter of a semi-final to contend!

Compare and buy England cricket tickets online now!

It was Catt who kicked into touch at the end of extra time in the 2003 World Cup final to ensure Australia had no further chance to attack guaranteeing that the William Webb Ellis would come home to Twickenham. The image is almost as iconic in England as Johnny Wilkinson’s match-winning drop goal.

Catt’s team, London Irish, have almost no chance of making it to the knockout stage of the competition and so Saturday’s match against Northampton Saints will be Catt’s last game in professional rugby. espite having little to play for, London Irish will be desperate to send the veteran off with a victory.

Northampton have already confirmed their place in the playoffs of the competition. Given that for both teams it is pride rather than position at stake, London Irish’s extra motivation for Catt could prove the edge.

Elsewhere in the Guinness Premiership, there is one battle left to be resolved as relegation issues have already been sorted out with Worcester Warriors destined for the drop.

There is only one playoff place left to be decided in the league with the race to secure fourth spot proving one of the most intriguing battles of the season.

Bath are the favourites, as they are three points ahead of London Wasps with just one match remaining, but a failure to beat Leeds Carnegie in their final fixture could prove heartbreaking after an excellent season.

Wasps can only win their game against Newcastle Falcons and hope that they have done enough.

Few anticipated Bath finishing above either Wasps or London Irish at the beginning of the season, but they have exceed expectations, and now sit just one match away from the semi-finals, and the potential of further glory.

Should Bath claim victory in the Guinness Premiership final on the 29th May at Twickenham, it would cap an exceptional campaign.

Compare and buy Guinness Premiership Final tickets online now!

England officials have moved to assure fans that the team will indeed be able to travel, and begin their preparations as scheduled ahead of their first World Cup fixture against the West Indies on May 3rd.

Here at Tixdaq.com we have a huge number of cricket tickets available. As well as the Twenty20 World Cup, England’s cricketers are due to take on Bangladesh at the end of May as part of the nPower Test Series, and there are still tickets available for each day of the two tests.

England cricket tickets are also available for the series of one-day internationals against Australia as well as test matches against Pakistan.

Here at Tixdaq.com you can also compare ticket prices for the 2010 Ashes series in Australia, with ticket prices starting at just £88.

Compare and buy England cricket tickets online now.

Ireland’s talismanic captain has been named as the Rugby Union player of the decade by Rugby World magazine.

The UK-based publication named a 22 man squad – a first XV plus seven replacements – that they fell reflects the greatest exponents of the oval ball game throughout the noughties with O’Driscoll named as the sport’s premier player.

The dynamic centre has had a remarkable ten years in which he embarked on three British and Irish Lions tours – one as captain – led Ireland to their first Grand Slam since 1948 as well as lifting the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009.

There are several expected members in the selection such as England’s World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, New Zealand’s mesmerising fly-half Dan Carter and South Africa’s long-serving leader John Smit.

Some of the more surprising choices include Argentina’s Agustin Pichot at scrum-half ahead of Fourie Du Preez – South Africa’s number nine only making the bench – while Schalk Burger and Doug Howlett have been overlooked completely.

Five members of the list – O’Driscoll, Shane Williams, Jonny Wilkinson, Gethin Jenkins and Yannick Jauzion – can be seen in 2010 Six Nations Championship that kicks off on February 6th. Tickets are available to compare and buy at tixdaq.com.

M Muliana (New Zealand); J Robinson (England), B O’Driscoll (Ireland), M Giteau (Australia); S Williams (Wales); D Carter (New Zealand), A Pichot (Argentina); G Jenkins (Wales), J Smit (South Africa), C Hayman (New Zealand), M Johnson (England, capt), V Matfield (South Africa), R Hill (England), R McCaw (New Zealand), S Parisse (Italy).

Replacements: R Roncero (Argentina), M Ledesma (Argentina), S Marconnet (France), JM Fernandez Lobbe (Argentina), F Du Preez (South Africa), J Wilkinson (England), Y Jauzion (France), JM Hernandez (Argentina)

Compare and buy Six Nations Championship live online.

The air might be cold and the ground may be frozen solid but in a month’s time the 2010 Six Nations Championship will begin in earnest.

The first major international rugby tournament of the new decade will come to life on February 6th when defending champions Ireland take on traditional competition minnows Italy at Croke Park. With 2009 having been bedecked in green with both the international honours and domestic glory – in the shape of the Magners League and Heineken Cup – being bestowed on the Emerald Isle it remains to be seen if Declan Kidney’s men can remain on top of the tree.

Later that day sees the first real major clash of the tournament as England welcome Wales to Twickenham. The Welsh star has faded slightly in the last twelve months but they still retain a dynamic core of quality players throughout their first XV with the likes of Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips and Shane Williams always a  major threat with ball in hand. England will be hoping to improve on an unsatisfactory Autumn but the return to the squad of Delon Armitage and Rikki Flutey as well as their first choice front row will no doubt bolster their challenge.

Scotland take on France in their opening match with Andy Robinson’s men boosted by a successful Autumn International series that included a famous win over Australia. The French, however, comprehensively beat world champions South Africa during the same period and are widely regarded as Ireland’s main challengers for the Six Nations crown.

Tickets for all the above matches are still available to compare and buy on tixdaq.com.

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While seeded teams such as Brazil and Germany have been placed in taxing groups for the FIFA World Cup, the same cannot be said about Italy.

The reigning world champions and their manager Marcello Lippi must have punched the air once the draw for Group F was concluded with their passage to the knockout stages  – force majeur notwithstanding – all but guaranteed. Having gone unbeaten throughout their qualifying campaign despite being pushed all the way by Ireland, they will have to navigate past Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia to book their place in the second round and it would take a brave man to bet against that happening.

Slovakia though will be no pushovers. On the road to South Africa they topped their group ahead of fellow World Cup qualifiers Slovenia, forcing the Czech Republic to watch the tournament from the sofa. They will field Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel in central defence while Napoli’s Marek Hamsik will be putting himself in the shop window with a number of high profile European clubs having already registered an interest in acquiring his services.

Paraguay qualified in impressive style by collecting a record haul of points from their 18 matches. They still only finished third in the oversized CONMEBOL group but they did clinch their place in South Africa by beating Diego Maradona’s Argentina. They found themselves in England’s group in Germany 2006 and failed to make it to the second round. If Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz can get some playing time under his belt before the World Cup they might feel that they have a good chance of improving on that.

New Zealand have made it to their first World Cup finals since 1982 and that itself is a reason for celebration. The All Whites took advantage of Australia’s decision to defect to the Asia qualifying zone and booked their passage with a nervy 1-0 aggregate victory over Bahrain in a trans-federation playoff for the final place in South Africa. Nothing is expected of them except to show commitment in each of their games and they will rely on Blackburn’s Ryan Nelsen to provide the experience that they will need to compete. It’s certainly one of football’s more romantic stories but don’t expect the dream to continue into the second round.

Prediction: Italy to stroll through with Paraguay edging into second place.

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England face South Africa on Friday in the final ODI looking for an historic series win.

The tourists currently lead 2-1 in the series and know that another victory in Kingsmead would make them only the second team to win a one-day series in South Africa since readmission – Australia being the other.

With the first match washed out, the next three games have swung like a pendulum from one team to the other. The second ODI saw England saunter past South Africa’s modest total of 250 with seven wckets in hand but the third ODI saw a completely different script.

The Proteas blasted their way to 354 for 6 from their 50 overs and England were never able to keep up with the rate eventually crumbling to 242 all out. If the home side thought their fortunes had changed however they were in for a rude awakening.

A sensational bowling performance from England and especially James Anderson – who claimed his first ever five-wicket haul in international limited overs cricket – ripped through the South African top order, skittling all ten wickets for a mere 119 runs. A half century from Jonathan Trott saw the tourists cruise to a seven wicket victory.

England have had the indian sign over their hosts in 50-over cricket for while now. A win in the ICC Champions Trophy was preceeded in 2008 by a series whitewash in England’s favour and there is clearly something about Andrew Strauss and his men that gets underneath their opponents skin.

But they could win the ODI series without even bowling a bowl. The weather in Durban has been dreadful with torrential rain leaving pools of water on the outfield. A washout would take England into the history books and set up the forthcoming test series perfectly.

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Folllowing the conclusion of the Autumn Internationals – with the exception of the Barbarians clash with New Zealand at Twickenham this weekend – the new IRB world rankings have been released and they have certainly raised a few eyebrows.

The main talking point is that England, despite a highly disappointing November campaign, actually climbed up the rankings to sixth spot in the word from a previous position of seventh.  They remain above Argentina – whom they narrowly beat at Twickenham but have overhauled a much-vaunted Wales side.

Wales were well beaten by Australia in their final game and were also dispatched by the All Blacks but it seems rather harsh that they have been demoted to eighth in the world.

Ireland recorded a dramatic 15-10 victory over world champions South Africa at Croke Park which has lifted them to fourth above France who were totally obliterated by a sensational New Zealand performance in Marseille.

The All Blacks claim the number one spot for the end of 2009 with the Springboks and the Wallabies second and third respectively.

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After a mixed bag of results in the Autumn Internationals the major teams from the northern hemisphere can now turn their attention to the 2010 Six Nations Championship.

The competition kicks off on the February 6th at Croke Prk when Ireland begin the defence of their crown with a home match against Italy. That same Saturday sees the first of several epic encounters as Wales travel to Twickenham to take on a stuttering England team that limped through November.

Scotland welcome France to Murrayfield the following day hoping to recreate the spirit and performance of their remarkable 9-8 win against Australia.

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The final line-up for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship that takes place from December 18th to January 3rd in Alexandra Palace in London has finally been decided.

72 players from all around the world will compete for £1m in prize money – the richest event in the history of darts – and a first prize of £200,000.

14-time world champion Phil Taylor remains the man to beat though expect challenges from Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Mervyn King, John Part and Andy Hamilton.

The top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit will all take part along with qualifiers from around the globe. One disappointment for the fans will be the omission of female darts star Anastasia Dobromyslova after she lost in the final of the Russian playoff tournament.

PDC Order of Merit Qualifiers

1 Phil Taylor (England)
2 Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
3 James Wade (England)
4 John Part (Canada)
5 Mervyn King (England)
6 Terry Jenkins (England)
7 Ronnie Baxter (England)
8 Adrian Lewis (England)
9 Dennis Priestley (England)
10 Colin Lloyd (England)
11 Colin Osborne (England)
12 Alan Tabern (England)
13 Mark Walsh (England)
14 Andy Hamilton (England)
15 Kevin Painter (England)
16 Robert Thornton (Scotland)
17 Wayne Mardle (England)
18 Vincent van der Voort
19 Steve Beaton (England)
20 Peter Manley (England)
21 Mark Dudbridge (England)
22 Wayne Jones (England)
23 Denis Ovens (England)
24 Jelle Klaasen (Netherlands)
25 Wes Newton (England)
26 Jamie Caven (England)
27 Andy Smith (England)
28 Co Stompe (Netherlands)
29 Kirk Shepherd (England)
30 Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
31 Tony Eccles (England)
32 Roland Scholten (Netherlands)

Players Championship Qualifiers

1 Gary Anderson (Scotland)
2 Paul Nicholson (Australia)
3 Andy Jenkins (England)
4 Peter Wright (Scotland)
5 Brendan Dolan (Northern Ireland)
6 Steve Hine (England)
7 Kevin McDine (England)
8 Steve Brown (England)
9 Matt Clark (England)
10 Colin Monk (England)
11 Mark Webster (Wales)
12 Steve Maish (England)
13 Barrie Bates (Wales)
14 Toon Greebe (Netherlands)
15 Alex Roy (England)
16 Carlos Rodriguez (Spain)

European Order of Merit Qualifiers

1 Andree Welge (Germany)
2 Mensur Suljovic (Austria)
3 Dylan Duo (Gibraltar)
4 Jyhan Artut (Germany)

North American Order of Merit Qualifiers

1 Darin Young (USA)
2 Scott Burnett (USA)
3 Ken MacNeil (Canada)

International Qualifiers

Simon Whitlock (Australia) – DPA Australian Grand Prix Champion
Phillip Hazel (New Zealand) – New Zealand Champion
Aodhagan O’Neill (Ireland) – Irish Matchplay Champion
Les Francis (South Africa) – PDC South African Open Champion
Francisco Ruiz (Spain) – Spanish National Champion
Warren Parry (New Zealand) – Oceanic Masters Champion
Haruki Muramatsu (Japan) – Japanese Champion
Osmann Kijamet (Slovenia) – Eastern European Champion
Norman Madhoo (Guyana) – Caribbean & South American Masters Champion
Christian Perez (Philippines) – Philippines Champion
Jarkko Komula (Finland) – Finnish Pro-Darts Champion
Magnus Caris (Sweden) – Swedish National Champion
Tomas Seyler (Germany) – German National Champion
Per Laursen (Denmark) – Danish Series Champion
Krzysztof Kciuk (Poland) – Polish National Champion
Roman Konchikov (Russia) – Russian National Champion
Plus Chinese National Champion

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This weekend sees the culmination of the Autumn Internationals as far as the northern hemisphere nations are concerned.

There is a prestige friendly on December 5^th when a Barbarians invitational XV takes on New Zealand at Twickenham but for Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy their last matches before the Six Nations Championship take place this weekend – England’s programme ended in defeat against the All Blacks last Saturday.

There are two particularly mouth-watering matches taking place. In Marseille at the Stade Velodrome, France take on New Zealand in a fixture that has always had something about it. Twice France have eliminated the All Blacks from the World Cup yet they have also suffered some massive defeats to them on home soil. France’s tour of New Zealand in the summer yielded a victory and a narrow defeat and the home side will be take significant encouragement from that.

At Croke Park in Dublin, the best of both hemispheres clash as Ireland take on South Africa. The reigning Six Nations champions face the Tri-Nations champions in what is something of an unofficial world championship though the Springboks will be keen to point out that it is they that are actually the World Cup holders. Ireland snuck a last minute draw against Australia two weeks ago and know they will have to up their game against South Africa even if the tourists have massively underperformed so far in Europe.

Wales face Australia in Cardiff in another attractive fixture with the Wallabies keen to erase memories of last weekend’s shock 9-8 defeat at Murrayfield. Their conquerors, Scotland, take on Argentina this weekend while Italy face the power and bulk of Samoa.

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Australia travel to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 28th November to face an emboldened Welsh side hungry to stick it to the convicts.

Some 600 odd tickets are still available at face value and above to compare and buy at tixdaq.com.

The 2010 World Cup kicks off in South Africa in just over eight months time and the excitement is building.

Tickets have been snapped up at an astonishing rate with around a million having already been sold. What is even more surprising is that it is still not known which teams will be playing where. Indeed, there are still a number of play-off matches to be played before we know the identity of all 32 teams that will take part in the finals.

The FIFA World Cup draw is to be made in Cape Town on December 4 and the next sales phase for tickets will go on sale to the general public on the following day. Tickets are available on an individual match basis or you can buy a ‘Team-Specific-Ticket’ (TST) and follow your team through the tournament. However, TST’s for England, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Republic of Ireland and Holland have already sold out.

Tickets are priced from $20 for the cheapest seat at a group game to $900 for the best seat at the final meaning there is something for every wallet, big or small.

So remember to put December 5 in your diary so you can book a ticket to see the greatest show on Earth.

The hottest sports tickets on the market right now are for the autumn rugby internationals in November.

The cream of the southern hemisphere is landing in Europe to test themselves against the best that the Six Nations Championship can offer.

Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Samoa and, of course, World and Tri-Nations Champions South Africa will all be descending on our shores for some scintillating games of rugby.

Ireland v South Africa, Wales v New Zealand and England v Australia are the stand-

out fixtures of this jamboree but each and every game will be full of interest. Autumn rugby internationals tickets are still available so grab them while you can.

Freddie Flintoff is expected to return for his last Test series match for the final Test of the Ashes 2009 series at the Oval.

England and Australia are preparing to do battle for the fifth and final Test of the Ashes 2009 series, which begins on August 20 at the London Oval Cricket Ground.

The scores are level at 1-1 after Australia convincingly beat England by an innings and 80 runs in the fourth test at Leeds Headingley and Australia only need a draw in the fifth Test to retain the Ashes.

Once again, the fitness of Andrew Flintoff is still up in the air whilst he is confident he will be fit to play, especially having missed the fourth Test because of his knee injury.

Andrew Flintoff is trying to shift the focus away from the fact that this will be his last Test series match, and is instead looking forward to the prospect of regaining the Ashes at the Oval, knowing that anything less than a win for England means the Ashes belong to Australia once again.

Andrew Flintoff says he has been working with the physio Dave Roberts and feels a lot better going into the fifth Test compared to when he was going into the third test at Edgbaston.

Freddie Flintoff also denies Australia have the momentum going into the fifth Test, saying that the week off has helped the England team overcome their fourth Test loss, and now sees the final Ashes Test as a one-off with previous results having no bearings on the upcoming match.

Meanwhile, Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke says the pressure is now on England, especially newcomer Jonathan Trott who has replaced Ravi Bopara in the England team.

Michael Clarke also claims that Australia will go all out to win and are confident in doing so, despite only needing a draw in the fifth test to win the Ashes 2009 series.

Australia head coach Tim Nielsen wants the team to enjoy and savour the special occasion whilst not letting nerves and the expectation of others be a distraction.

Despite having sold out last November, Ashes 2009 tickets are still available to compare and buy from tixdaq.com.

Ashes 2009 ticket prices from tixdaq.com start from £44 per ticket, which is available for the last day of the fifth test. Tickets at face value ranged from £60 to £90.

The most expensive tickets available to buy from tixdaq.com is at the price of £495 for one ticket, which is for the third day of the fifth Ashes Test.

Hundreds of Ashes 2009 tickets are still available to compare at tixdaq.com, with the most number of tickets available for the fourth day.

Ian Bell will bat at four against Australia in the Ashes 2009 third test, which starts tomorrow.

Ian Bell has come in for Kevin Pietersen in the England team for tomorrow’s third Ashes 2009 test at the Birmingham Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Ian Bell’s home ground.

Ian Bell is ready to play a big part in the Ashes 2009 and improve his record against Australia, which he admits has been playing in the back of his mind. However, he is excited to get the opportunity he did not think would come this summer and is making sure he enjoys the day and not worry about it too much being a big game.

Ian Bell also claimed that there was no better time to be joining the England team as they had been playing really well and their confidence was something to feed off from.

Kevin Pietersen had been ruled out for the rest of the Ashes series with an achilles injury and is backing batsman Ian Bell to improve his Ashes record.

Kevin Pietersen said that being left out of the team would only make Ian Bell stronger and he would make the most out of his opportunity of being back in the team.

Reflecting on his own disappointment of being ruled out for the rest of the Ashes 2009, Kevin Pietersen said he was devasted, heartbroken and gutted but was going to try and stay positive.

Fellow batsman Ravi Bopara says he is not feeling any extra pressure due to Kevin Pietersen’s absence, but is trying to relieve any pressure away from him and is actually feeling comfortable at number three, having played there a few times and has gotten use to it.

It seems the national selector Geoff Miller is confident all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will be fit for tomorrow’s Ashes third test despite his knee injury worries, as no one has been drafted in to cover him in the team.

Andrew Flintoff has been sleeping with a special compression machine on his knee, but Geoff Miller knows the knee has to be monitored on a day-to-day basis.

Freddie Flintoff is confident of playing back-to-back Test matches and intends to do so starting tomorrow.

England captain Andrew Strauss has confirmed Ian Bell will bat at four, saying it would be the least possible disruption to the rest of the team. Ian Bell agrees that a straight swap with Kevin Pietersen makes the most sense.

Andrew Strauss is confident Andrew Flintoff will be fit for Edgbaston, England’s most successful Test match ground, and that England should expect a backlash from Australia who are looking to bring the scores level to 1-1.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting is hoping for a better reception from the crowd at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground as he felt he was subjected to frequent booing during the Ashes second test at London Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Ricky Ponting said he was surprised to hear the heckling especially at London Lord’s Cricket Ground where he expected the crowd to focus more on the game.

Cricket fans can catch the players in action throughout the Ashes 2009 series, with the third test taking place at the Birmingham Edgbaston Cricket Ground (July 30 – August 3).

The fourth test will be at Leeds Headingley Stadium (August 7-11) and the final test will be at the London Oval Cricket Ground (August 20-24).

The Ashes 2009 tickets are available to compare at tixdaq.com