The excitement for the 2025-26 Ashes series was palpable, but many cricket enthusiasts found themselves stuck in virtual queues stretching over 180,000 people. Some reported being pushed to the back after hours of waiting, while others faced timeouts during checkout or were limited in the number of tickets they could purchase. Ticketek attributed these issues to their bot protection system, which may have misidentified users with multiple browser tabs as automated bots. However, several fans claimed they used only a single tab.
Despite these challenges, Cricket Australia announced a record-breaking sale, with over 311,000 tickets sold on the first day, surpassing the previous record from the 2017-18 Ashes series. The general public sale is set to begin on June 13, and fans are advised to act quickly due to high demand.
Data Breach Raises Security Concerns
In May 2024, Ticketek experienced a significant data breach affecting over 17 million customers. Personal information, including names, email addresses, and dates of birth, was accessed. The breach was linked to a third-party cloud platform. While Ticketek assured customers that payment details and passwords remained secure, the incident raised concerns about data protection.
Following the breach, a representative complaint was lodged with the Australian Information Commissioner, alleging that Ticketek failed to adequately protect customer data. The company has since implemented additional security measures and is working with authorities to address the situation.
What Ticketek Said About the Queue Problems
Ticketek did release a statement saying their bot detection tools probably mistook real users as bots if they had more than one tab open. They said it was meant to keep things fair — to stop scalpers — but obviously, something didn’t go right.
To be fair, Cricket Australia shared that the first day of pre-sales broke records. Over 311,000 tickets were sold — more than in any previous Ashes series. That shows how crazy the demand is, but also, how unprepared the system might’ve been.
