Further to recent incidents of ambush marketing in India concerning the use of ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 match tickets as prizes in competitions to the public, the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) has taken steps to resolve the issues.

As a result of these activities certain companies are in danger of having all their ticket packages cancelled, including those packages that may have been purchased for legitimate internal incentives.

The Terms and Conditions of the sale of tickets state clearly that the use of tickets in lotteries or competitions without the written consent of CWC management is expressly prohibited. Furthermore, the Terms and Conditions warn ticket-holders against any form of ambush marketing.

Dr Ali Bacher, the Executive Director of CWC 2003, has personally written to these companies informing them that if they confirm in writing that all such competitions have been cancelled and that no match tickets will be used as prizes in any public competitions, these companies will be assured of receiving their packages. These packages could then be used for legitimate purposes and the holders of tickets would be assured of smooth entry to the CWC matches.

Deadlines have been set for these written undertakings to ensure that any cancelled packages can be resold.

Dr Bacher stated today: "We believe that the companies involved will cooperate with us and we look forward to welcoming a great many Indian tourists to South Africa. It is extremely important that people only purchase CWC packages through the authorised travel agents."

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