The first day of ticket sales for next year's World Cup ended in farce when the computer system crashed after only 12 spectators had been served. Some punters had been queuing in icy conditions outside the ticket offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban for two days. The system was fixed within an hour, but it is still an extremely embarrassing incident for the South African authoriries.

"Friends drove past on Friday morning and saw about 300 people queueing so we decided to join", said Peter Moss, the man first in line at The Wanderers in Johannesburg. "When they left I was first, and I decided to stay."

Another fan, Ashley Petersen from Johannesburg, said: "If my wife divorces me, at least I'll have my cricket ticket." At least the cold weather hasn't messed with his sense of perspective.

On Monday, a total of 222,000 tickets became available to the South African public in packages. A further 70,000 "follow-the-team" tickets to certain games will become available on December 2.

The tournament begins in Cape Town in February 2003, with 54 games at 15 venues in three countries - South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Some 800,000 spectators are expected at the grounds, while organisers claim a global audience in excess of one billion will view the tournament on television. There might be even more if the system breaks down again.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd