Cricket World Cup: Empty seats will greet England for cricket World Cup semifinal against Aussie

England batting star Jonny Bairstow...might not play to a packed house in semifinal. Photo / Getty Images

Thousands of seats will be empty when hosts England take on their great rivals Australia in a cricket World Cup in Birmingham.

That's according to ESPN's CricInfo, which says some Indian fans can't be bothered putting their tickets for up for resale.

The match at Edgbaston looked sure to feature India before Australia's surprise defeat to South Africa.

But now, with India not involved in the game, many of those spectators are not expected to attend.

"The ICC has a resale platform…but it appears some presumably wealthy ticket holders cannot be bothered with the effort, while some others have taken to unofficial resale sites in an attempt to sell their tickets for a profit," it is reported.

The unofficial resale method isn't illegal but the ICC has at time cancelled such sales during the tournament, under the terms and conditions. They claim to be doing this to protect spectators.

"Anyone purchasing tickets from an unauthorised source, either online or in person, faces the risk of being left out of pocket and unable to enter the venue," the ICC stated.

Ironically, India's fervent enthusiasm for cricket is at the heart of the issue. When the tickets were made available in a priority ballot more than a year ago, the uptake from Indian supporters was six times that for English fans.

CricInfo also said there had been a problem with non-attendance by people with sponsors' tickets, adding to the likelihood of empty Edgbaston seats.