The Best Things in Life are Free

Back in the dark days of the Thatcherite Junta, Harry Enfield made a nice living with his comedic creation - 'Loadsamoney'. Much to Enfield's embarrassment, what had been intended as a satirical depiction of the greed and ostentatious excess that epitomised the era, became almost a Gordon Gekko style role model for millions.

In one particular sketch, the character mentioned that he'd paid FORTY QUID for a seat at Spurs, and then complained that it was ''nowhere near enough''...

This 'keep the riff-raff out' attitude seems to have now seeped into cricket. The following is a quote from this months 'Wisden Cricketer'. Paul Blanchard, Marketing Director at The Oval responds to criticism of ticket prices for some ODI seats going over £100.

"You get a lot more value for your money because you are there for a lot longer. There is a strong argument that we should boost the prices. People ring up and accuse us of not charging enough because they have not been able to get the tickets."

(My emphasis added)