Capacity crowd expected at opening World Cup matches

The cricket World Cup is set to start on a rousing note with capacity crowd expected at all the four venues across Australia and New Zealand over the weekend.

Two matches have already sold out, while only limited tickets remain for the games in Melbourne and Hamilton, according to ICC.

The tournament's Local Organising Committee chief executive John Harnden said he was delighted with the response of the fans.

"We've already sold over 8,25,000 tickets a few days before the first ball is being bowled.

"We're very close to being at full capacity for Australia versus England on Saturday at the MCG. There's a few thousand tickets left and I'd urge people if they want to be there, to buy now and don't leave it until the last moment.

"The message to everyone is there are still great tickets available, there's a lot of games over the tournament and don't miss out. If you want to be here, if you really want to be part of history make certain you come," Harnden said.

The tournament kicks off with double headers over the weekend. Co-hosts New Zealand take on Sri Lanka in one of the opening fixtures at Christchurch on Saturday. On the same day, tournament favourites Australia will face-off with traditional rival England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Adelaide Oval will host the event's most awaited match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on Sunday. The day will also see South Africa taking on Zimbabwe in Hamilton.

Tickets for the much-anticipated clash between traditional rivals India and Pakistan at Adelaide Oval sold out in just 20 minutes when they went on sale last year. The match could be the most-watched game in cricket history and has been eagerly anticipated right across the globe since it was announced.

Only a few thousand tickets remain for the opening game in Australia. With three days remaining, more than 85,000 tickets have been sold putting things on track for the highest crowd ever for an ODI at the ground, which is currently the 1992 World Cup final, when 87,789 people watched Pakistan defeat England.

For the South Africa game, already over 8000 tickets have been sold for the 10,000 capacity ground, with fans hoping to see the brilliant batting of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla who have been in a rich vein of form.