Cut-price tickets at Lord's sends queue around the block

Twenty thousand people queued up today at Lord's to see the last day of England's Test match with India.

The queues, which began to form at 3am, stretched from all four corners of the ground.

When the first ball was bowled at 11am, there were still an estimated 15,000 people waiting to get into the ground, which has a capacity of around 28,000.

Ticket prices, which would normally be about £75, were cut to £20 for adults day, while children under 16 were admitted free.

At St John's Wood Tube station, passengers emerged to see the queue stretching the full quarter of a mile to the ground. Gates opened at 8.30am, but ground staff could not deal with the sudden rush.

As temperatures soared, so did tempers and police had to calm down fans who were angry about at a lack of information. One staff member said: "Its like the World Cup Final."

Stafford Atkinson, 58, from Camberley, Surrey, with his daughter Magdalen, 21, said: "Everybody wants to see this match as the two best teams in the world are playing."

If England defeat India twice in the four Test series, they will become the official world number ones.

But many spectators also wanted to see whether Sachin Tendulkar could score his first century at Lords, in the 2,000th Test match.