The allotments of the high-profile India-South Africa clash to tiny Hove and the tie between Pakistan and the West Indies to Bristol have been slammed due to the incredibly poor capacity of 6,500 and 8,500 respectively.

Protests have come even from team managers and Pakistan cricketing legend Imran Khan. This has done little to the image of the hosts, England and Wales Board (ECB), especially with inadequate security already under the microscope.

The worst scenes were seen at Hove on Saturday. With fans of both teams pouring in, touts were demanding as much as 450 pounds for a ticket priced at 16 pounds. Once the match began, fans unable to get tickets made a desperate rush to secure vantage points outside the Sussex CountyCricket Ground.

``This town is not big enough for both of us,'' complained an exasperated fan.

Sarah Hickley, who lives in a cottage overlooking the ground, had the surprise of her life as she returned from shopping to find her house swarming with fans from both sides.

``They knocked on the door and offered to pay up to 100 pounds to watch the game from our balcony. My husband felt sorry and let them in,'' Hickley said. But police did not take any pity as they removed hundreds from the top of hoardings and fences for their own safety.

Wynad Classens, who travelled from South Africa to watch the tie, found himself sitting on a large black bin in a corner of the stadium. ``It's ridiculous having a match like this at such a small ground. I never thought I would be watching it from atop a dustbin,'' he said.

If space was a problem, overzealous officials provided another as they did their best to kill any party atmosphere.

Indian fans came in hundreds to Hove from all over United Kingdom and evenIreland carrying banners and musical instruments to create an electric atmosphere. But officials prevented the playing of instruments and tore down banners.

Despite protests, stewards imposed the ban throughout the match, pouncing the moment the faintest drumbeat was heard.

Viran Patel, who was threatened with expulsion if he played his drums, spent hours phoning the Lord's to check out on the rules. ``They told me there was nothing in the rules to stop me playing my drums,'' he said.

David Gilbert, chief executive of the Sussex Club said, ``this was the biggest game we have ever staged in our history. We could have sold this game five times over. We have never seen anything like it, so we had to be cautious. If we were killjoys then we are sorry.''

The capacity at the Hove ground simply paled into comparison with stadia in the sub-continent which can accommodate upto a lakh fans.

But the venue for the fixture between Zimbabwe and Kenya at Taunton had much bigger capacity, with hardly any takerswhich showed poor planning in allotment of matches.

Pakistan team manager Zafar Ali was also livid that his team's opening tie against the Caribbeans was being played at the Neville Road Ground in Bristol, with a capacity of just 8,500.

``What the hell is 8,500 capacity for a match of this importance,'' Ali complained, adding ``come to the subcontinent and I will fill a stadium with more than 100,000 for this type of match.''

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, who is an expert commentator for BBC here, also criticised that big games, involving sub-continent teams whose fortunes are followed closely by the expatriate population here, not being fixed in bigger venues.