Watch: The Afghanistan-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash was marred by crowd trouble, with fans attempting to scale the sides of the stadium during the game.

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As the hotly anticipated match approached, the areas outside the ground thronged with fans from both teams. Television footage as the game started showed that hundreds were still outside the ground, unable to get in.

Footage began to circulate of would-be spectators climbing a fence outside the stadium. Wisden.com understands there were numerous fans without tickets attempting to get in, with the Dubai police intervening. It appears that no one was injured.

After the match, ICC issued a statement, confirming that ticketless fans “attempted to force entry” into the stadium, following which Dubai police and security staff had to secure the stadium.

“More than 16,000 tickets had been issued for tonight’s game between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, thousands of ticketless fans traveled to the venue and then attempted to force entry into the stadium.

“Dubai Police and security staff secured the stadium to ensure the safety of everyone inside and brought in significant additional resources to disperse the crowd and calm the situation.”

The statement also mentioned that the Emirates Cricket Board will be undertaking a “thorough investigation” on the matter.

“At approximately 7pm, Dubai Police directed that all gates should remain closed and no further entry was permitted to maintain a safe and controlled environment inside the venue.

“The ICC has asked the ECB to undertake a thorough investigation into tonight’s events to learn any lessons and will work closely with authorities to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in the future.”

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