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MCC members are up in arms over news they will have to pay to watch next year's World Cup final at Lord's and an angry response is expected at the club's annual meeting next month.

Takings for the game are likely to total nearly £3 million but members face the prospect of losing their most cherished privileges for the occasion.

With the first £100 tickets for a day's play in cricket history now going on sale for the final, many members, who number between 17,000-18,000, may not even be able to get into the pavilion because of the expected demand.

The loss of such rights, even if only for one day, is likely to provoke critical comment at the agm as members have long considered it their inalienable right to enter the ground and the pavilion whenever they wish without further payment.

One of the most cherished principles of membership is that once the annual subscription (around £180) has been paid, access is free to all games staged at Lord's, including Tests and even previous World Cup finals.

Now, for the first time, they will have to pay - not only for the final but also for the two games held at Lord's in the earlier stages of the competition.

The ground capacity of 30,000 is likely to be over-subscribed many times for the final. Lord's has about 8,000 places for MCC members, around 1,200 of them in the pavilion itself.

While MCC members will be offered a 25 per cent discount, bringing their seat prices down to £75, they may have to enter a ballot to secure a place if the demand is too great.

With England the hosts, the England Cricket Board are responsible for the marketing of the World Cup. Michael Browning, the ECB event manager, said yesterday that in the region of 8,000 tickets would be on sale to MCC members.

``If all members applied for two seats that would more than fill the ground,'' he said. ``The figure we have agreed with MCC does mean that fewer than half will get one place.''

Asked if MCC were happy with the deal, Browning said: ``The board's job was to hire the ground for the occasion and the club have signed the contract with us. They have been very professional and cooperative in their dealings.''

Lloyd Turner, MCC's administrations manager, admitted that the reaction from members so far had been ``mixed''.

One member, who asked not to be named, said: ``I think it's outrageous and will be saying so at the annual meeting. What happens if we exercise our right to enter the pavilion during the final? The club can't take that away from us.''

The counties are circul- ating their members with offers of special ticket packages, to be paid for next month, for blocks of games, again with 25 per cent discounts for matches on their home ground.

To guarantee a final seat, county members must buy a ``final-linked package'' which includes tickets for six earlier games. The entire deal could cost as much as £450 per person.