Emerald Headingley awarded Ashes Test in 2023

Mark Arthur

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has awarded one of five England v Australia Ashes Tests in 2023 to The Yorkshire County Cricket Club; which will see Emerald Headingley host a test once the £40m re-development is complete.

Edgbaston in Birmingham, The Emirates Old Trafford in Lancashire and London grounds The Oval and Lord’s will also be venues.

Emerald Headingley, the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, has also been selected as one of the cities to host the new eight-team Twenty20 tournament in 2020 alongside, Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Cardiff and Nottingham.

Yorkshire CCC’s chief executive Mark Arthur believes that the decision to select Emerald Headingley as a host venue for one of the most coveted matches in the sport is due to its strong commitment to the wider game, and Test Cricket in particular.

“The Club are absolutely thrilled to be hosting an Ashes Test Match in 2023,” Arthur said.

“We pride ourselves as a highly successful Test venue and have a long-standing commitment to Test cricket, including the unparalleled provision of several leading lights in the England national side. Our work at grassroots level is unrivalled, we have well established BME and South Asian engagement programmes and have recently enhanced our pre-match practice facilities.

“The £40 million development work is set to increase our capacity to 18,350 and will elevate the ground to being one of the top four international cricket venues in England and Wales from 2019 onwards. Sales at Emerald Headingley continue to improve year-on-year and customer satisfaction was at an all-time high at last year’s Test Match.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all volunteers in the Yorkshire County Cricket Club network, our partners in Leeds City Council, Leeds Rugby and every facet of Yorkshire Cricket which has made this possible.

“It is recognition for everyone who has played a part in making Yorkshire Cricket the worldwide brand that it has become. Today’s decision is for all volunteers from the recreational game and communities which work to deliver cricket to the wider population of Yorkshire. This is as much an award for them, than everyone in a professional capacity at Yorkshire Cricket.”

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Headingley and for the city of Leeds. This is just reward for Yorkshire for all the hard work that has gone in to re-developing the ground over recent years, and I’m pleased the council has been able to play its part in that.

“High profile matches such as these help showcase the city on the international stage, and continuing the long tradition of Ashes test matches at Headingley is something I know cricket fans in Yorkshire will be immensely looking forward to.”

 

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close