Edgbaston set to host cricket’s greatest rivalries
TWO of cricket’s biggest rivalries – England v Australia and India v Pakistan – will be renewed in Birmingham next summer after Edgbaston Stadium was confirmed as a host venue for a major international tournament.
The announcement that Edgbaston is to receive the ICC Champions Trophy games will be an enormous relief to club officials at Warwickshire, who have lost out badly due to this summer’s wretched weather which saw three days of the Test Match with the West Indies washed out together with England’s one day against the Australians.
It will also help to soften the blow for cricket fans already disappointed that the ground will not be hosting one of the Ashes Test Matches.
Edgbaston, which was already been confirmed as the venue for the final of the Champions Trophy, will host England’s first match of the 50-overs per side tournament – against the Aussies – on Saturday June 8, before hosting Pakistan and South Africa in a floodlit match on Monday June 10.
Australia return to lock horns with New Zealand on Wednesday June 12, with the eagerly awaited clash between India and Pakistan taking place on Saturday June 15. On Sunday June 23, Edgbaston will become the first UK venue outside of London to stage the final of an ICC event.
Colin Povey, Chief Executive of Edgbaston, said: “To stage matches featuring some of the great rivalries in world cricket as well as the final of one of the game’s leading tournaments is a great coup for Edgbaston and for Birmingham.
“Edgbaston has staged some of the biggest matches in the history of cricket, and with our new £32m facilities complete, we hope that there will be many more occasions like the ICC Champions Trophy to celebrate in the future.”
ICC Champions Trophy Tournament Director, Steve Elworthy added: “This will be an incredible opportunity for fans to see the world’s very best one-day sides in action over the space of less than three weeks and the fixture schedule has thrown up a host of exciting head-to-head contests.”
Edgbaston has a further 20 days of major match cricket confirmed up until the end of 2016, including an Ashes Test Match in 2015 and four consecutive Friends Life t20 Finals.
