Edgbaston joy as ECB confirms it will stage 2016 Test Match
THE England & Wales Cricket Board has confirmed that Edgbaston is to be one of the Test Match venues for next year’s series between England and Pakistan.
Given the strong local support for both teams, ground authorities will be hoping for a repeat of the sensational atmosphere generated at this summer’s exciting Ashes match where a rampant England despatched Australia in less than three days.
Test skipper Alastair Cook was the first to acknowledge that the support of the Birmingham crowd had played a key part in his team’s victory.
Colin Povey, Chief Executive of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “Edgbaston has proven to be England’s most successful venue in recent seasons with seven wins and only one defeat in Test Matches since 2002.
“Our recent hosting of the third Investec Ashes Test Match demonstrated what a special venue Edgbaston is for the biggest matches in cricket, as England recorded a thrilling victory in-front of a capacity crowd who created a fantastic atmosphere.
“The £32m redevelopment of Edgbaston was designed to ensure that the leading fixtures are regularly staged in Birmingham and we have an excellent calendar of fixtures to look forward to again in 2016.”
In all, Edgbaston will host seven days of major match cricket in 2016, starting with the second Royal London One-Day International against Sri Lanka on Friday June 24. The England v Pakistan game will be the third Investec Test Match and will take place from Wednesday August 3 to Sunday August 7.
The Warwickshire club will be hoping that the game lasts a little longer than this year’s mercurial Test, which resulted in the ground missing out on a sell-out Saturday crowd.
In addition to the international games, the Birmingham venue will once again host the NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day, which next year takes place on Saturday August 20.
The ground hosts this year’s finals day on Saturday (August 29) when defending champions the Birmingham Bears will be out to retain the title they won in dramatic fashion last year in a tense final against Lancashire.
Tickets for the 2016 major matches at Edgbaston will be released on-sale to Warwickshire members next week, with the remaining tickets being released on general sale on October 1.
The ECB has allocated Edgbaston a further 28 days of major match cricket from 2017 to 2019, with highlights including four group games and a semi-final in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. It will also stage Test Matches against the West Indies (2017), India (2018) and Australia (2019).
