Birmingham’s Spark Green Park has been transformed as part of an initiative between The Hundred and BBC to celebrate the launch of the Birmingham Phoenix team and the men’s team captain Moeen Ali.
The face of Birmingham-born Moeen, who grew up playing cricket in the area, features within the Birmingham Phoenix striking orange and black mural design on the walls of Spark Green Park, which hosts multiple Chance to Shine Street cricket events each week.
The design was unveiled today by BBC, one of two tournament broadcasters for The Hundred, ahead of Birmingham Phoenix’s opening home games at Edgbaston, which take place tomorrow.
“I have so many fond memories of growing up playing cricket here,” said Moeen Ali. “It’s a hub of our local community where hundreds of local youngsters play tape-ball cricket throughout the year.
“To see it transformed completely ahead of our Birmingham Phoenix campaign in The Hundred makes me feel very proud and it’s going to be so inspiring to the youngster who play here each week. Hopefully we’ll have many of them on our side and supporting us at Edgbaston throughout the tournament.”
Moeen Ali
James Cross, Creative Director of BBC Creative said: “Our campaign is about stoking up local pride and passion for The Hundred. To celebrate the significance of the game and Moeen to Sparkhill, we collaborated with exciting Birmingham artists to reinvigorate the park, increase awareness of the new competition and encourage growth in participation too.”
Birmingham Phoenix begin their campaign in The Hundred tomorrow at Edgbaston, with the women’s team getting underway at 3pm and the men’s team at 6.30pm.
All matches are back-to-back, featuring a women’s and men’s team game, with subsequent games at Edgbaston versus Trent Rockets on Sunday 1 August, Oval Invincibles on Wednesday 4 August and Welsh Fire on Monday 9 August.
Tickets for The Hundred are great value for money at £5 for under 16s, with adult tickets starting at £12, and under-fives going free. Refund policies will be in place should matches be affected by Covid.
