International cricket returns to Birmingham in just over a week as part of a bumper major match programme at Edgbaston Stadium, which the West Midlands Growth Company Regional Observatory predict will benefit the local economy by £23 million.
Edgbaston hosts England’s Vitality International T20 match against great rivals Australia on Wednesday 27 June, as part of a seven-day programme of major match cricket in the city. It also hosts the first match of England’s Specsavers Test series against India, from Wednesday 1 to Sunday 5 August, and Vitality Blast Finals Day comes to Birmingham, for the tenth time, on Saturday 15 September.
Major match programmes don’t get much better than England games against Australia and India in the same summer.
Neil Snowball
Neil Snowball, Chief Executive of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “Major match programmes don’t get much better than England games against Australia and India in the same summer and we’re all looking forward to getting underway with the Vitality International T20 next Wednesday.
“Edgbaston and Birmingham have proven to be outstanding hosts for the biggest matches in the game, by ensuring that there are strong match day transport links to and from the stadium and an impressive range of accommodation, restaurants and leisure facilities to utilise around the match.
“This partnership helped Edgbaston win a further 31 days of major match cricket between 2020 and 2024, as part of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s allocation that it made earlier this year.”
In addition to this year’s programme, Edgbaston hosts one of its biggest ever programmes of major match cricket in 2019 when it hosts five games, including a semi-final, in the ICC Cricket World Cup and a Test match in the Specsavers Ashes Series against Australia.
Top domestic and international cricket at Edgbaston Stadium is a quintessential part of a Birmingham summer and provides an important boost to the city’s visitor economy.
Nicola Hewitt, West Midlands Growth Company
Nicola Hewitt, Commercial Director at the West Midlands Growth Company, which operates leisure tourism programme Visit Birmingham, added: “Birmingham has proven itself as the home of major international sporting fixtures in the UK, highlighted in recent years by the quality and variety of world-class events held in the city. These include the ICC Champions Trophy, Diamond League Athletics and Rugby World Cup, with the 2022 Commonwealth Games also on the horizon.
“Top domestic and international cricket at Edgbaston Stadium is a quintessential part of a Birmingham summer and provides an important boost to the city’s visitor economy. It is a key reason why the city’s tourism sector secured its most successful year in history in 2017, with visitor numbers, spend and hotel revenue at record highs.”
England’s Vitality International T20 against Australia gets underway at 6.30pm, but Edgbaston is opening its gates at the earlier time of 2pm to give visitors an opportunity to beat the evening rush, with entertainment planned across the afternoon. This includes live music, World Cup football matches being shown on big screens and interviews on-stage with cricketing legends.
