EDGBASTON CRICKET GROUND

'Edgbaston Cricket Ground' (Also known as 'Edgbaston Stadium') is a cricket venue in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. It is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and is also used for Test matches and one day internationals.

Contents

Ground

Notable moments

Future

References

See also

External links

Ground

Edgbaston Cricket Ground is situated in central Birmingham along Edgbaston Road. The original 12 acre site was leased, by its owner Lord Calthorpe, to the Warwickshire Club and the first match was played in June 1886 against an MCC team. ^[1] Test status was gained in 1902.
Edgbaston's most recognisable feature is the Thwaite Memorial Scoreboard, at the City End of the ground. In recent years Edgbaston has been redeveloped and now boasts an Indoor Cricket Centre, a cricket shop, a new large electronic scoreboard and the large Eric Hollies Stand.
The ground capacity is 21,000.

Notable moments

★ 1957 - Stand of 411 between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against the West Indies, England's highest-ever partnership.

★ 1994 - Brian Lara scored 501 for Warwickshire against Durham, the highest score by a batsman in first class cricket.

★ 1999 - Australia tie with South Africa in the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi final.

★ 2005 - Australia lose to England by two-runs defeat in the 2005 Ashes, the closest Ashes match ever.

Future

In 2005, the possibility of a ground share between Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Birmingham City FC, at a 55,000 seat City of Birmingham Stadium, was mooted, signaling a possible end for the Edgbaston ground. However many people may oppose this move. In a much promoted advertising campaign Ian Botham was quoted as saying that the Edgbaston crowd was "like a 12th man". The chances of this happening in the near future fell when Birmingham was not awarded a supercasino licence in 2007. In 2007 Warwickshire announced plans for a £20 million redevelopment of Edgbaston which would incorporate a new pavilion and take capacity to over 25,000. ^[2] This is subject to obtaining finance and planning permission.

References

1. http://www.thebears.co.uk/history/timelines/
2. Edgbaston revamp plans unveiled, ''bbc.co.uk'', 1 March, 2007.

See also

★ List of cricket grounds in England and Wales

External links

★ Official web page