Now that the cricket world cup in the UK has concluded…in controversial style I might add (congratulations England), we can turn our attention to the long form of game – The Ashes, between Australia and England – one of the oldest sporting rivalries in the world, dating back to 1882. As these two sides prepare to battle it out over a period of nearly two months, we have a look at the five host venues.
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
First Test: 1-5 August
Location: Edgbaston, Birmingham
Capacity: 25,000
Home to the Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Edgbaston was the first cricket venue other than Lords to host a major international one-day tournament final (ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 – between India and England). It is the fourth largest cricket ground in England after Lord’s, Old Trafford and The Oval.
Known for its party-like atmosphere, Edgbaston has been known to be intimidating for visiting teams with the English national team unbeaten at the venue, a good reason why it is England’s favourite cricket ground. If the recent World Cup semi-final is anything to go by, Australia will be keen to mitigate the hostile reception directed at Steve Smith and David Warner after their roles in Sandpaper Gate.
Lord’s Cricket Ground
Second test: 14-18 August
Location: London, England
Capacity: 30,000
Widely referred to as the home of cricket, Lord’s Cricket Ground or Lord’s as it is commonly referred to is located in St. John’s Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by the world’s largest cricket brand, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club.
The ground it self was famous for having a sloping outfield, with the south-west side of the standing almost two and a half metres lower than the north-west side. This caused the oval to become easily water logged and resulted in significant delays to matches. Therefore over the 2002/03 season, administration spent approximately $2 million to re-lay the entire outfield, a cost which was almost immediately recouped through the decline in wet-weather ticket refunds.
From a cricket (or more specifically, the ashes) perspective, the first test was played at Lord’s in 1884 between England and Australia which the home team won by an innings and five runs, however, Australia held an unbeaten streak at Lords between 1934 and 2009 when the locals finally triumphed in the second test.
Headingley Cricket Ground
Third Test: 22-26 August
Location: Headingley, Leeds
Capacity: 18,350
Located in the quiet backstreets of Leeds suburban, Headingley Stadium complex in Leeds, the ground adjoins to Headingley Rugby Stadium through a shared main stand, it has regularly hosted cricket matches since 1899. Unusually, there is no pavilion like most of the other traditional English venues. Players have to make to with a modern dressing room.
In 1981, Headingley was the stage for one of the greatest ever come backs in test history when England beat Australia by 18 runs. England had followed on after making 174 in response to Australia’s 401. Trailing by 227 runs in the second innings, England were 7 for 135, starring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat. Enter Sir Ian Botham with a heroic knock of 149 n.o to give the hosts a lead of 129, with many feeling that this would not be enough to save them, England ripped through Australia, thanks to Bob Willis’ 8 for 43, bowling the tourists out for 111.
In 1930, it was also the venue where Sir Donald Bradman scored 334, of which 309 was scored in one day, the only time a player has scored a triple century in one day of a test match. Four years later he scored 304, an achievement many Australians would like to see repeated for this upcoming Ashes series
Old Trafford
Fourth Test: 4-8 September
Location: Stretford, Manchester
Capacity: 26,000
Opened in 1857 and located in Greater Manchester, Old Trafford (not to get confused with Old Trafford football ground – home of Manchester United) is the home of Manchester Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. It is the second oldest cricket ground in England after The Oval and hosted the first Ashes test in July 1884.
The venue has hosted the Cricket World Cup five times and holds the record for hosting the most World Cup matches (17) and semi-finals (5). In 1954, the venue saw the first 10 wicket haul in a single innings by Jim Laker (Eng), who finished with 19 wickets for 90 runs against Australia.
Dispite its rich cricket history, in 2009 Old Trafford was deemed unsuitable for test match status. This saw the demolition of two stands and extensive redevelopment of the pavilion and creation of The Point stand, increasing the capacity and modernising facilities. By 2013, it was back on the test cricket circuit.
The Oval
Fifth Test: 12–16 September
Location: Kennington, London
Capacity: 24,500
Located in the South London Borough of Lambeth, The Oval is where it all begun. The first ever test match was played here in 1880 between England and Australia (which England won by 5 wickets), although it was until 1882 the famous ashes urn would be introduced. Traditionally (as is the case here), the final test match of any series is played here.
Owned by the Duchy of Cornwell, in the 1790s, The Oval was simply an oval road built around a market garden. When the market garden subsequently failed, the land was opened as a cricket ground in 1845. It has been home to Surrey County Cricket Club since, even though it has been outside the county boundaries for many years.
The ground itself is known for the adjacent gasometers on the east-side. Until recently, the pavilion and Vauxhall stand were the only significant structures surrounded by uncomfortable seating throughout the rest of the spectator facilities. In 2004, the venue has undergone much needed redevelopment after a lack of investment and general feeling of decay.
With Australia leading the Ashes head-to-head count (134-106), the home team will be looking to use these familiar venues to their advantage as they did during the world cup and capitalise on their recent success at the World Cup. While the Aussies will be keen to get revenge on their old foes and retain the Ashes in enemy territory for the for time since 2001.