The International Cricket Council (ICC) has opted to retain traditional cricket venues for England and Wales’ staging of the 2019 World Cup, with London Stadium not among the 11 stadia chosen for next year’s national team tournament.
The World Cup, the ICC’s flagship tournament, will take place from May 30 to July 14 next year and London Stadium had been heavily linked with playing a part in the event by staging its first cricket matches.
It was reported last year that London Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium and current home of English Premier League football club West Ham United, was set to host games after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) targeted the staging of two high-profile matches at the 60,000-capacity venue.
However, the ICC has named 11 traditional cricket venues for the tournament. Old Trafford (pictured) in Manchester will host the maximum six matches, while Edgbaston in Birmingham, Hampshire Bowl in Southampton, London venues Lord’s and The Oval, and Trent Bridge in Nottingham will stage five matches apiece.
Cardiff Wales Stadium in the Welsh capital and Headingley in Leeds have been allocated four matches each and the County Ground in Bristol, County Ground in Taunton and The Riverside in Chester-le-Street have secured three matches each.
Steve Elworthy, managing director for the 2019 World Cup, said: “Because of the UK’s diverse population, every competing team will be guaranteed a ‘home crowd’ every time they play at some of the most iconic cricket grounds in the world.
“Our ambition is to grow the game and deliver the greatest ever cricket celebration and with that in mind we have very carefully developed our ticket prices.
“The prices have been tested with thousands of fans over the last six months, we have used external experts and consulted widely to ensure that they are good value vs other global sporting events. The prices balance accessibility with delivering the investment required to deliver a world class event. All revenue is invested back in the game to grow cricket.”
There will be 80,000-plus tickets offered at £20 (€23/$28), while more than 200,000 tickets will be available at £50 or less.
Share this