Warwickshire are expected to make £5million from the first Ashes Test — the most lucrative match in Edgbaston’s history.

Four consecutive sold-out days mean the club have raked in around £7m in ticket sales alone and they are now set for another near-capacity crowd of 25,000 on the final day, having sold 2,500 at a cut-price £25 for adults in advance.

Even allowing for a seven-figure staging fee paid to the ECB and hefty operational costs, the income will smash the previous best earner at the venue. Back in 2015, England’s Test win over Australia was almost entirely responsible for Warwickshire’s annual profit of £2.266m, despite the contest only lasting three of its scheduled five days.

Edgbaston is expected to make Warwickshire a £5 million windfall from the first Ashes Test

Edgbaston is now second only to the Oval in terms of corporate hospitality amongst this country's international grounds, with 2,000 people catered for daily.

The ground - nicknamed the Bullring for its hostile atmosphere - was chosen to host the first Test following lobbying by Warwickshire chief executive Neil Snowball to Andrew Strauss, then England's managing director, during the Melbourne Test of the 2017-18 Ashes.

During chats also including Colin Graves and Tom Harrison, the ECB's chairman and chief executive respectively, it was agreed that England should make use of its most intimidating venue to begin the series as the Australians have done with Brisbane.

In addition to the financial boost for the club, Birmingham's economy is expected to have profited to the tune of £30million.