CRICKET

THE first three days of next summer’s opening Test match of the Specsavers Ashes series between England and Australia at Edgbaston are already sold out.

Edgbaston, which only released tickets on general sale ten days ago following a public ballot and priority booking window for Warwickshire County Cricket Club Members and previous Test match purchasers, hosts an Ashes Test match for the 15th time from Thursday, 1st August 2019.

Neil Snowball, chief executive of Edgbaston Stadium, home of Warwickshire CCC, said more than 65,000 applications for tickets across the first four days have already been received.

“We changed our ticketing model for this First Specsavers Ashes Test match by operating a ballot process for the first time. This ensured that we could be as fair as possible in allocating tickets, whilst also providing a priority window to our most loyal supporters and keeping a smaller general sale allocation for new supporters,” he said.

“However, the results of the ballot exceeded everyone’s expectations, with applications for almost 65,000 tickets across the first four days, which demonstrates how highly the Ashes is valued as a major global sporting contest.”

England secured an eight-wicket victory over Australia in the 2015 Ashes Series Test match at Edgbaston, which started a run of four consecutive Test victories at the Birmingham venue. Overall, England have now won their last nine fixtures across all three formats of cricket in Birmingham, leading to the ‘Fortress Edgbaston’ nickname.

Snowball added: “The noise that England supporters generate here at Edgbaston is different to anything else in the country, arguably the world. We know that Joe Root and the team love playing here and we believe that there’s nowhere better to start an Ashes Series.

“It promises to be a fantastic occasion. Not just for Edgbaston, but for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region.”

Tickets now only remain for Sunday, 4th August. An announcement on tickets for Monday, 5th August will be made in the new year.

For further ticket details, visit www.edgbaston.com/tickets or call the Ticket Hotline on 0844 847 1902.