NORTH-EAST cricket fans will have to wait until 2023 for a repeat of last year's highly successful Ashes Test at Chester-le-Street. But they will be able to watch three World Cup matches in 2019.

The international match allocation for the three-year period starting in 2017 was announced yesterday with Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Headingley the big winners in securing Ashes Tests in 2019.

Durham' chief operating officer Richard Dowson said: “We already knew that Headingley and the Oval were getting one, so with Lord's guaranteed a Test there were only two up for grabs.

“Being realistic we were always looking towards being awarded an Ashes Test in 2023, so this is not a huge disappointment.”

The financial situation is currently preventing Durham from undertaking significant further development at the Emirates ICG, but they will need to have floodlights to stage their 2019 World Cup matches.

Chief executive David Harker said: “We are delighted to be chosen to host games in the ICC World Cup, which is a major global event. We would like to express our thanks to everyone who has backed our international match bid.”

The competition to stage international matches continues to increase with Taunton being allocated its first. The Somerset ground will host an England v South Africa Twenty20 match in 2017.

The three-year package also sees Bristol being granted a one-day international each season and four World Cup matches following a £10m ground development.

Durham, who are scheduled to host an ODI against New Zealand next summer and a Test against Sri Lanka in 2016, will stage a T20 international against the West Indies and an ODI against South Africa in 2017. The following two years bring ODIs against Australia and Pakistan.

This award of games will be quickly followed by a bidding process for 2020-23, when in addition to securing an Ashes Test Durham hope to be granted a Twenty20 national finals day.

The Ashes Test at Headingley in 2019 will be the venue's first for ten years.

The ECB's announcement confirmed their major match allocation from 2017 to 2019, the last year of Yorkshire’s existing staging agreement.

With the staging agreement in place, it has been known for some time that Ashes cricket would be returning to the county for the first time since 2009.

There had also been a great deal of confidence that four one-day World Cup matches would be allocated to the ground that same summer, and that was confirmed yesterday.

England will also play Pakistan in a one-day international to top off a mouthwatering summer for Yorkshire cricket lovers.

In 2017, Headingley will also host a West Indies Test match and a South Africa one-day international, while Pakistan will visit for a Test match and India for a one-day international in 2018.

“We’re absolutely delighted,” said Yorkshire chief executive Mark Arthur. “It’s exactly what we were hoping for.

“It’s something really special that we can be working towards in 2019. A first Ashes Test in ten years, a one-day international against Pakistan and four World Cup matches will mean it’s a very busy time for the region.

“All the matches we’ve got in this package from 2017, we’re delighted with. We’re very excited that the new floodlights are going to be in place for next year and then the prospects of the new South Stand.

“At the same time, we are also looking to regenerate Bradford Park Avenue.

“I was aware that we might have this type of programme in Leeds for 2019, in which case we will probably need to schedule some of Yorkshire’s cricket away from Headingley.

“What better place than Bradford Park Avenue if it’s up to scratch by then?”

Although Headingley will not host the World Cup final or either of the two semi-finals - they go to Lord’s for the final and Emirates Old Trafford and Edgbaston for the semis - Arthur says their quartet of matches are ones “of really good quality”.

“We’re unable to disclose exactly what we’ve got until they are ratified by the ICC in the summer,” he said.

The summer of 2018 shall see Pakistan visiting for a Test match and India for a one-day international.

The process for the allocation of major matches between 2020-2023 will begin early next year.