International delight at Durham (From The Northern Echo)

International delight at Durham

9:44am Friday 23rd September 2011 in Durham CCC By Scott Wilson

DURHAM'S place on the international cricket calendar has been assured for the next five years after the county was awarded nine international matches in the latest fixture list released by the England and Wales Cricket Board yesterday.

Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand will all be visiting Durham Emirates ICG before the end of the 2016 season after the ECB issued a massive vote of confidence in the extensive rebuilding work that has gone into improving the ground's facilities in recent years.

The action starts next year, with England taking on Australia in a One-Day International at Chester-le-Street before hosting South Africa in a Twenty20 fixture later in the summer.

The 2013 season promises to be a huge one, with Durham Emirates ICG hosting an Ashes Test against Australia and a Twenty20 match against the same opposition.

Sri Lanka and India are the attractions in 2014, with the former visiting for a one-day game and the latter due to be in Twenty20 action.

There will then be one-day clashes against Australia and New Zealand in 2015, before Test action returns to the North-East in 2016 with the visit of Sri Lanka.

“This allocation of international fixtures confirms our success as an international venue and reflects the demand for world-class cricket in the region,” said Durham chairman Clive Leach. “We have worked incredibly hard to establish Durham Emirates ICG as a welcoming, friendly and operationally efficient ground which players, officials and supporters enjoy visiting.

“We are always well supported by a passionate North-East crowd and the demand for tickets for each of these games will be phenomenal. Exciting times lie ahead for the club with development set to continue ahead of the Ashes in 2013 and with the Durham side playing so well on the field.”

There was mixed news for Yorkshire, with Headingley Carnegie due to stage a Test match in each of the next five summers, but missing out on the Ashes in both 2013 and 2015.

Headingley will stage a Test against South Africa next summer, five-day matches against New Zealand in 2013 and 2015 and Tests with Sri Lanka in 2014 and 2016.

The Leeds venue will also host One-Day Internationals against Australia (twice), India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

The biggest winners from yesterday's announcement were probably Nottinghamshire, as a redeveloped Trent Bridge will host Ashes Tests in both 2013 and 2015. Lord's and The Oval will be the other two grounds to host the Australians on both of their next two visits.

Old Trafford will host the other Ashes Test in 2013, with the remaining two 2015 matches due to be played at Cardiff and Edgbaston.

"The quality of the submissions made by the venues was outstanding and reflects the importance to regions as well as venues in staging major matches,” said ECB chairman Giles Clarke. “The awards for the next five-year period will enable counties to review and where necessary revise their business plans with the certainty of their match programme over a substantial period of time.”