Overview

Situated in a leafy southern suburb of Birmingham, Edgbaston was the youngest of England's six regular Test venues, until Chester-le-Street was inaugurated in May 2003, more than one hundred years after Edgbaston's own debut, when the touring Australians were bowled out for 36 by Wilfred Rhodes in 1902.

These days it is one of the finest venues in the country - a far cry from the "meadow of rough grazing land" that became Warwickshire County Cricket Club's third home at the end of the 19th century. It hosted just four Tests in its first 27 years, but upon re-entering the circuit in 1957, it was considered to be the most state-of-the-art ground in the country, with the Thwaite Memorial Scoreboard, constructed in 1950, among the most notable features.

A new phase of renovation got underway at the end of the 1990s, which, partially funded by lottery money, resulted in the Edgbaston Cricket Centre and the £2million Eric Hollies stand. A new pavilion, dwarfing the previous one, was opened in 2011.

The ground has hosted Twenty20 finals day on several occasions, was the scene of Brian Lara's world-record 501 not out, against Durham in 1994, and staged two of the most famous international matches. In 1999, perhaps the greatest ODI in history saw Australia and South Africa tie their World Cup semi-final. Then in 2005, England won the second Ashes Test by two runs to level the series and turn momentum.
ESPNcricinfo staff