Could England finally get a large cricket ground?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/26/cricket-olympic-stadium-2012

Cricket makes 'perfect sense' for London's Olympic Stadium

I should hope so, they'd definately sell out the big ones (Australia, South Africa etc).

If England do make use of the Olympic stadium as a cricket ground it would be a rare case of politicians and administrators doing the logical common sense thing.

So I'm hopeful, but not that hopeful that this proposal will get up.

Could be a bit awkard. When Australia tour would this mean three tests in London?

The ground would end up as a white elephant - how many times would it be used?

I can't see Lords or the Oval giving up any matches without a struggle.

Seems like a non-starter to me.

Total non-starter, the stadium is being reduced to 25k as part of the regeneration plan.

As well as the 3 tests in London thing.

We need a larger say, 50k ground but not in London.

ten years after wrote:Could be a bit awkard. When Australia tour would this mean three tests in London?

And that is awkward ..... why ??

Trains still run south from ooop Norf and out West don't they?

There's life outside Lahndan.....

JKLever wrote:There's life outside Lahndan.....

Is that a rhetorical question or an ill-disguised statement of fact?

Merlin wrote:

ten years after wrote:Could be a bit awkard. When Australia tour would this mean three tests in London?

And that is awkward ..... why ??

Trains still run south from ooop Norf and out West don't they?

Nonetheless, I think the ECB would find it awkward. Back to 6 test series against the Aussies maybe (or 7).

JKLever wrote:We need a larger say, 50k ground but not in London.

what are the other options? will they be able to sustain those numbers?

The One wrote:

JKLever wrote:We need a larger say, 50k ground but not in London.

what are the other options? will they be able to sustain those numbers?

Frankly - NO.

Guaranteed Ashes sell outs - YES.
All other test matches ... bar perhaps a tight series against India (drawing in the "local" Indian "fans" who otherwise support Arsenal, Tottenham etc) ... can't see it happening.

We'd end up with 4 or 5 Tests a year in London if this did happen, the grounds in the rest of the country would get one every two or three years at most.

The Sydney Olympic stadium was made oval shaped, and has hosted cricket, but owing to the CA/SCG agreement not internationals.

But it was only made oval shaped because the biggest footy code in the country play on oval fields, and put the money up.

It was actually a brilliant move, cos not only did it deliver a massive stadium for AFL, it farked the ground for Leeeeeeeeeeeeg...

The Sydney Olympic stadium was made oval shaped, and has hosted cricket, but owing to the CA/SCG agreement not internationals.

But it was only made oval shaped because the biggest footy code in the country play on oval fields, and put the money up.

Ah yes, of course. nothing to do with an oval shape being required to host the Olympic track and field events............

Idiot.

Henry wrote:

The Sydney Olympic stadium was made oval shaped, and has hosted cricket, but owing to the CA/SCG agreement not internationals.

But it was only made oval shaped because the biggest footy code in the country play on oval fields, and put the money up.

Ah yes, of course. nothing to do with an oval shape being required to host the Olympic track and field events............

I never knew that City of Manchester Stadium was an oval these days.

Not these days, but I do believe it was MADE oval shaped.

But it was always designed to become a rectangular stadium from the get go.

Stadium Australia was originally going to be designed in such a way that it would be rectangular after the games.

Unfortunately the Swans had their biggest year at the time the stadium was being refined and the AFL chipped in some dosh to make it multi-purpose.

Had that not happened we would have an 80K rectangular stadium in Sydney today.

Merlin wrote:

ten years after wrote:Could be a bit awkard. When Australia tour would this mean three tests in London?

And that is awkward ..... why ??

Trains still run south from ooop Norf and out West don't they?

Maybe the ground could be used for all Pakistan's 'away' matches, and PCB could pay for its use from all the poppy-production in the North West Frontier Province!

[This is Rachel]

Use of grounds for other sports works in Australia where they have good weather for a large chunk of the year and can therefore assure the quality of the outfield (Simon Jones' knee aside) and grow drop-in pitches of a good enough standard for top level cricket.

Nobody has yet achieved this in the UK and there aren't enough spectators to the non-Ashes games to sustain another single-sport large venue in London. Lord's is, well, Lord's (my own bias aside, people who criticitise it as a venue usually haven't been there and/or are being deliberately contrary - you know who you are) and the Oval is the oldest Test venue in the country. They are also already the number one and two venues in terms of capacity in the country, so it is odd that the argument for having this new stadium (additional capacity) would see one or both of them lose matches.

Having said that, I don't buy the geography angle. Twickenham, Wembley and Wimbledon are sufficient for rugby, football and tennis respectively.

'Cricket focus for Olympic Stadium'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/8319376.stm

Just cannot see it happening with the Oval & Lords already in London.

beamer wrote:We'd end up with 4 or 5 Tests a year in London if this did happen, the grounds in the rest of the country would get one every two or three years at most.

You don't have to have it in the bigger stadium for every series!

I'm sure Cardiff are hosting Sri Lanka Test in 2011.

It ain't gonna happen unless Middlesex seriously piss off their landlords!

I'll get Merls on the case.