Northern mayors petition ECB to rethink 2027 Ashes allocation

Ben Stokes, England’s captain, stated earlier than the continued fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford that he was “devastated” that not one of the 5 Tests can be staged north of the River Trent, with Lord’s, the Kia Oval, the Ageas Bowl, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge chosen because the host venues.

Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester) and Tracy Brabin (West Yorkshire) have now written an open letter to the ECB, describing the allocation of venues as “remarkable” and criticising the truth that London “consistently hosts three Tests every summer”.

“We are writing to you to express our disappointment at the English Cricket Board’s announcement of match venues for the men’s Ashes in 2027,” the mayors wrote. “As you know, there will be no men’s Ashes Test in the north of England in 2027 – meaning that this week at Old Trafford will be the last men’s Ashes Test played in the North of England until 2031.

“Headingley and Old Trafford are two of England’s most iconic cricket grounds, and residential to historic Ashes moments from Ian Botham’s heroics in 1981 to Ben Stokes’ personal ‘Miracle of Headingley’ in 2019. Very few grounds entice assist as passionate or certainly as numerous as Headingley and Old Trafford – as a lot of England gamers themselves have acknowledged in latest days.

“We understand that the ECB’s criteria for awarding Test matches includes maximising attendances and ensuring a geographic spread of matches. It feels even more remarkable therefore that an area so passionate about cricket, with a population of over 15 million people, misses out on a men’s Ashes Test in 2027 whilst the south hosts three.

“It doesn’t really feel proper that at a time when cricket must do extra to unfold curiosity within the sport across the nation that London persistently hosts three Tests each summer season. Next 12 months, for instance, Lord’s hosts one third of England males’s Tests while Headingley would not get any.

“The rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire within cricket is legendary, but this is an issue that unites both sides of the Pennines. We urge you to think again and ensure people in the north of England get the opportunity to witness more iconic Ashes moments in 2027.”

Stokes stated on the eve of the Old Trafford Test that England are likely to carry out effectively within the north because of the degree of assist they obtain from crowds. “I’m a bit devastated that there won’t be any Ashes cricket here in 2027 in the north. It’s a shame,” he stated. “I don’t make those calls, but if I was involved, I would have said, ‘please keep at least one game in the north’. I think it’s always a loud atmosphere here. You know the crowds we get in the north – and I say the north quite bluntly there – is very good. We get a lot of support.”

Headingley is because of host a ladies’s Ashes Test in 2027, and each Headingley and Old Trafford are because of stage males’s Ashes Tests in 2031.

Andy Anson, Lancashire’s chair, stated that the membership have been “entirely comfortable” with the ECB’s technique of awarding matches, in addition to the chance host extra ladies’s internationals in coming years.

“We are entirely comfortable with the process that the club went through with the ECB regarding the major match allocation package for future men’s and women’s internationals between 2025-31,” Anson stated. “The announced package provides the club with seven years of certainty for international match scheduling which will see 40 days of international cricket played at the venue. The package is the result of in-depth discussions between the counties and the ECB and has been a thorough and fair process.

“As effectively as the lads’s Ashes Test in 2031, we can even be welcoming India for 4 matches in 5 years, along with internet hosting worldwide ladies’s cricket at Emirates Old Trafford for the primary time in a few years – which all of us sit up for. We are grateful to the ECB and our fellow counties for the extent of cooperation and communication in arriving at this schedule.”