Ashes Venues: Edgbaston

Edgbaston hosts the first Test of the 2023 Ashes series and England have enjoyed some excellent results at the Birmingham venue in recent years.

The ground staged its first Test in 1902, when Australia were bowled out for 36, and England are 5/4 to defeat the 11/8 Aussies in the series opener, which starts on Friday 16th June.

What	England v Australia, 1st Test
Where	Edgbaston, Birmingham
When	Friday 16th June to Tuesday 20th June
How to watch	Sky Sports Cricket & Sky Sports Main Event
Odds	England 5/4, Draw 4/1, Australia 11/8

Where is Edgbaston?

Edgbaston Stadium is located in the Birmingham suburb of Edgbaston. 

Opened in 1882, it is the home ground of Warwickshire County Cricket Club and has hosted T20 Blast Finals Day since 2013.

When is the 2023 Edgbaston Ashes Test?

The first 2023 Ashes Test between England and Australia is a five-day match starting at 11:00 on Friday 16th June.

Can I watch the 2023 Edgbaston Ashes Test?

Yes, the opening 2023 Ashes series at Edgbaston will be shown live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.

How many times has Edgbaston hosted an Ashes Test?

Edgbaston has hosted 15 Ashes Test matches since 1902, of which England have won six and Australia four. The other five ended in draws.

What is England's overall Test record at Edgbaston?

England have played 54 Tests at Edgbaston going into the 2023 Ashes, winning 29, drawing 15 and losing 10 of them. 

Eight of those defeats have come against Australia and the West Indies but England's recent record in Birmingham has been solid, with seven victories in their last 10 Tests including three wins over India.

What are the greatest Test matches in Edgbaston's history?

Edgbaston has been the scene of two of England's most memorable Ashes Test victories. 

Ian Botham produced a stunning spell of five wickets for one run to seal a 29-run win in a tense, low-scoring contest in 1981 and England won a dramatic second Test of the 2005 series by just two runs. 

Chasing 282 for victory, Australia had slipped to 175-8 before tailenders Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Michael Kasprowicz dragged them to the brink of an unlikely victory. 

However, fast bowler Steve Harmison had last man Kasprowicz caught behind with just three runs required and England went on to win the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

Are Edgbaston Test matches usually high-scoring?

The average first-innings score in the last 10 Edgbaston Tests is 315.5, suggesting that there is a fairly even contest between bat and ball at the venue. 

The last eight first-innings scores ranged from 274 to 416 and only two of the last 20 first-innings totals at the ground exceeded 450. 

The pitches at Edgbaston tend to hold up well, meaning that batting should not get significantly harder in the second innings. 

Australia posted 284 in the first innings of their 2019 Ashes victory before racking up 487-7 declared second time around and Pakistan, bowled out for 72 on day one in 2010, made 296 in their second innings. 

England scored 710-7 declared, their highest post-war Test total, against India at Edgbaston in 2011. 

In 2022 they lost just three wickets when chasing down 378 in the final innings of the match to beat India with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow scoring unbeaten centuries.

Which batters have the best records at Edgbaston?

Former England captain Alastair Cook is the leading Test run scorer at Edgbaston, although almost 62 per cent of his 869 runs came in just two epic innings: 294 against India in 2011 and 243 against the West Indies in 2017. 

David Gower also scored two Test double-centuries in Birmingham while Root leads the way in terms of current players with 669 runs and six scores of 50 or more in 13 innings. 

Jonny Bairstow made 106 and 114 not out against India in 2022 but the England wicketkeeper had scored only 248 runs in his previous nine innings at Edgbaston. 

Australia's Steve Smith made seven and seven in his first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 2015, dismissed by England's Steven Finn in both innings, but he was player of the match in the Aussies' 2019 victory after scoring 144, in a first-innings total of just 284, and 142 second time around.

Which bowlers are favoured by conditions at Edgbaston?

England legends James Anderson and Stuart Broad have taken 51 and 43 Test wickets at Edgbaston respectively and they will be looking to add to those tallies in 2023. 

However, Broad's 5-86 against Australia in 2019 was his only five-wicket haul in 10 appearances at the venue and, with flatter pitches expected this summer, tall fast bowlers could have the best chance of extracting awkward bounce. 

Lanky England bowlers Steven Finn and Andy Caddick had success at Edgbaston while West Indian great Joel Garner took nine wickets in his only Test there in 1984. 

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon also picked up nine wickets in the 2019 Ashes Test, including 6-49 after taking the new ball in England's second innings. 

Lyon – the best Australian spinner since Shane Warne, who claimed 25 wickets in four Edgbaston Tests – is 9/2 to be Australia's Team - Top 1st Inns Bowler in the first Test of the 2023 series.