Cardiff’s role as one of the hosts of the Champions Trophy in June will determine if they continue to hold international cricket over the coming years.
Cardiff is one of three grounds hosting the Champions Trophy in England and Wales this summer, along with Edgbaston and the Oval.
The allocation of international matches to national stadiums is coming to the end of its four year cycle and Glamorgan chief executive, Alan Hamer, believes a good tournament this summer will boost Cardiff’s chances.
“This is the first time we’ve had a global event here so it raises the stakes,” Hamer was quoted on ESPNcricinfo.
“It is important to us because if this tournament goes well then it puts us in a strong position when it comes to staging future global events.”
The next four year period of cricket in the UK will be a big one, with the World Cup and the Ashes in 2019 and the proposed World Test Championship in 2017 also set to be hosted in Britain.
The signs ahead of the Champions Trophy haven’t been entirely positive for Cardiff however, as they have only sold-out for one of their five games at the ground – compared to the venues in Birmingham and London which have sold all their tickets for three ties.
The Welsh capital is the host for England’s group game with New Zealand but the ticket sales for that match have been described as average.
Only the opening fixture between South Africa and India has sold-out, but whilst Welsh sport is dominated by rugby and football, the home of Glamorgan is hopeful that the arrival of the world’s best cricketers will capture the public’s imagination and boost attendances.
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