Yorkshire CCC hail ‘perfect timing’ of England fixtures at Headingley in 2021

Yorkshire will host the second of three T20s against Pakistan on Sunday July 18 and the third of five Test matches against India from Wednesday August 25 to Sunday August 29 – thereby securing the key middle fixtures in both series when everything will still be to play for.

It will be the inaugural T20 international at Headingley following the cancellation last summer of the planned double-header against Australia and Pakistan due to the pandemic, and it will serve as useful preparation for England captain Eoin Morgan and his players as they prepare for next winter’s T20 World Cup in India, prior to which it has been confirmed that they will play two T20s in Pakistan next October.

India’s Test visit to Leeds will be their first since 2002, when Sachin Tendulkar, Yorkshire’s first overseas player, was one of three centurions in an innings victory for the visitors, and it will be the first Test match played at the ground since it staged – with a little help from Messrs Ben Stokes and Jack Leach – “The Miracle of Headingley 2019”.

Commenting on next year’s international schedule, which is necessarily provisional due to the prevailing health situation, Arthur said: “We’re really pleased with it. The fixtures at Emerald Headingley represent perfect timing from our point of view.

“The Pakistan T20 game is outside of Ramadan, which is really important to us in this locality, and it’s a Sunday afternoon as well so we can attract families – sometimes they are put off by evening fixtures – and you would hope that in the middle of July the weather will be really good for cricket.

“India is probably the second-biggest Test match that you can stage (after Australia), and we won’t have had them here for a Test match for 19 years, so we’re really looking forward to that.

“Whilst many people in our region have seen the Indians playing in World Cup matches and one-day internationals at Emerald Headingley in recent times, they haven’t seen them playing Test cricket – the hardest form of the game – and it promises to be a great occasion. I just hope it’s not another 19 years before we welcome them back.”

Next year’s schedule anticipates the return of spectators, with matches scheduled at nine venues across England and Wales.

England will also play three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka and three against Pakistan, while discussions are ongoing about a possible two-Test series against New Zealand and three T20s against Sri Lanka, with much depending on who qualifies for the inaugural World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June (Australia and India are in pole position).

England women are due to play fixtures against South Africa and New Zealand next summer, while England’s visually impaired team hope to host Australia. The respective dates and fixtures are yet to be finalised.

Amid the uncertainty, ticket buyers can claim a full refund if matches are cancelled, rearranged, or if they are affected by any reduced capacity restrictions due to Covid-19.

“The hope is that we will get full crowds again next year, and that’s the basis on which tickets are being sold,” added Arthur.

“The country has had some really positive news about vaccines this week, so our timing couldn’t be better, I think, and another advantage of our international games being at the back end of the summer is that there’s a real feeling that we’ll be allowed to have 100 per cent capacity at that time of the year.

“We’ve already sold 50 per cent of tickets for our Pakistan T20, because 50 per cent of our ticket purchasers last year decided to roll over their tickets to make sure that they were able to be at the same game next year.

“Consequently, there’s approximately 9,000 tickets left for that game.”

Yorkshire hope to see a big take-up in interest for the India Test, when fans will have the opportunity to watch Joe Root’s men take on Virat Kohli’s start-studded XI.

“There will be a real focus for us on the India Test, backing up that incredibly exciting Test match against Australia in 2019, and all those people – apart from the Australians, of course – who attended that game I’m sure will be looking to return next year,” said Arthur.

“Ideally, we’d expect to sell the first four days of the Test before it starts, and I’ve got every expectation of that happening.

“People have been starved of live international cricket – they’ve missed out – and I think there’ll be a real clamour for tickets. The tickets will be insured, so people can purchase them with absolute confidence that if there is no play for weather reasons or because of issues related to the pandemic, then they will be covered.”

Tickets for both of Headingley’s internationals will be on sale via priority windows and a ballot. For full details/prices, visit: www.yorkshireccc.com

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