CRICKET NEWS:DURHAM have declared their enthusiasm to stage the first Test of the next Ashes series in 2013, but five other counties are battling with the MCC to hold the three games that have still to be allocated, with no guarantee yet that there will even be a Test at Lord's.

“The big thing is knowing that we’re definitely going to have an Ashes Test, but of course we’d love it to be the first one,” the Durham chief executive, David Harker, said.

“The first and last Tests are probably the key games to have, although we’re not going to be disappointed if we end up with the second or third.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced last year that two of the five Tests will be held at The Oval and the Riverside, meaning a first Ashes Test in the north-east.

Yorkshire are effectively out of the running, as they have already been allocated one of the two Tests that England will play against New Zealand in the early part of the 2013 summer. But that still leaves Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Glamorgan and Hampshire scrapping over two games, on the assumption that Lord’s cannot be excluded.

Barring a major break with tradition, The Oval will be the venue for the last game. But unlike in Australia, where Brisbane has become established as the first Test venue, the opener is still up for grabs and Durham would be delighted if the ECB repeats its decision to start the series on virgin territory, as in Cardiff in 2009.

The Glamorgan chief executive, Alan Hamer, confirmed that the Welsh county are in the running again, although they will no longer have the novelty value of the external seven-figure funding which helped them to attract such a high-profile first Test 18 months ago.

“Every county in the process would be keen to stage an Ashes Test and we’re no different,” Hamer said.

“But equally we realise there are more grounds capable of holding these games than there are games to go around.

“There’s an ongoing dialogue between the Test grounds and the ECB for the period 2012-16, and we’re trying to work towards an agreement as to how these matches are going to be allocated.

“We have to make sure the price we pay is one that takes into account the economic conditions and the costs of running a Test ground, but from the ECB’s perspective generates a fair value to be invested back into cricket.”

The final decision is expected next spring.

Guardian Service