ICC Champions Trophy tournament director Steve Elworthy praised the event delivery team at Glamorgan as well as chief executive Hugh Morris ahead of the return of next year’s global tournament to England and Wales.
After the success of the 2013 edition, the same three venues – the Oval, Edgbaston and Cardiff - will host the 2017 tournament with a hugely popular ballot running through September attracting over 400,000 ticket applications from 60 countries around the world.
The Oval will stage the opening match of the tournament on 1 June as well as the Final on 18 June. Cardiff Wales Stadium will host four matches, including the first semi-final on 14 June and there will be five games at Edgbaston.
After successfully hosting two Ashes Test matches, Champions Trophy fixtures in 2013 and sell out England limited overs games recently, Elworthy believes Cardiff is a good fit for next year’s tournament and is well set to remain a key part of the cricketing landscape for years to come with 2019 Cricket World Cup matches also at the venue.
“The tournament in 2013 was a great success and we’ve seen so many people travel down here,” said Steve Elworthy.
“We’ve seen successful tournaments and bi-lateral matches played here with England and we’ve seen sell-out crowds here in 2013 too when there was some incredible cricket. It’s fantastic to come down to Cardiff and work with Glamorgan and the team down here. They are a great set of individuals and they put on some incredible events,” added the tournament director.
“When we think about how we deliver these events operationally, the can-do attitude of the team down here is just infectious. There are always issues when you come to delivering a tournament and we’ve got to make sure the entire tournament is structured properly. There are things we will run up against each other in certain issues, but you know that when you sit down round a table and find a solution to make it work for the tournament, then operationally it’s a fantastic place to be.
“It is a proven ground now and from a spectator point of view we just want the public to get behind it again and deliver a fantastic tournament in 2017. Initially it’s been an incredible uptake. We’ve ran a ballot for the first time for the Champions Trophy in 2017 and the response goes to show the breadth and depth of support this tournament has.
“With the Champions League down here there’s going to be a hugely engaged sporting audience regardless of who is playing and the entire city is going to be immersed in sporting fever, whether it’s the football or a couple of days later with the Champions Trophy. There is going to be operational issues to deal with but it’s a huge opportunity for Cardiff and for the tournament.
“Looking forward to the Cricket World Cup in 2019, Glamorgan and Cardiff are a venue then too so we know there’s more international cricket coming and a global tournament as big as the World Cup coming here, so Cardiff will be part of the cricketing landscape for a number of years to come.
“Somebody like Hugh understands the opportunity, is doing an incredible job down here and we look forward to working with him in the future.”
The top eight-ranked One-Day International sides in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 30 September 2014) compete in the ICC Champions Trophy which is a short and sharp, nation versus nation tournament from 1-18 June next year.
“We’re delighted to be hosting the ICC Champions Trophy again, it’s a reflection in how well the club did last time,” said Hugh Morris, Glamorgan chief executive. ”It’s a major global event for cricket, the best eight teams in the world and we’re looking forward to hosting again.
“It’s a reflection of the staff we have here at the club and also the venue as well, as we beat off bids from Lord’s, Manchester and Trent Bridge. Hosting international cricket is absolutely part and parcel of what we do here at Glamorgan and our vision is to make Wales proud of what we do. One way we can achieve that is to host some of the biggest tournaments and matches in the cricketing world. They don’t come much bigger or better than the Champions Trophy with the best 8 teams in the world and its absolutely integral to our business plan.
"We’re lucky in Cardiff as we are used to hosting major world sporting events here, the World Half Marathon earlier this year, FA Cup Finals in the past, Rugby World Cup last year and Ashes Test Matches, so when you are used to hosting these major matches as a city and as a nation that definitely helps our bid as we’re up against some of the biggest other cities in the country, so to win them is not just down to Glamorgan CCC but to the city and to Wales."