Edgbaston
Cricket
T20 Blast Finals Day
Birmingham
Score:
43
/ 60
Overview
Raucous and rambunctious, the Edgbaston crowd on Finals Day is one of the liveliest you’ll come across in English cricket. The thousands turned out in fancy dress, particularly in the legendary Hollies stand, make the place a riot of cartoonish colour. The three matches played during the day – both semi-finals and the final – guarantee tension and excitement. While scheduling in recent years has meant that Finals Day falls in mid-September, late in the season and far removed from the vast majority of Blast fixtures thanks to The Hundred’s monopoly on August – the lack of build-up and context does not detract from the crowd’s investment in each match. Whether neutral or partisan, everyone is on the edge of their seat and, in a pleasant departure from the corporate drinking sessions with cricket in the background environments you’ll often find at group stage games at the London grounds, closely following every ball. It’s riveting stuff, a demonstration of the best that short form cricket has to offer. Make your way there at the earliest possible opportunity.
Score Summaries
Atmosphere & Experience: 9.5
It’s a pleasure to be treated to such a wealth of cricket in a single day. Three matches, 120 overs, all watched by a committed crowd of county cricket enthusiasts. Forget, for the day at least, The Hundred, the schedule, the England players missing to late season international duty, the restructuring (read: downgrading) of the domestic T20 game and reduction in fixtures being imposed by the ECB, and just soak in the action. You won’t find a louder crowd at a domestic fixture, progressively increasing in volume until they reach a crescendo during the clinching moments of the final – or when they belt out ‘Sweet Caroline’ during mass karaoke in the build-up to the last match of the day. There aren’t many better ways to spend a Saturday.
Seats: 7
My heart sank when I first saw them: basic, narrow foldout plastic seats from a bygone era in the Scrivens Opticians Stand. I was fortunate to have a couple of spare seats on one side of me, which allowed me to stretch out over the course of a long, 10-hour day. A less fortunate man in the row in front of me didn’t have the same luxury and had to be given a fairly extensive back massage by his friend during the final. You’re also exposed to the elements in most parts of the ground, so come prepared for that. The views are fantastic, though. Unobscured around much of the ground, with the exception of a few struts supporting the roof of the Hollies which might impede your view if seated in line with them. At £90, a ticket close to behind the bowler’s arm for the semi-finals and the final of a major (at least, what used to be a major) domestic tournament feels like good value for money.
Catering: 5
The early signs are promising. There are concessions all over the place and they appear to offer quite a variety of options. Beer & Samosas is a particularly irresistible combination, but turns out to be a disappointing one when it becomes clear that you’ve been charged £19.50 for a single, largely flavourless samosa; a portion of masala fries that have been given the lightest of dustings of herbs and spices; and a pint of Doombar that just tastes kind of off. Undeterred, and because it’s a long day, you try a different option. This time, you go for the vegan hog roast from Fordhall Farm. It’s chunks of what seems to be seitan, slathered with an unpleasant barbecue sauce, and stuffed into a tasteless roll with a smidgen of lettuce. You’re robbed of £12.95 for the displeasure of eating it. Beer is also expensive, starting at around £7.50 a pint, plus an additional refundable £1 cup deposit for your first drink. Bring a packed lunch and come prepared to be fleeced at the bar.
Facilities: 6.5
They are basic, bare concrete affairs, and you’re likely to have to queue as they aren’t as plentiful as at comparably sized cricket grounds. But they suffice.
Getting There: 8
Try to arrive reasonably early, partly to enjoy the pre-match atmosphere but also because the line to get in increases steadily as the start time approaches. That said, the volunteers and security staff are a friendly and efficient bunch who will get you in relatively quickly. You can get the bus from the city centre in around 20 minutes, or it’s a roughly 45-minute walk, part of which will take you through the leafy streets of Edgbaston.
Getting Away: 7
Wait times for buses can be quite long, so – weather permitting – you may find you are better off walking. Leaving through some of the smaller exits will mean you avoid streets that are closed to traffic if you want to get an Uber.