Written by Max
Ground #70
Saturdays 14th June 2025
T20 Blast double header
Leicestershire v Derbyshire followed by Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire
Entry: £28
After the positive response to last months first foray into cricket ground reviews at Trent Bridge, we thought why not do another one as we headed to Birmingham for the ‘Midlands Mania’ double header in the T20 Blast
Edgbaston has been home to a cricket ground since way back in 1882 and has been home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club since 1894.
Ashes cricket would come to Edgbaston not long after with the 1st Test Match played at the ground in 1902
The ground has undergone multiple upgrades over the years with the most recent being the brand new South and West stands which have taken the ground to an overall capacity of 25,000 making it the fourth largest cricket ground in England.
The day of our visit consisted of 2 matches in the T20 blast sandwiched either side of a DJ set from Joel Corry
We arrived around 20 minutes before play in the first game as the crowd began to fill up nicely. A noisy group of around 30 Leicestershire fans were making themselves heard as their team came out to bat and put an impressive total of 196 on the board including an explosive 49 off just 24 balls from former Notts opener Sol Budinger.
The Derbyshire Falcons came out all guns blazing in the reply and after a ridiculous 60 off 25 balls from the opener it was another former Notts player in Samit Patel who would guide his side home with a half century.
In the break between games it was time for DJ Joel Corey to get the crowd going, although this turned out to be surely one of the more awkward gigs he will play. With the ground 3/4 empty and the players warming up on the pitch in front of him, the music blared out from the speakers to a very much uninterested crowd. You can see a small snippet of what I mean below!
After this it was time for the main event with hosts Warwickshire, or the Birmingham Bears as they call themselves in the T20 Blast, against the Notts Outlaws.
As has been the case throughout this years blast, The Outlaws chose to field first, and then went on to concede over 200 runs giving themselves a lot to do in the chase. New Zealand international Tom Latham hit an exciting 69 with Dan Mousley and Moeen Alli providing fast paced cameos to help the Bears to a final score of 206/7.
As the Outlaws came out to bat we decided to move round to the famous Eric Hollies stand where the more rowdy supporters were, but more importantly it was still in the sun!
Notts made a solid start with both openers making 30 and throughout the innings kept at a steady pace of just below the required rate.
A few wickets fell and the Outlaws found themselves 77/3 after 9 overs but a fantastic partnership of over 100 from makeshift opener Lyndon James and wicketkeeper Tom Moores kept them right in the game. When the stand was finally broken in the 19th over the hosts were still the favourites with Notts needing 23 off 10 balls.
The crowd was right into the game and it was really exciting as it seemed like we were the only 2 fans supporting Notts in the stand surrounded by Bears fans. Every dot or single was roared on whilst complete silence fell for every boundary.
In the end it went down to the final ball with the scores level. Tom Moores smashed the ball for 6 to take his score to 74 off just 33 deliveries and we celebrated like it was a 95th minute winner in a cup final. Everyone else in the stadium silently got up and left…..
What a game, what a result and what a day!
Now to rate it all!
Location: 4/10
The ground is located around a 25 minute walk from the centre of Edgbaston village which has a tram stop and a few very nice pubs. It is around a 50 minute walk from Birmingham City centre.
There isn’t very much around the ground other than a row of shops which include a pub called The Twelfth Man.
After the long walk to the ground this was a welcome stop off for a cheap drink before going into the ground, but the place didn’t seem very in keeping with the million pound mansions and posh surrounding area we had just walked through!
Kit: 9/10
The Birmingham Bears shirt is a striking bright blue patterned kit with yellow detail around the sleeves and collar. The sponsor also fits in nicely in the same yellow colour.
This is a really nice shirt and plenty of supporters in the ground were wearing these, including Joel Corry during his DJ set!
Facilities: 7/10
Behind the stands we were in for the first game was a large fan zone area which included a stage with music playing as well as a variety of food and drink stalls.
As well as this there were permanent bars under each stand which served people quickly and efficiently throughout the day. There was even a club museum under one of the stands!
Look: 8/10
As mentioned earlier, Edgbaston is one of the biggest cricket grounds in the country and you can certainly tell that when you arrive.
The most recent upgrade to the stadium is the South and West stand which are very impressive and tower above the rest of the stadium. The South stand is like a more modern version of the Radcliffe Road stand at Trent Bridge with 3 small tiers of seating. To the right of this is the large 2 tiered West Stand
Probably the most famous stand at the ground is the Eric Hollies stand which is known for its party atmosphere during big games. Unfortunately at today’s game it was disappointingly quiet throughout which was a shame. The stand itself is impressive with a unique extended roof
The rest of the stadium is one tiered bowl which curved between the West stand and the Hollies all on one level except for an area of temporary seats above one stand which are used during international matches.
I must also mention the impressive floodlights which when lit up show a large ‘e’ for Edgbaston. These are a very strange design as they lean over the stands above the pitch
Food and Drink: 7/10
We waited until just before the start of the 2nd match to grab ourselves some food, and with a great variety of food trucks on offer we decided on trying 2! I went for jerk chicken and rice whilst Emma chose a pepperoni pizza
As you would expect at a stadium like this the food was all extremely over priced and these 2 meals cost us over £30 all together. Both were very tasty though and much better than what you would come to expect from a large stadium.
Drinks wise, once again very pricey coming in at around £7 a pint, but a decent variety of drinks on offer. No dark fruits though so no bonus points here!
TOTAL SCORE: 35/50
We both had a fantastic day at the Midlands Mania double header! We saw over 800 runs and it was topped off with a last ball win for the Outlaws! What more could you ask for!
Having visited Trent Bridge loads of times over the years I have wanted to ‘tick off’ some more of the county grounds for a while and we really enjoyed Edgbaston as a venue.
The only criticism we would have to make was the strangely low crowd. The first game of the double header was between 2 neutral sides and we thought at that point that the crowd was fairly good. As the day went on though it just didn’t seem to get any fuller and in the end the ground was probably less than half full which was a shame as the game ended up being a thriller!
We hope you enjoyed our 2 cricketing blogs over the summer as something a little bit different, but we are already planning for next season with pre season fixtures starting in just a couple of weeks! Keep your eyes peeled to see where we will end up next!
Emma’s Ground Guide 