British Championships: Dina Asher-Smith, Laura Muir and Zharnel Hughes among names to watch

Selection for the inaugural Athletics World Cup is a new incentive for British Championships competitors

The British Championships is one event, over two days with three-fold implications.

First and foremost, it is a chance for athletes to write their name in national history by becoming British champion.

Secondly, it offers a chance of a spot on the continental stage with the top two in each event qualifying for August's European Championships - provided they have also achieved British Athletics' qualifying standard.

Lastly, and for the first time, each event winner will represent Great Britain in the inaugural Athletics World Cup at London Stadium a fortnight later.

Steve Cram, whose glittering career included several British titles, picks out the most eye-catching events in Birmingham.

Women's 100m (final - Saturday at 16:45 BST)

Dina Asher-Smith is having a brilliant season.

After 2017 was disrupted by a broken foot, she has got stronger and stronger, breaking her own British record in the Diamond League in Oslo and claiming some major scalps in victory in Stockholm.

The reigning European champion over 200m has given nothing away about what she might do at the trials, but I suspect she will limit herself to the 100m.

Asha Philip looks the best of the rest.

This year she has done the full monty of the World Indoors and the Commonwealths, where she was disappointing, but I would be surprised if she doesn't claim a top-two spot if injury free.

Men's 100m (final - Saturday at 16:55 BST)

Hughes beat former world champion Yohan Blake on his way to victory in a time of 9.91 seconds at the Racers Grand Prix

The men's sprint events are perhaps the most intriguing part of the weekend and the 100m has the greater strength in depth.

There are already eight athletes who have run the 10.25-second qualifying standard set by British Athletics.

The man to beat is Zharnel Hughes. The 22-year-old was briefly 2018's fastest man and remains top of the European charts after his 9.91 run in Jamaica this month.

The form of Reece Prescod, Ojie Edoburun and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake means CJ Ujah - last season's Diamond League winner - is only the fifth fastest Briton of the year.

It is so difficult to call and, given it is such a stacked field, it would be brave of any of those contenders to skip a head-to-head contest and rely on convincing the selectors with their performances elsewhere.

Men's 1500m (final - Sunday at 16:08 BST)

O'Hare (right) won a fiercely contested 1500m final in 2017

Great Britain have the top four athletes in Europe in Josh Kerr, Charlie Grice, Chris O'Hare and Jake Wightman.

You could say that whoever secures a spot this weekend has a huge chance of a European medal. In truth, times do not always translate so easily to medals in the 1500m.

Last year, it was O'Hare who kicked away to beat Kerr and Wightman and leave 2016 champion Grice back in fifth.

With less than a second separating the quartet in 2018, we can be sure of another classic, tight race.

Men's 800m (final - Sunday at 15:01 BST)

Andrew Osagie is engaged to former British middle distance runner Emily Pidgeon

If anything there is even more strength in depth here.

Kyle Langford, who won silver for England at the Commonwealth Games in April, is missing with a back injury, but there is still a stellar field in his absence.

After a series of injuries, London 2012 finalist Andrew Osagie is back and running fast regularly.

Elliot Giles, who is part of the same training group as Langford down in Brighton with Jon Bigg, has struggled a little bit, but you should never write off such a talent.

Behind them you have the likes of Jamie Webb, Jake Wightman and Daniel Rowden.

And then there is Guy Learmonth. The Scot, who has been an outspoken critic of the British Athletics set-up, also has a happy knack of upsetting the apple cart on the track as well.

It is going to be fascinating.

Women's 800m (final - Sunday at 15:36 BST)

Adelle Tracey and Shelayna Oskan-Clarke celebrate made the World Championship team 12 months ago

Laura Muir is ranked number one in Europe over two laps but, with the European Championships schedule making it pretty much impossible to double up, she may opt to aim her efforts at the 1500m instead.

Shelayna Oskan-Clarke is the defending champion after a sterling run last year, but she has been joined in sub two-minute territory by Alex Bell this season.

Behind them Adelle Tracey and Rio 2016 finalist Lynsey Sharp are both threats.

There are only two European Championship places for them to fight over.

Women's long jump (Sunday at 15:42 BST)

Lorraine Ugen and Shara Proctor will renew their rivalry from the Commonwealth Games

This looks to be the best of the field events in terms of depth of competition.

Shara Proctor and Lorraine Ugen finished third and fourth respectively at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, with six centimetres separating the English pair.

Proctor was a world silver medallist in 2015 but Ugen, who was part of the gold-medal winning 4x100m relay team on the Gold Coast, has an international field medal of her own after winning a European indoor silver last year.

They are fourth and eighth in the world in terms of performance this season.

Elsewhere Jazmin Sawyers is a former Olympic finalist, while Abigail Irozuru has jumped 6.60m already this season.

Steve Cram was speaking to BBC Sport's Mike Henson.