Warwickshire: Ashes opener and World Cup games help county post record profit

Australia won the first Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston in 2019, but England beat Australia in the World Cup semi-final at the ground earlier in the summer

Warwickshire posted a record operating profit of £6.2m in 2019 after hosting last year's Ashes opener and five World Cup matches.

Profits were up from £1.7m 12 months earlier, when Edgbaston hosted fewer international fixtures.

The Test between England and Australia and the World Cup semi-final, which England won on the way to the title, were two of the summer's biggest games.

Warwickshire chair Mark McCafferty said it was a "landmark year" for the club.

Turnover at Edgbaston for the year ending 30 September 2019 was £26.6m, up from £17.3m a year earlier as a result of the major fixtures hosted.

Warwickshire have said in March they will put £2.1m towards repaying a £21.8m loan from Birmingham City Council, which helped fund the redevelopment of their ground in 2010 and 2011.

McCafferty said they aim "to significantly reduce" that debt in the coming five years, thanks to having 31 days of major fixtures allocated to them, as well as hosting Commonwealth Games fixtures in 2022.

Edgbaston will welcome England men's Test matches in four of the five years from 2020, as well as remaining the venue for the T20 Blast Finals Day.

As a result, in the summer the club will start on a £85m development at Edgbaston which includes the construction of 375 apartments.

Chief executive Neil Snowball said the club want to "reinforce our ambitions to be the 'best cricket business in the world' with further developments".