The rest of the world must be looking upon Wales as “that country where England go to play sport”. Not just happy to host the FA Cup yet again, it appears that the Sophie Gardens cricket ground in Cardiff is to not only get test status, but host an Ashes test in 2009. Good luck to them: though Old Trafford lovers will be miffed (are there any lovers of Trent Bridge except lovers of the completely random). One assumes that much of the redevelopment coming to Sophie Gardens is to up its capacity some what.
Which brings me to an audacious plan hatched by a friend of mine last week regarding the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. What to do with it. West Ham and Spurs at the moment don’t want it, and Leyton Orient (despite previously finding Wembley home for a brief period) couldn’t fill it. Frankly we will not need a 100,000 capacity athletics stadium, and it seems a bit of fanny dangle to just keep it for local School. But with the running track turfed over and a pitch flown in, it could easily become a cricket ground to rival the MCG. Offer it to Essex (though they might have trouble filling it) make it the home of 20:20 or One-Day Cricket, and play an Ashes test there. The fact that there are currently eight test venues, with Durham not far off, may cause a problem, especially with two already being in London. But imagine an Ashes test in a stadium like that!