The Kia Oval is set to host the first Test of next summer, rather than its regular end-of-summer slot.
Surrey’s Chief Executive Richard Gould and Chairman Richard Thompson met with Tom Harrison and Lord Kamlesh Patel from the England and Wales Cricket Board to iron out a number of issues.
There it was agreed that the Hundred team based at the Oval would have the ground’s name in its name (with Invincibles an alternative to Greats, as reported earlier this week), and would host the opening Test of the summer in June – which can be a trickier slot to sell.
West Indies will be the visitors, with Pakistan playing another three-match series later in the summer.
The Oval’s T20 family zone – which is already sold out for the opening game against Middlesex – will this year be sponsored by Xbox, as the gaming giant moves into cricket sponsorship for the first time.
