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Long live Edgbaston!

INTERNET, Birmingham
The day after the 100th anniversary of Edgbaston's inauguration as a Test venue, England and Sri Lanka begin contesting the 38th Test match to be staged at the ground.
But for the thousands who watched that first game enthralled, as England, having posted a competitive 376, dismissed Australia for 36 (still the Baggy Greens' lowest Test score), a visit to Warwickshire's home was akin to a day in the country.
"It was almost a rural venue in 1902", says Phil Britt, curator of Edgbaston's museum, "part of the vast Calthorpe Estate, which owns large tracts of the surrounding area.
The current pavilion existed, albeit in rudimentary form, as did what is now the Leslie Deakins stand, but in order to stage the game the club had to invest heavily in upgrading their facilities."
They were rewarded with a crowd totalling 25,000 over the
three days of the Test. Unfortunately, they weren't rewarded with good weather, and lost time meant the match fizzled to a draw.
It was seven years before Warwickshire next staged a Test, again Australia were the visitors, and this time England completed the job with a ten-wicket win.
While today Edgbaston is virtually an automatic choice for Test cricket, it was not ever thus, with only two matches staged between 1909 and 1957.
"The club made a conscious
decision to host regular Test
cricket", says Phil Britt, "but with
most internationals played in London, and the onset of war,
opportunities were limited."
Warwickshire's 1951 Championship triumph provided new impetus, and with significant ground redevelopment, regular Test cricket finally arrived in 1957.
Memorably so, as England's highest ever partnership -- a fourth wicket stand of 411 between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey -- saved the match and contributed to Sonny Ramadhin's ultra-marathon match
analysis of 129-51-229-9.
Achievements commemorated in a major exhibition on the centenary currently running at the museum, housed within the Pavilion, and open to all those attending this week's England-Sri Lanka game.
Phil Britt: "We're displaying every scorecard, plus features on key players, including each centurion and every bowler who's taken five wickets in an innings."
Among those featured will be David Gower, a double centurion at Edgbaston in 1985, who famously pulled his first ball in Test cricket off Pakistan's Liaquat Ali for four in the Birmingham Test of 1978.
Naturally, Ian Botham's included -- his 5 for 1 in 28 balls in the Fourth Test of 1981 almost eclipsing his achievements at Headingley a fortnight earlier.
So too the 2001 Australians, who comprehensively trounced England by an innings and 118 runs in the First Test and whom Phil Britt regards as the best side he's ever witnessed.
Despite being well regarded both at home and overseas, with new stadia such as Durham's Riverside and Hampshire's Rose Bowl aiming for Test status, Edgbaston can't afford to rest on its laurels.
The impressive new Eric Hollies Stand opens for the Sri Lanka Test (taking capacity over 20,000), while long-term plans include installing permanent floodlights and construction of a new pavilion.
Not quite so impressive however, is the fact that the highest score by a Warwickshire player in an Edgbaston Test remains Dennis Amiss' 86 not out. against the West Indies in 1973, while the best Warwickshire bowling performance for England is David Brown's 3-17 against India in 1967.
Now there's a target for Ashley Giles to beat.