Edgbaston Factor Expands Corporate Cricket Scene

A record 20 teams have entered the Warwickshire Taverners Trophy following the news that the tournament final is being held at the Edgbaston Stadium for the first time.

"The fact that the trophy final is being staged at one of the world's leading cricket venues on September 14 has been a terrific development for the tournament," said tournament organiser Trevor Law.

"We are delighted that a record 20 teams are playing - five more than last year.

"It is especially pleasing that The Lord's Taverners and Williams de Broe, who have sponsored the tournament since it started, are entering their own sides for the first time. And with Keith Prowse Hospitality providing catering and prizes in the new Edgbaston Pavilion, the final should be a wonderful event for all trophy teams and their supporters."

Originally created in 2003 by host club Moseley Ashfield CC as the John Bright Trophy linking with the business diary in The Birmingham Post named after the great Victorian radical, the renamed tournament reflects its involvement with Warwickshire CCC and the West Midlands branch of the Lord's Taverners cricket charity.

"We are very grateful to The Birmingham Post for the terrific coverage the newspaper has given the tournament since it started," said Law. "The trophy would never have been such a success and achieved such a high profile without the write-ups and photographs provided by the Post."

The 2012 tournament will feature 42 midweek evening matches played at host club Moseley Ashfield CC’s picturesque Britannic Park ground in Moseley a short distance from the Edgbaston before the September final.

Trophy holders accountants KMPG, captained by Simon Griffiths, will be attempting a third successive trophy win this summer. The Lord's Taverners side is organised by Andrew Thomson, a former Old Edwardians back-row rugby forward, and investment fund managers Williams de Broe will be led by Knowle & Dorridge opening bowler Simon Long.

The other trophy sides are CP Bigwood, Cobbetts, Deloitte, DTZ, Ernst & Young, GVA Grimley, Mainstay Group, Mills & Reeve, No5 Chambers, Phoenix Group, Savills, Shakespeares, Wragge & Co and newcomers Clement Keys, DAC Beachcroft, Eversheds and Gateley LLP.

Pictured are Trevor Law, Warwickshire Taverners Trophy organiser, Warwickshire CCC finance director Craig Findall, Simon Griffiths, captain of trophy holders KPMG, and Andrew Thomson, Lord's Taverners captain, at the new venue for the trophy final, Edgbaston Stadium.