The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced the itinerary for next year's Ashes series against Australia - with Cardiff chosen to host the first Test.
The redeveloped Swalec Stadium will start the five-Test series on 8 July, with the subsequent Tests at Lord's, Edgbaston, Headingley and the Oval.
The venues had been announced in 2006, with Cardiff controversially chosen ahead of Old Trafford in Manchester.
Meanwhile, Hampshire's Rose Bowl will host a Test against Sri Lanka in 2011.
The Southampton venue, which opened in 2001, will become England's 10th Test ground when it hosts one game of a three-Test series - with Cardiff hosting one of the others.
Both grounds will also host one-day internationals against Australia in 2010 and India in 2011.
The Swalec Stadium, on the Sophia Gardens site, was awarded Test match status in April 2006 and a �9.5m redevelopment has boosted capacity from 5,500 to 15,643.
As well as the 2009 Ashes, venues have been announced for 2009, 2010 and 2011 - including tours by Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka and India.
However, Old Trafford was not awarded a Test match during the three-year period.
2009 Ashes Series: England v Australia Wednesday, 8 July - Sunday, 12 July - 1st Test (Cardiff) Thursday, 16 July - Monday, 20 July - 2nd Test (Lord's) Thursday, 30 July - Monday, 3 August - 3rd Test (Edgbaston) Friday, 7 August - Tuesday, 11 August - 4th Test (Headingley) Thursday, 20 August - Monday, 24 August) - 5th Test (The Oval)
One-day internationals: Rose Bowl, Lord's, The Oval, Lord's, Trent Bridge, Trent Bridge, Riverside Twenty20 internationals: Old Trafford (two matches)
NB The schedule for the one-day series is expected to be confirmed by the end of April.
Other venues announced (with dates still to be announced):
2009 World Twenty20: Lord's, The Oval, Trent Bridge World Twenty20 (women's): Taunton (group matches), Lord's (final) Tests v Zimbabwe (provisional - as Zimbabwe have not played Test cricket since September 2005 and are unlikely to return until they can prove they can be competitive at international level) : Lord's, Riverside ODIs v Zimbabwe: Headingley, Edgbaston, Bristol Twenty20 Cup finals day: Edgbaston Friends Provident Trophy final: Lord's
2010 Tests v Bangladesh: Venue TBC, Headingley ODIs v Bangladesh: Trent Bridge, Bristol Tests v West Indies: Lord's, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston, The Oval ODIs v West Indies: Rose Bowl, The Oval, Headingley, Riverside, Lord's ODIs v Australia: Cardiff, Rose Bowl, The Oval, Lord's, Old Trafford Twenty20 internationals: TBC Twenty20 Cup finals day: Rose Bowl Friends Provident Trophy final: Lord's
2011 Tests v Sri Lanka: Cardiff, Rose Bowl, Lord's ODIs v Sri Lanka: Trent Bridge, Headingley, Edgbaston, The Oval, Old Trafford Tests v India: Lord's, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston, The Oval ODIs v India: Cardiff, Riverside, Rose Bowl, The Oval, Lord's Twenty20 internationals: Two from Headingley, Bristol, Old Trafford and Riverside Twenty20 Cup finals day: Riverside Friends Provident Trophy final: Lord's
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?