Worcestershire are to stage the final of the prestigious Birmingham and District Premier League’s Graham Williamson Trophy at New Road for a second successive season.
The Club stepped in at short notice last summer to host the final between Worcestershire Academy and eventual winners Smethwick, who Worcestershire Assistant Head Coach Kadeer Ali captained.
Now the Birmingham & District Premier League are delighted to take up again Worcestershire’s offer to host the final of the 40 over the competition, which this year will take place at New Road on Sunday, April 30.
League General Manager, Nick Archer, says it will further strengthen the already positive link between Worcestershire and the league.
It will also provide players with what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on a first class ground.
Archer said: “It was great that Worcestershire offered us New Road at very short notice last year, just six days beforehand, and we were able to put it in place, and it was a really good day, even though the weather was not great.
“Worcestershire have very kindly offered to also stage the final in 2023, and this will allow us to publicise it more than we were able to do in the six-day period last year.
“It helps us as well in the sense that it is a neutral ground, and we don’t have to have the toss of a coin to decide which of the finalists will stage the game.
“But there are a lot of good players out there who will never have played on a first class county ground, and it is a great opportunity for them.
“Smethwick got to the final last year and eventually won it, with Kadeer Ali the captain, but they had quite a few players who had played in the league for a number of years but never had a chance to play on a ground like that.
“The other thing is that it strengthens the relationship between the league and Worcestershire, which is already good because of the people in place at the club.
“Kadeer Ali, we have a strong relationship with, and Elliot Wilson, I’ve known over a lot of years since he was with Lincolnshire.
“From our point of view as a league, we have two First Class counties and three National Counties in the area.
“It helps us to have a strong relationship with all five of those counties.
“We play Warwickshire in a T20 game as part of their warm-up schedule, so it is all good for cricket in the West Midlands.”
Worcestershire Chair, Fanos Hira, added, “We’re delighted to be hosting the Graham Williamson Final on behalf of the Birmingham & District Premier League again this year.
“2022 saw a great game of cricket, and we’re hoping for more of the same this year and encourage as many as possible to make the most of free entry into New Road and enjoy some top-class cricket.”
