Warwickshire keen to host exhibition tournament to "reflect communities" in Birmingham

Chief executive Stuart Cain wants to stage a tournament at Edgbaston which would see Birmingham Bears playing against overseas T20 franchises

Warwickshire CCC’s chief executive, Stuart Cain, is keen to host an exhibition tournament at Edgbaston to "reflect the communities" in the local area.

Speaking to the BBC Stumped podcast, Cain said plans had not been made but his vision could see Birmingham Bears – Warwickshire’s T20 side – playing against overseas white-ball franchises, such as Caribbean Premier league side Barbados Tridents, Pakistan Super League franchise Karachi Kings, and two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders.

However, he also said the tournament would need to be done with the cooperation of the England and Wales Cricket Board and not to the detriment of domestic cricket.

"There are 48 different communities represented in Birmingham and we’ve got to try to make cricket as relevant as possible," he explained. "In a city area, we have a particular profile that we need to try to reach.

"[It] would be a great opportunity, so for me it’s not necessarily about bring the IPL to England, it’s more about how do we try to reflect the communities that sit around Edgbaston?

"A lot of these international franchises are just as interesting to the local community as watching the Bears at Edgbaston."

Cain also confirmed that despite the club reporting a profit of £281,000 in 2020 – most of which came from advance ticket sales and TV money – Warwickshire haven’t earned money from Edgbaston in over a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I think we do need to find new ways of bringing revenue into the game as Test match venues because you’ve got a large infrastructure to try to keep funded," he added.

"The idea of a meaningful exhibition tournament weekend could be quite interesting."

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