The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have recommended The Oval to the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the second venue to host the ICC Twenty20 World Championships in 2009.

The Oval has been recommended as one of three venues to host the tournament, including Lords and a third as yet un-named venue, and stage 14 games including warm up matches, two England group stage matches and a semi-final.

An International Match venue for over a hundred years, The Oval has a great deal of experience of hosting major cricket events. In 2004 the ICC Champions Trophy final was played at the ground, and this was succeeded the following year in 2005 with the Twenty20 finals day. In addition to this, The Oval has also seen Test Match, One Day International and International Twenty20 Cricket being played at the ground on a regular basis, as well as Australian Rules Football in the off-season.

Surrey County Cricket Club’s Chief Executive, Paul Sheldon said: "The Oval has a history of staging successful large-scale events, most recently the Champions trophy in 2004, the Twenty20 Finals day in 2005 and of course the unforgettable final Test Match of the last home Ashes series. We are very excited about being recommended to the ICC as a host venue for the Twenty20 World Championships in 2009, and are confident that we will be able to deliver another great experience for players, officials and cricket fans alike.

The Twenty20 World Championships provide not only The Oval, but also the borough of Lambeth and greater London, with an opportunity to engage a whole new audience in the wonderful game that is cricket, and we feel privileged to be able to play a part in that."

With two London cricket venues selected to host the event, 2009 will showcase the capital’s ability to hold major events ahead of the Olympic Games which comes to London in 2012.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone is a big supporter of the event: “London is a city with a very strong affinity with sport and in 2012 will hold the largest sporting event in the world. Cricket is one of the many sports that was born in this country, and the London cricket grounds of both The Oval and Lord’s hold a very special place in the game’s history.

Together with The Oval, I am delighted to welcome the ICC World Twenty20 Championships to our city in 2009.”

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