Commercial heating and ventilation specialists Lord Combustion Services again helped the team at Edgbaston cricket stadium put on a show for England women’s Ashes match against Australia.
Award-winning Lord Combustion Services, Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s official commercial heating and hot water partner, ensured a record crowd at one of the leading venues in international cricket benefitted from a highly efficient, sustainable and more effective hot water system.
Edgbaston was near capacity as close to 20,000 filled the ground for the Women’s Ashes IT20 match on July 1, the second encounter this summer for one of the fiercest rivalries in cricket.
The Edgbaston team enlisted the services of Lord to install a new water system for all areas of the stadium’s £32 million South Stand, from the player changing rooms to the kitchens and corporate hospitality rooms. The work contributed to Lord winning a sustainability award in 2021.
The attendance of 19,527 broke the record for the highest crowd for a standalone women’s international in the UK, outside of global events, beating the 15,187 present at Lord’s last summer for the one day international against India.
The match saw Australia continue their charge to regaining the Women’s Ashes with a four-wicket win in a thrilling contest. Having hosted the nail biting men’s opener to the Ashes last month, which saw the visitors win by two wickets in a dramatic final hour on the fifth day, Edgbaston welcomed 135,000 fans in total over six days of men’s and women’s Ashes cricket.
Further records were broken as for the first time in the club’s history, all five days of the men’s Ashes sold out.
Team pride
As with the men’s match, Lord’s branding on the stadium was visible to TV audiences around the world during the women’s IT20.
Managing Director Stuart Smith said the Lord team were proud to see their partners at Edgbaston set new records for crowds.
Stuart said: “It has been fantastic to see our long term association see us play our part in ensuring Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Edgbaston step up to the mark in hosting the highest profile series in international cricket.
“We continue to value our role as Edgbaston’s official commercial heating and hot water partner as we support the team not only on the quality of match day experience but also on achieving their goals around sustainability and environmental impact
“We look forward to working with them in the future to provide the best service possible for match day spectators, the playing staff and employees throughout the stadium.”
Launched in 1982, the Lord team of nearly 50 staff serve customers across the West Midlands. Lord’s logo is on the sleeve of Warwickshire’s Royal London Cup shirt for the current season. Club captain Will Rhodes and wicket-keeper Michael Burgess visited Lord’s HQ in Dudley Road East, Oldbury, in December to meet the team.