Sophia Gardens has been an international cricket venue since 20 May 1999, when it played host to the
1999 Cricket World Cup match between
Australia and
New Zealand. From 2001 to 2012, the ground was a regular venue for
One Day Internationals, hosting nine matches in 12 years, but it was not until 2006 that it hosted its first
England match, the first match of the series against
Pakistan on 30 August 2006. In 2012, the ground was named as one of three venues for the
2013 ICC Champions Trophy, along with
The Oval and
Edgbaston; it hosted five matches, including the opener between
India and
South Africa on 6 June 2013, and the semi-final between India and
Sri Lanka on 20 June. The ground also hosted two
Twenty20 Internationals between England and Pakistan in September 2010, and hosted another against Australia in August 2015. On 11 April 2008, the
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that the venue would host a series of major Test matches over the next four years. It would host its first
Test match on 8 July 2009 as the opening match of an
Ashes series between England and Australia. This made Sophia Gardens the 100th
Test match venue. In July 2011, the ECB stripped the ground of its right to host the 2012
West Indies Test because of Glamorgan's late payment of the £2.5 million fee it owed for hosting the 2011
Sri Lanka Test. The ground was originally set to host a Test match against New Zealand in 2013, but this was given up in exchange for the 2013 Champions Trophy. The ground was one of 11 venues for the
2019 Cricket World Cup. It was host for four group matches. ==Stadium redevelopment==