The Great Exhibition opens

The Great Exhibition logo is formed with a human wagon wheel during the launch at Lord's today

To celebrate the start of an unprecedented summer of world-class cricket, The England and Wales Cricket Board today launches The Great Exhibition.

From April to September all players, all formats and all fans of cricket will come together across England and Wales to enjoy an exceptional feast of international, domestic and community cricket events.

The Great Exhibition will provide the nation’s Summer sport with a host of cricketing events, tournaments, promotions and fans’ activities, designed to provide something for everyone during the summer of 2009.

Full details of all events and how to get involved can be found at www.ecb.co.uk/tge, and below is just a selection of the exciting events for the diary:

• MAY: The West Indies tour featuring two npower Test Matches, and three NatWest Series One-Day Internationals.
• JUNE: The ICC World Twenty20; where nation plays nation and twelve men’s teams and eight women’s teams compete for the coveted trophies at four venues in England
• APR-SEP: A vibrant domestic season including the LV County Championship, LV Women’s County Championship, Friends Provident Trophy, NatWest Pro40 and the Twenty20 Cup.
• JUL-AUG: The npower Ashes Series with England hoping to win back the famous urn over a five Test Series. The NatWest Women’s Series and the npower Women’s Ashes.
• JUL-AUG: npower Cricket in the Park; a series of big-screen outdoor festivals giving fans across England and Wales the chance to watch the Ashes in a festival atmosphere.
• SEP: The NatWest Series; England take on the Aussies in seven
  One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 clashes.

Find out more - download The Great Exhibition Q&A document below:

The Great Exhibition - Q&A (28 KB)

Bringing The Great Exhibition theme to life, the ECB has developed a dynamic logo, inspired by the “wagon wheel” graphic of Kevin Pietersen’s awesome 158 knock at the Brit Oval in 2005, which helped win the Ashes for England the last time Australia came to visit.

The wagon wheel logo will be the visual theme running through all of the ECB’s communications, pointing the way to each of the different cricket attractions available this summer.

England captains Andrew Strauss and Charlotte Edwards, Owais Shah, and a host of county players help form the wagon wheel

ECB chairman Giles Clarke said: “This year will be a huge season for cricket in England and Wales and with our men’s and women’s teams leading the way, there is a huge opportunity for everyone, from 7 to 70, from hardened cricket fans to those with a passing interest, to embrace our national summer sport and enjoy playing, watching and supporting the game."

During the Ashes, the npower Cricket in the Park events will tour the country, giving fans of both sides a fantastic opportunity to watch the action unfold on big screens in a festival atmosphere.

Held at five outdoor venues across the country in Southampton, Liverpool, Cambridge, Derby and London, these events will give die-hard cricket fans and newcomers the chance to watch world-class cricket in a fun, vibrant and family-friendly setting.

For budding cricketers the Sky Sports Coaching Zone at each npower Cricket in the Park event provides cricketing enthusiasts the chance to see their actions on screen and offers tips on how to improve play and compare their skills against professional players.

Other activities to get the whole family involved include fancy dress competitions, interactive cricket games and special player appearances. With all this and much more, npower Cricket in the Park is set to become one of the highlights of the British summer!

Will Collinson, ECB Head of Marketing, said: “2009 is set to be one of the most exciting years in cricket history here in England and Wales.

"We want to use the season ahead to really showcase all the fantastic formats of the game to excite current fans and attract new people into the sport.

"The Great Exhibition will reach out to everyone and create a love for our national summer sport and build a positive legacy for the game that lasts well beyond the end of this summer.”

Throughout the summer, the ECB will also be embarking on an exciting mission to collect the thoughts, messages of support and even songs from fans across the country, via the TwelfthMan Van.

The van will appear at cricket events around the UK, inviting fans to record their rendition of ‘Jerusalem’, do their best commentator impressions and create a rallying cry of support for the team.

The best messages of support and fans singing skills from across the country will be edited into a unique compilation and beamed out on the big screens at key matches and to lots of online cricket fans.

This summer the ECB has teamed up with the ASDA Sporting Chance initiative which aims to provide free coaching sessions to children across the UK.

In partnership with ECB Accredited Clubs, cricket will offer free coaching sessions to children throughout the school summer holidays.

Throughout The Great Exhibition, the ECB will give fans the chance to win a range of unique, money-can’t-buy cricket experiences - starting with a special day out at the 5th npower Test at The Brit Oval - so fans are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled on www.ecb.co.uk/tge to be in with a chance of winning!

For county cricket fans the ECB and the counties will be offering discounted tickets to selected matches throughout the summer.

^{ECB's head of marketing Will Collinson tells ECBtv what The Great Exhibition is all about}