HEADINGLEY is set for a bumper summer of international cricket in 2019, including a first Ashes Test in ten years – and Bradford could benefit.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have confirmed their major match allocation from 2017 to 2019 – the last year of Yorkshire's existing staging agreement.

With the staging agreement in place, it has been known for some time that Ashes cricket would be returning to the county for the first time since 2009.

There had also been a great deal of confidence that four one-day World Cup matches would be allocated to the ground that same summer, and that was also confirmed.

England will also play Pakistan in a one-day international to top off a mouth-watering summer for Yorkshire cricket lovers.

In 2017, Headingley will also host a West Indies Test match and a South Africa one-day international, while Pakistan will visit for a Test match and India for a one-day international in 2018.

"We're absolutely delighted," said Yorkshire chief executive Mark Arthur. "It's exactly what we were hoping for.

"It's something really special that we can be working towards in 2019. A first Ashes Test in ten years, a one-day international against Pakistan and four World Cup matches will mean it's a very busy time for the region.

"All the matches we've got in this package from 2017, we're delighted with. We're very excited that the new floodlights are going to be in place for next year and then the prospects of the new South Stand.

"At the same time, we are also looking to regenerate Bradford Park Avenue.

"I was aware that we might have this type of programme in Leeds for 2019, in which case we will probably need to schedule some of Yorkshire's cricket away from Headingley.

"What better place than Bradford Park Avenue if it's up to scratch by then?"

Although Headingley will not host the World Cup final or either of the two semi-finals, Arthur says their quartet of matches are ones "of really good quality".

The summer of 2018 is also mouthwatering, with Pakistan visiting for a Test match and India for a one-day international.

"It's been quite some time since England hosted Pakistan in a Test match series (2010), and that will be fantastic, especially with all the work we're doing in the South Asian communities in Bradford and Leeds," Arthur added.

Headingley's full international schedule between 2015-2019: New Zealand Test and Australia ODI (2015), Sri Lanka Test and Pakistan ODI (2016), West Indies Test and South Africa ODI (2017), Pakistan Test and India ODI (2018), Australia Test, Pakistan ODI and four World Cup matches (2019).