It is one hundred years since Edgbaston first staged Test cricket. If a spectator from that match against Australia in 1902 was transported to the modern Edgbaston, they might just recognise the game going on the middle, but the surroundings would leave them bemused. In the intervening century, Edgbaston has developed from an extremely basic arena into one of the country's best-appointed cricket grounds. Although it is rightly commemorating its centenary, in the 55 years that followed its debut it staged only three more Tests, in 1909, 1924 and 1929. There were a number of reasons for this. There was far less Test cricket in those days, and tours were not annual events; the main grounds at Lord's, The Oval and Old Trafford demanded Tests and for financial reasons they got them; and Edgbaston was far from being an ideal place to watch cricket - it was a ramshackle collection of temporary stands and offered meagre facilities for the spectator.

Although the public turned out to watch whenever Birmingham was awarded a Test, the administrators quietly dropped the venue after the 1929 match against South Africa, and the ground, always slightly shabby anyway, went into slow decline.

The re-birth of Edgbaston came about in the 1950s when Warwickshire invested considerable funds into the complete redevelopment of the ground, resulting in a modern and widely-praised venue. In 1957 it was welcomed back into the Test fold and it has remained one of England's premier international venues ever since. But unlike some grounds, Edgbaston has never rested on its laurels and constant improvements have maintained its status as one of the most popular venues - as far as spectators are concerned. There was little surprise when, in 1972, it was selected to stage one of the first one-day internationals to be played in England .

It also used to be one of England's favourite grounds - 73 years went by before they tasted defeat there. Not until Australia's innings-victory in 1975 (admittedly only the 17th Test staged at Birmingham) did England lose, the previous Tests producing nine wins and seven draws. Since 1990, however, they have lost four out of 10 Tests.

The inaugural Test in 1902 may have been blighted by poor weather but it was memorable for Australia being skittled out for just 36, still their worst Test performance. Wilfred Rhodes took 7 for 17 in 11 overs but rain enabled Australia to hang on for a draw.

The first Test of the new era was equally memorable, but not for Sonny Ramadhin, who sent down a record 98 overs as England's Peter May and Colin Cowdrey posted a record fourth-wicket stand of 411 against West Indies.

Edgbaston has witnessed some memorable moments. Ian Botham's five wickets in 28 balls to blow away Australia's tail during the heady summer of 1981; Zaheer Abass's nine-hour double-century in 1971; Colin Blyth's 11 for 102 against Australia in 1909; Fred Trueman's 7 for 44 (12 for 119 in the match) to bowl England to victory against West Indies in 1963; Australia lurching to 54 for 8, and eventual defeat, on the first morning of the 1997 Ashes series.

But Edgbaston has not produced many close finishes. In 37 Tests there have been 25 results, but of these, 11 have been by an innings and another seven have been by more than seven wickets. Only the 29-run win by England against Australia in 1981 has been by a margin of less than 100 runs.

Nasser Hussain will be heartened by the fact that of the last three England captains to win the toss and field at Edgbaston have all had their decisions justified - two of the matches were rain-affected draws and the other a massive innings win over Australia (1985). The only other England captain at Edgbaston to defy convention, however, paid a high price for his gamble. In 1975, Mike Denness sent Australia in and watched them run up 359, before Lillee, Thomson and Walker routed England twice to complete an innings win. Graham Gooch completed a pair on debut, and Denness was sacked and never played international cricket again.

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