Next week, 15 September, sees the first-ever three-way T20 tournament between three faith cricket teams at Edgbaston. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s XI are hosting a visiting side from the Vatican, the St Peter’s XI, and The Mount, a Muslim team from Yorkshire.

The matches begin at 10.30 a.m. (ABC XI v St Peter’s; followed by St Peter’s v the Mount; and ending with the Mount v ABC XI); ending at approximately 7.30.

The Vatican team first visited the UK in 2014, a match won in the last over by the ABC XI. Last year the two sides met in Rome, a match won more comfortably by the Vatican side. The two sides meet again next Tuesday, at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, in Canterbury, starting at 2 p.m. before travelling to Birmingham for the three-way tournament. Mount Cricket Club approached the Vatican side last year and travelled to Rome to play them. This will be their first match against the Archbishop’s XI.

Finally, Mount Cricket plays the Vatican side at Headingley on Monday 19 September.

All the matches are free. A collection will be made for anti-trafficking charities.

The purpose of the "Unity Through Cricket" matches is to enjoy the good relations that already exist between people of different faiths, and also to demonstrate how divisions within the Church and differences between faiths can be overcome most effectively by playing together.

The games have been made possible by the generosity of Kent, Warwickshire, and Yorkshire CCCs. Sponsors include the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, and the Church Times, which has been organising clergy cricket since 1952.