| Alexandra Park Pietermaritzburg Oval | |||||
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 Interactive map of City Oval | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Pietermaritzburg | ||||
| Country | South Africa | ||||
| Coordinates | 29°36′37.17″S30°22′50.97″E / 29.6103250°S 30.3808250°E /-29.6103250; 30.3808250 | ||||
| Establishment | 1888 | ||||
| Capacity | 12,000 | ||||
| End names | |||||
| Duzi End Hulett End | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First ODI | 12 February 2003: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka | ||||
| Last ODI | 23 February 2003: India v Namibia | ||||
| Only WODI | 28 September 2023: South Africa v New Zealand | ||||
| First WT20I | 18 May 2019: South Africa v Pakistan | ||||
| Last WT20I | 19 May 2019: South Africa v Pakistan | ||||
| Team information | |||||
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| As of 7 September 2020 Source:cricinfo | |||||
City Oval (formerlyAlexandra Park[1] and sometimes called thePietermaritzburg Oval),[2] is amulti-purpose stadium inPietermaritzburg,South Africa. The 12,000 capacity stadium is currently used predominantly forcricket matches, with the ground being used byKwaZulu-Natal Inland men's and women's teams,KwaZulu-Natal andDolphins (who also play atKingsmead,Durban),[3][4] and hosted two matches during the2003 Cricket World Cup. It is one of only threefirst-class cricket grounds in the world to have a tree within theboundary ropes(the others beingSt Lawrence Ground inCanterbury,United Kingdom[5][6] andVRA Cricket Ground inAmstelveen,Netherlands),[7] and any cricketer that scores acentury or takes afive-wicket haul in a match at the City Oval gets to plant a tree at the ground.[8] The City Oval Pavilion is based on the design ofQueen's Park cricket ground inChesterfield,United Kingdom.[9]
The City Oval, then known as Alexandra Park, hosted its firstfirst-class cricket match in 1894/95.[10]Between 1895 and 1957, the City Oval hosted 9 first-class matches betweenNatal andMarylebone Cricket Club.[11]
The ground has been used to host many matches between South African A sides and touring cricket teams.[1] First class matches were also played between Natal and Australians touring team in 1950 and 1958.[11] In 2000, the City Oval hosted aList A match betweenBangladesh and the South African Board President's XI;Charl Langeveldt took 5/7 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 51, and lost the match by 10 wickets.[1][12]South Africa A have additionally played List A matches at the City Oval againstAustralia A in 2002/03 andSri Lanka A in 2008/09.[13] In July 2015, City Oval hosted three youth ODIs betweenSouth Africa U-19 team andBangladesh U-19 team; South Africa U-19 won 2 matches, and Bangladesh U-19 won one match.[14]
In December 2015, the ground hosted a warmup match between South Africa A andEngland, which England won by an innings and 91 runs;Alastair Cook andJoe Root both hit centuries, andMoeen Ali took 6/77 in the second innings.[15][16]
The City Oval has hosted twoOne Day International (ODI) matches, both of them in the2003 Cricket World Cup.[17][18]
Prior to the World Cup, the ground was renovated, with the introduction of the Jubilee Stand, named to commemorateQueen Victoria'sdiamond jubilee in 1897.[19]
The first ODI at the ground was played betweenBangladesh andSri Lanka. In the first over of the match, Sri LankanChaminda Vaas took 4 wickets, including ahat-trick with the first three balls of the match, the first time this had occurred in international cricket.[8] Vaas' wickets wereHannan Sarkar bowled off the first ball,Mohammed Ashrafulcaught and bowled off the second ball,Ehsanul Haque was caught byMahela Jayawardene atslip off the third ball, andSanwar Hossain off the fifth ball, making the score 5/4 from 1 over.[20][21] He finished with figures of 6/25 from 9.1 overs with 2maidens, as Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets.[20][1]
The second ODI was betweenIndia andNamibia; Indian batsmenSachin Tendulkar andSourav Ganguly scored a 244 run partnership for the second wicket, the seventh highest partnership at theCricket World Cup as of 2016. Ganguly made 112 from 119 balls, and Tendulkar made 152 runs from 151 balls, his highest score in World Cup matches.[22] India scored 311 runs, eventually winning the match by 181 runs.[23] Tendulkar was awarded theman of the match award.[24]
Two ODI centuries have been scored at the venue.[25]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 152 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 151 | Namibia | 23 February 2003 | Won |
| 2 | 112* | Saurav Ganguly | India | 119 | Namibia | 23 February 2003 | Won |
There has been only one five-wicket haul at the venue.[26]
| No. | Bowler | Date | Team | Opposing team | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chaminda Vaas | 14 February 2003 | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 1 | 9.1 | 25 | 6 | 2.72 | Won |