 Interactive map of County Ground | |||
| Ground information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Southampton, Hampshire | ||
| Country | England | ||
| Coordinates | 50°55′10″N1°24′36″W / 50.91944°N 1.41000°W /50.91944; -1.41000 | ||
| Establishment | 1885 | ||
| Demolished | 2001 | ||
| Capacity | 7,000 | ||
| End names | |||
| City End Northlands Road End | |||
| International information | |||
| First ODI | 16 June 1983: Australia v Zimbabwe | ||
| Last ODI | 30 May 1999: Kenya v Sri Lanka | ||
| Only WODI | 19 July 1998: England v Australia | ||
| Team information | |||
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| As of 5 September 2020 Source:CricketArchive | |||
TheCounty Ground inSouthampton, England, was acricket andfootball ground. It was the home ofHampshire County Cricket Club from the1885 English cricket season until the2000 English cricket season. The ground also served as the home ground forSouthampton Football Club from 1896 to 1898.
EarlyHampshire cricket teams had playedfirst-class cricket in Southampton since 1842 at theAntelope Ground, under the supervision ofDaniel Day. Following building speculation, the county team moved across theRiver Itchen toDay's Itchen Ground, although the building proposal fell through and so Hampshire returned across the river to the Antelope Ground.[1]Hampshire County Cricket Club, formed in September 1863, became tenants.[2] In 1883,James Fellowes began negotiations for the lease and development of 8 acres (32,000 m2) land in Northlands Road which formed part of theHulse estate. With an agreement reached between Hampshire County Cricket Club and the estate, Hampshire played their final match at the Antelope Ground in August 1884 and moved to Northlands Road for the 1885 season.
The County Ground was originally leased for £160 annually,[3] with the condition that apavilion be built. This was done for the cost of £2,000, which had been raised.[4] The County Ground was opened on 9 May 1885 by Elizabeth, Countess of Northesk, the wife ofGeorge Carnegie, 9th Earl of Northesk who was at the time the club president. The grand opening match was between South Hampshire and North Hampshire.[4] The inauguralfirst-class match saw Hampshire play aMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in June 1885 side captained by the ScotJohn Russel; the MCC winning the matchby an innings margin.[5] Ten days later Hampshire played their firstcounty match there withDerbyshire as the visitors,[6] though this too resulted in another heavy innings defeat for Hampshire.[7] In 1886, Hampshire lost its first-class status after years of difficult circumstances and poor results. However, Hampshire still played minor matches at the ground.[8] The Hampshire County Ground Company was founded in 1893 and purchased the freehold of the ground fromSir Edward Hulse for £5,400.[4] Hampshire were restored to first-class status in 1895, with the County Ground hosting its firstCounty Championship match in the same year.[6]
Southampton F.C. had used the County Ground for high-profilefootball matches prior to 1896, including FA Cup matches and the finals of theHampshire Senior Cup. On 26 April 1893, a team fromStoke visited the County Ground to play a friendly match againstSouthampton St Mary's. Even with the future founder of football in Brazil,Charles Miller[9] playing atoutside-left, the "Saints" were "outplayed fairly and squarely on every point",[10] losing 8–0. Despite the result, it was reported that the spectators "thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition" and looked forward to witnessing "more matches of a similar character" in future.[10] Soon after a football stand was built next to the pavilion, with Southampton playing all their homes matches there in theSouthern Football League for two seasons. However, with the £200 per annum rent to the County Cricket Club and with crowds of up to 12,000 attending matches, it was decided by the football club that due to the financial burden of the rent and inadequate facilities that they would move the short distance to the newly constructedDell for the1898–99 season.[4] The highest score during Southampton's tenureship was in a Southern League match againstNew Brompton on 7 November 1896, which "the Saints" won 8–3 with ahat-trick fromWillie Naughton. In theFA Cup, Southampton defeatedSwindon Town 8–2 on 2 January 1897, withJack Farrell scoring three, andEastville Rovers 8–1 on 11 December 1897.[11]
Developments continued afoot at the ground, with a new frontage for the main pavilion being built in 1896, with the addition a newly built ladies pavilion adjacent to it. The football stand was redeveloped in 1900 and eleven years later a newscoreboard was erected.[4] During this period, Hampshire had financial difficulties and it was discussed by the committee in 1904 to close the ground.[12] The closure of the ground never materialised and in 1912 Hampshire famously defeated the touringAustralians, their first victory over a touring team,[3] withPhil Mead scoring anunbeaten 160 andAlec Kennedy taking match figures of 11 for 181.[13]
With first-class cricket in England suspended as a result of theFirst World War, no first-class matches were held at the County Ground between August 1914 and June 1919.[6] The touring Australians made what would become the highest team total at the ground in first-class matches, scoring 708 for 7declared,[3] with no less than three centuries in the Australians innings byWarren Bardsley (209),Charlie Macartney (105) andJohnny Taylor (143).[14]
In 1921 the touring Australians scored 708-7 declared, the highest first-class innings on the ground. The match ended in a draw. In 1930 crowds flocked to the County Ground to watchDon Bradman complete his1,000 runs before the end of May, with Bradman making 191 runs in Australians first innings.[15] During this period in the grounds history, Phil Mead was in his prime and by 1932, Mead had completed centuries against every county, finishing with a hundred against Derbyshire. In a career that spanned from 1905 to 1936, he made 138 centuries in 700 matches and heads the list of Hampshire's great run-makers. Mead played on the ground 187 times, where he scored 14,504 runs at an average of 56.42.
First-class cricket was once more suspended in England during theSecond World War, withbombing an ever-present threat throughout the wars early years.[16]
The County Ground played host to Hampshire's 1961 and 1973 County Championship winning seasons, as well as playing host to its firstList-A match in 1965, when Norfolk were the visitors in the1965 Gillette Cup.
In 1983 the ground hosted its firstOne Day International whenAustralia took onZimbabwe in the1983 Cricket World Cup. Australia won the match by four wickets.
Cardigan Connor who took 9–38 in 1996 andKevan James took four wickets in four balls in the match against the touringIndians in the same year. In 1999 the ground played host to its final two One Day Internationals in the1999 Cricket World Cup whenNew Zealand played theWest Indies, with the West Indies winning by seven wickets. The second match sawKenya playSri Lanka, which the Sri Lankans won by 45 runs.
Hampshire sold the County Ground in May 1998 toBerkeley Homes for £5 million.[17] After 115 years at the County Ground, the 2000 County Championship marked the club's last season at the County Ground. The ground's last first-class match sawYorkshire as the visitors. The County Ground played host to three One Day International, 565 first-class matches and 211 List-A matches.
For2001, Hampshire moved to the newRose Bowl ground. The site of the County Ground is now a housing estate.[18]
v. Kenya, 1999[19]
v.
West Indies, 1999[20] v. Australia, 1983[21] v. New Zealand, 1999[22]| History | |
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