 The Victoria and South Australia men's cricket teams contest a One-Day match at the Junction Oval in September 2018. | |
 Interactive map of Junction Oval | |
| Location | St Kilda, Victoria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°51′21″S144°58′48″E / 37.85583°S 144.98000°E /-37.85583; 144.98000 |
| Owner | Victoria State Government |
| Operator | Cricket Victoria |
| Capacity | 7,000[1] |
| Record attendance | 46,973 (VFL game, 20 May 1950) |
| Surface | Grass (Oval) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1856 |
| Renovated | 2015–18 |
| Construction cost | $40 million (2015–18 redevelopment) |
| Tenants | |
Victoria cricket team (2018–present)
St Kilda/University Football Club (Challenge Cup; 1875) South Melbourne Football Club (VFL; 1944–1946) Fitzroy Football Club (VFL; 1970–1984) Sandringham Football Club (VFA) (1966) | |
 Interactive map of Junction Oval | |
| Ground information | |
| Country | Australia |
| Tenants | Victoria cricket team |
| International information | |
| First women's Test | 21 February 1958: Australia v England |
| Last women's Test | 5 February 1972: Australia v New Zealand |
| First WODI | 9 February 2000: Australia v New Zealand |
| Last WODI | 14 January 2025: Australia v England |
| First WT20I | 22 January 2013: Australia v New Zealand |
| Last WT20I | 2 March 2020: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka |
| As of 14 January 2025 Source:Cricinfo | |
Junction Oval (also known as theSt Kilda Cricket Ground, or theCitiPowerCentre due tosponsorship reasons) is acricket ground located in the inner-Melbourne suburb ofSt Kilda,Victoria.[2]
The oval's location near theSt Kilda Junction gave rise to its name is within the largeAlbert Park sporting precinct. The oval is the administrative headquarters ofCricket Victoria and hosts a large number of matches for the Victoria men's and women's teams.[2]
The St Kilda Cricket Ground was established on its present site in 1856. The firstgrandstand at the ground was purchased from the oldElsternwick racecourse and erected in 1892 at the southern end of the ground. A new grandstand was built in 1925–26 at a cost of £7000, designed by the architect E J Clark and built by H H Eilenberg. It was originally called the G P Newman Stand but has been renamed theKevin Murray Stand after one of theFitzroy Football Club's most famous footballers before being renamed as theShane Warne stand in 2024.[3] A second brick stand designed by E J Clark to complement the Murray Stand was built by H H Eilenberg in 1933–34 at a cost of £7500. It was named theDon Blackie–Bert Ironmonger Stand in honour of theSt Kilda Cricket Club and Test cricketers. Both grandstands still stand today and have been restored and are in use. A new £6000 manual scoreboard and kiosk at the northern end of the ground was built in 1956–57, the cricket club's centenary year.[4] The scoreboard is a landmark of the St Kilda Junction area. The remainder of the ground is grass embankments, other than the southern practice wicket area. Older structures were demolished during a rationalisation of the ground, after they were declared a fire hazard by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1988.[5] It is a very picturesque venue, with a top-quality turf playing area and a modern backdrop of tall buildings and parkland.[2] The current capacity of the ground is 7,000.[1]
Cricket greatShane Warne had a long association with the St Kilda Cricket Ground. He made his first class debut at the ground for Victoria in 1991, and played there on numerous occasions between 1989 and 2006 for his club side, St Kilda. In 2010, the club proposed renaming the ground the Shane Warne Oval, but the change never occurred.[6] In 2013, Warne spoke on behalf of the campaign to preserve the ground's suitability as a venue for first-class cricket.[7]
In December 2014, theVictorian government announced it would contribute $25 million to the Oval's redevelopment to allow it to become the administrative and training headquarters ofCricket Victoria.[1] By the end of 2015, Cricket Victoria andCricket Australia, in combination with theMelbourne Cricket Club, contributed the extra $15 million necessary to allow the redevelopment to proceed.[8] The redevelopment of the venue incorporated several new features such as a national centre for cricket training and programs, on-site accommodation for visiting teams and officials, medical and training facilities including an extensive outdoor turf training area and 10-lane indoor centre and administrative facilities and offices to house Cricket Victoria and be rented to external parties.[1][9][10] The redevelopment allowed the oval to become a boutique-size alternative venue for first-class cricket with a capacity for up to 7,000 spectators.[11]
The upgraded venue was unveiled ahead of theSheffield Shield match betweenVictoria andNew South Wales on 3 March 2018.[12] TheMelbourne Stars played the first men'sBig Bash League match at the venue against thePerth Scorchers on 2 January 2022 as part of theirBBL11 Campaign.[13]
Junction Oval was founded in tandem with theSt Kilda Cricket Club, who have called the ground home since its opening in 1856.[4] The club plays in theVictorian Premier Cricket competition and has a rich history of success at the venue. Prior to the redevelopment in 2015–18, the venue had hosted 28first-class cricket matches, including 25Sheffield Shield games.[14] The lack of upgrades to the oval meant that by 2005 the venue failed to meet first-class standards, though in retaining its charm it was compared to theBasin Reserve inWellington.[15]
The need for a first-class standard cricket ground inVictoria, in addition to the 100,000 seat capacityMelbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), became increasingly apparent as thestate team was forced to host Sheffield Shield finals in interstate locations.[16] Consequently, the redevelopment of the ground in the mid-2010s allowed Victoria and other teams to host matches at an appropriately-sized venue, relieving pressure on the MCG and enabling the oval to become capable of hostingWomen's Big Bash League matches and other cricket competitions where necessary, as well as being the administrative headquarters ofCricket Victoria. The venue is referred to as theCitiPower Centre.[9] Prior to redevelopment, Victoria utilised the oval during the 2005–06 season when theMelbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was being prepared for the2006 Commonwealth Games. In the early 1990s it was used regularly because of the construction of the Great Southern Stand at the MCG. It also played host to the 2008/09 Sheffield Shield final, won by the Bushrangers, due to the unavailability of the MCG, because of the Bushfire relief concert.
The Junction Oval was converted into a full-time cricket venue as of 2015 as part of the redevelopment in 2015 until 2018.[17]
As a result of the redevelopment, the Victorian state team plays many home games in the domesticOne-Day Cup andSheffield Shield competitions at the oval. Success at the redeveloped ground came quickly for the Victorians, who won their sixth One-Day Cup and 32nd Sheffield Shield at the Junction Oval during the 2018–19 season.[18]
While the redevelopment of Junction Oval ended the 145-year association ofAustralian rules football with the ground, the venue has a rich football history.[17]
On 28 May 1870, the first ever football match withhistorical senior premiership status was played at the oval between South Yarra and Albert Park, with Albert Park winning by three goals to one.
After entering senior competition, theSt Kilda Football Club played its home matches there in 1874[4] and in 1875, when the club merged with University for one season to form a combined team,St Kilda cum University, due to a lack of players. As St Kilda moved to Alpaca Paddock in 1876 after returning as a standalone team, and a lack of players and financial problems meant that St Kilda went into recess during 1879, no further matches would be played there until St Kilda returned to senior competition in 1886.[19]
St Kilda subsequently played their home games at the venue until 1964 (except for in 1916–17, when the club was in recess due to World War I, and 1942–43, when the military occupied the ground during World War II). Before the1944 season, the military vacated the Junction Oval, and because it was closer to South Melbourne's still-occupied home ground, the Lake Oval, thanPrinces Park was, the Swans started playing their home games at the venue: South Melbourne played 29 home matches for premiership points at the ground between 1944 and 1946. Other clubs who used the venue as a home ground includedSouth Melbourne (1944–1946) andFitzroy (1970–1984), while the first everwomen's footy match was played there in 1921.[19]
St Kilda Football Club played 564 home matches for premiership points at the ground between 1897 and1964. The Saints' final home game at the venue was on 22 August 1964, a 12-point win againstGeelong, 12.18 (90) to 11.12 (78), in front of 37,100 fans. The club also played 16 away games at the venue: 13 against theFitzroy and three against South Melbourne.[19]
The St Kilda Football Club left the venue after the 1964 season and moved toMoorabbin Oval, motivated by the desire to operate its own venue.[20][19][21][22]
In 1970, theFitzroy Football Club relocated to the venue and stayed until the end of 1984.[21] Fitzroy played 135 home matches for premiership points at the ground between 1970 and 1984.[23] Fitzroy were evicted from the venue at the end of 1984 after a fifteen-year tenure, and moved their primary training and administrative base toNorthcote Park and their home games toVictoria Park, sharing the venue withCollingwood Football Club.[24][25][26]
The finalVFL game to be played at the Junction Oval was betweenSt Kilda Football Club andFitzroy Football Club in front of a crowd attendance of 15,156 on 1 September 1984 in Round 22 of1984: Fitzroy defeated St Kilda by 57 points, 24.20 (164) to St Kilda 15.17 (107).[27][21]
The ground also hosted six VFL finals matches, including three Grand Finals (in1898–1899 and1944, all three being won by Fitzroy). Between 1870 and 1984, 845 senior matches in the recognised top level of Victorian football – 12 in the unaffiliated era, 99 in the VFA and 734 in theVFL/AFL – were played at the ground over 93 seasons of competition.
Junction Oval was also a regular venue forVictorian Football Association finals following the Second World War: it staged every top division VFA finals series, including Grand Finals, from1945 until1962, in1966, and then again from1970 until1987.[28] TheSandringham Football Club played home games at the ground during the1966 season.[29]
TheMelbourne Football Club used the venue as a training ground and administrative base between 1985 and 2010, having previously trained at theMelbourne Cricket Ground,[30][31] and the annual 3RRRCommunity Cup football match was played there until 2007.[17]
The last football tenant was theVictorian Amateur Football Association'sOld Melburnians Football Club from 1992 to 2015, and they took onOld Caulfield Grammarians in the final Australian rules football match to be played at the Junction Oval on 22 July 2015.[17]
| St Kilda Football Club Home VFL Match Record at the Junction Oval (St Kilda Cricket Ground) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Most Recent Home Match |
| Junction Oval | 564 ~ | 250 (44.33%) | 310 (54.96%) | 4 (0.71%) | 1964 Premiership Season Round 18 |
| 1897 to 1964 | |||||
| South Melbourne Football Club Home Match Record at the Junction Oval (St Kilda Cricket Ground) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Most Recent Home Match |
| Junction Oval | 29 - | 20 (68.97%) | 9 (31.03) | 0 (0%) | 1946 Premiership Season Round 19 |
| 1944 to 1946 | |||||
| Fitzroy Football Club Home Match Record at the Junction Oval (St Kilda Cricket Ground) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Most Recent Home Match |
| Junction Oval | 135 - | 75 (55.56%) | 59 (43.70%) | 1 (0.74%) | 1984 Premiership Season Round 22 |
| 1970 to 1984 | |||||
The record attendance at the ground is 46,973 on 20 May 1950 to watchSt Kilda playCarlton in aVFL match, a bigger crowd than any of the three Grand Finals played at the venue.
The record attendance for a South Melbourne home game at the Junction Oval was 38,000 againstRichmond in 1946.[32]
The record attendance for a Fitzroy home game was 27,202 versusCollingwood in the opening round of 1981.[32]
On 3 March 1975, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, "Smokin"Joe Frazier, defeatedJimmy Ellis via technical knockout in the 9th round of their scheduled 12 round fight at the Junction Oval, "to barge squarely back into contention forMuhammad Ali's world heavyweight title."[33] It was the second time Ellis had fought Frazier; Frazier had won their first fight. Other major events that have been held at the ground include the 1898/99Victorian athletics titles, numerous bicycle meets and two inter-coloniallacrosse matches between Victoria and New South Wales.[4] A pre-season rugby league trial match betweenWestern Suburbs andManly Warringah was staged at the oval in 1978 notable for being the start of the infamous Fibros vs Silvertails rivalry shared between the two sides.[34]
