Townsville Cricket Ground | |
 Interactive map of Riverway Stadium | |
| Former names | Tony Ireland Stadium Pioneer Park |
|---|---|
| Address | Australia |
| Location | 2 Sporting Drive,Thuringowa Central, Townsville, Queensland 4817 |
| Coordinates | 19°19′2″S146°43′54″E / 19.31722°S 146.73167°E /-19.31722; 146.73167 |
| Owner | Townsville City Council |
| Capacity | 10,000 (1013 seated) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Construction cost | A$16.5m[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL club Gold Coast Suns (AFL) (2019) Queensland Bulls | |
 Interactive map of Riverway Stadium | |
| Ground information | |
| Tenants | Queensland Cricket Association |
| International information | |
| First ODI | 8 November 2014: Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea |
| Last ODI | 3 September 2022: Australia v Zimbabwe |
| First T20I | 6 February 2016: Papua New Guinea v Ireland |
| Last T20I | 9 February 2016: Papua New Guinea v Ireland |
| As of 3 September 2022 Source:ESPN Cricinfo | |
Riverway Stadium, also known asTownsville Cricket Ground, is an international standardcricket andAFL stadium inThuringowa Central, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The stadium is a part of theRiverway sporting and cultural complex.
The stadium includes the oval, a 1,013-seat grandstand and supporting facilities, a practice oval and cricket practice nets. The design was modeled on Brisbane'sGabba cricket ground specifications and has a six-turf wicket block.[2] Riverway Stadium has a maximum capacity of 10,000+[3] This was achieved on New Year's Eve 2007 when 10,024 spectators attended aTwenty20 cricket match betweenQueensland andVictoria.[4] The stadium is also home to the University Hawks and Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL clubs, and the AFL's local regional office.[2] In June 2009, the stadium hosted a 4-day first class match between Pakistan A and theAustralia A cricket team.[5] The stadium also hosted some matches of the2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which was held in Australia from 11 August 2012. India emerged as the winner of Under-19 Cricket World Cup after beating Australia in the final at the Riverway Stadium.
In November 2014, the stadium hosted its first international match between debutantsPapua New Guinea andHong Kong. The Stadium became the 10th ODI venue inAustralia.
The stadium hosted Townsville's firstAFL game for premiership points on 15 June 2019 when theGold Coast Suns took a home game to Riverway Stadium againstSt Kilda.[6]
In 2008, the inadequacy of the current "temporary" lighting was highlighted when a Queensland v Western Australia AFL representative match was rescheduled from dusk to mid afternoon.[7] Costs to install lighting adequate for televised sport have been estimated at five million dollars.[7]
Top 5 Sports Attendance Records
| No. | Date | Teams | Sport | Competition | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 December 2007 | Queensland Bulls v.Victoria Bushrangers | Cricket | T20 | 10,024 |
| 2 | 15 June 2019 | Gold Coast Suns v.St Kilda | Australian Rules Football | AFL | 7,243 |
| 3 | 2 March 2013 | Gold Coast Suns v.North Melbourne Kangaroos | Australian Rules Football | AFL (preseason) | 7,216 |
| 4 | 23 February 2014 | Gold Coast Suns v.Brisbane Lions | Australian Rules Football | AFL (preseason) | 6,426 |
| 5 | 1 March 2015 | Gold Coast Suns v.Geelong Cats | Australian Rules Football | AFL (preseason) | 4,431 |
Last updated on 15 June 2019
In October 2014, Riverway Stadium receivedICC-accreditation as an international venue.[8] It hosted atwo-match ODI series featuring Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea in November 2014, with the latter making their ODI debut.[9] PNG won the series 2–0.[10]
In February 2016, the stadium hosted athree-match T20I series featuring Ireland and Papua New Guinea, which was won by Ireland (2-1).[11] A2015-2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup match was also played between the two teams, which Ireland won by 145 runs.[12]
In 2022, the ground served as the venue forAustralia's home ODI series against Zimbabwe.[13] The hosts won the first two matches comfortably,[14][15] but were stunned in the final match, which Zimbabwe won by three wickets.[16]
As of September 2022, the stadium has hosted the followingODI matches.
| Team (A) | Team (B) | Winner | Margin | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | Hong Kong | Papua New Guinea | By 4 Wickets | 2014 | Scorecard |
| Papua New Guinea | Hong Kong | Papua New Guinea | By 3 Wickets | 2014 | Scorecard |
| Australia | Zimbabwe | Australia | By 5 Wickets | 2022 | Scorecard |
| Australia | Zimbabwe | Australia | By 8 Wickets | 2022 | Scorecard |
| Australia | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | By 3 Wickets | 2022 | Scorecard |
One ODI century has been scored at the venue.[17]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 109 | Lega Siaka | Papua New Guinea | 114 | Hong Kong | 9 November 2014 | Won |
Two ODI five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue.[18]
| No. | Figures | Player | Team | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5/33 | Cameron Green | Australia | Zimbabwe | 28 August 2022 | Won |
| 2 | 5/10 | Ryan Burl | Zimbabwe | Australia | 3 September 2022 | Won |
| Team (A) | Team (B) | Winner | Margin | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Ireland | By 5 Wickets | 2016 | Scorecard |
| Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Ireland | By 7 runs (D/L) | 2016 | Scorecard |
| Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Papua New Guinea | By 11 runs | 2016 | Scorecard |
