Grace Road, known for sponsorship reasons as the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road,[1] is a cricket ground in Leicester, England. It is the home ground and administrative base of Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
 The Pavilion at Grace Road | |||
| Ground information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Leicester, England | ||
| Establishment | 1878 | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 cricket matches / 19,999 music concerts | ||
| End names | |||
Pavilion End  Bennett End | |||
| International information | |||
| First ODI | 11 June 1983: India v  Zimbabwe | ||
| Last ODI | 27 May 1999: Scotland v  West Indies | ||
| Only women's Test | 8–12 August 2006: England v India | ||
| First WODI | 30 June 1984: England v  New Zealand | ||
| Last WODI | 14 September 2023: England v  Sri Lanka | ||
| Team information | |||
| |||
| As of 21 September 2021 Source: CricketArchive | |||
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History
edit
Leicestershire County Cricket Club bought in 1877 the land on which Grace Road now stands from the then Duke of Rutland, and spent the massive sum of £40,000 on developing a cricket club, athletic track and hotel.[2] The first match played there took place three months later, when Leicestershire played a touring Australia team. Contrary to popular belief, the road was named after Grace Margaret Yearby, the daughter of a local property owner Edward John Yearby, not W. G. Grace.
Leicestershire CCC left the Grace Road site in 1901, owing to low attendances at matches, which were blamed on lack of public transport to the ground.[3] The club moved to a site near to Aylestone Road in order to be closer to the city centre. Leicestershire eventually returned to Grace Road in 1946, after the end of the Second World War,[4] and has been based there ever since, re-purchasing the land in 1966.
The record attendance, at Leicestershire's match against the touring 1948 Australians, is 16,000.
International cricket
editThree One Day Internationals have been played at Grace Road, although none has involved the England team.
In the 1983 Cricket World Cup eventual winners India, chasing a target of 156, beat Zimbabwe by five wickets.[5] The second and third games were both in the 1999 World Cup. In the second Zimbabwe beat India by three runs,[6] and in the third the West Indies beat Scotland by eight wickets.[7]
International centuries
editWomen's Test centuries
editOne WTest century has been scored at the venue.[8]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Innings | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 115 | Claire Taylor | England |
233 | India |
3 | 8 August 2006 | Drawn |
Women's One-Day International centuries
editSeven WODI centuries have been scored at the venue.[9]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Innings | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 106 | Heather Knight | England |
109 |  Pakistan |
1 | 27 June 2017 | Won |
| 2 | 137 | Natalie Sciver (1/2) | England |
92 | Pakistan |
1 | 27 June 2017 | Won |
| 3 | 104* | Deandra Dottin | West Indies |
76 | Pakistan |
1 | 11 July 2017 | Won |
| 4 | 117* | Sophie Devine | New Zealand |
116 | England |
2 | 13 July 2018 | Won |
| 5 | 114 | Tammy Beaumont (1/2) | England |
115 |  Australia |
1 | 4 July 2019 | Lost |
| 6 | 119 | Tammy Beaumont (2/2) | England |
107 |  South Africa |
1 | 18 July 2022 | Won |
| 7 | 120 | Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/2) | England |
74 | Sri Lanka |
1 | 14 September 2023 | Won |
Dimensions
editIn front of the wicket at both ends the pitch is measured at 63 metres, while square of the wicket on both sides the dimensions are recorded as 76 metres. This is the largest county ground including England's major international venues such as the Oval.
See also
editReferences
edit
- ^ "Leicestershire CCC".
- ^ Grounds - Grace Road, Leicester
- ^ "History of Leicestershire". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ Main Developments at Grace Road 1878-2007 Archived 11 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ India v Zimbabwe 1983
- ^ India v Zimbabwe 1999 Archived 2012-09-19 at archive.today
- ^ Scotland v West Indies 1999
- ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Women's Test Matches / Batting records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Women's One-Day International Matches / Batting records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2023.