Bristol County Ground Explained

Ground Name:Bristol County Ground
Nickname:Fry's Ground, Nevil Road
Country:England
Location:Ashley Down, Bristol
Coordinates:51.4772°N -2.5842°W
Establishment:1889
Seating Capacity:8,000
17,500 for internationals[1]
End1:Ashley Down Road End
End2:Bristol Pavilion End
International:true
Firstodidate:13 June
Firstodiyear:1983
Firstodihome:New Zealand
Firstodiaway:Sri Lanka
Lastodidate:26 September
Lastodiyear:2023
Lastodihome:England
Lastodiaway:Ireland
Firstt20idate:28 August
Firstt20iyear:2006
Firstt20ihome:England
Firstt20iaway:Pakistan
Lastt20idate:27 July
Lastt20iyear:2022
Lastt20ihome:England
Lastt20iaway:South Africa
Onlywtestdate:16–19 June
Onlywtestyear:2021
Onlywtesthome:England
Onlywtestaway:India
Firstwodidate:21 July
Firstwodiyear:1984
Firstwodihome:England
Firstwodiaway:New Zealand
Lastwodidate:3 July
Lastwodiyear:2024
Lastwodihome:England
Lastwodiaway:New Zealand
Firstwt20idate:25 June
Firstwt20iyear:2011
Firstwt20ihome:England
Firstwt20iaway:Australia
Lastwt20idate:15 September
Lastwt20iyear:2022
Lastwt20ihome:England
Lastwt20iaway:India
Year1:1889  - present
Club1:Gloucestershire
Date:3 July
Year:2024
Source:http://www.espncricinfo.com/gloucestershire/content/ground/56831.html CricInfo

The Bristol County Ground (also known as Nevil Road and currently known as the Seat Unique Stadium for sponsorship reasons[2]) is a senior cricket venue in Bristol, England. It is in the district of Ashley Down. The ground is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

History

Initially known as Ashley Down Ground, it was bought in 1889 by W. G. Grace and has been home to Gloucestershire ever since. It was sold to local confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons and renamed Fry's Ground. The club bought the ground back in 1933 and it reverted to its original name. It was sold again in 1976, this time to Royal & Sun Alliance who renamed the ground the Phoenix County Ground for eight years before changing to The Royal & Sun Alliance County Ground until the ground was again bought by the club and took it up its current title.

The ground hosts One Day Internationals, usually one per year, with the addition of temporary seating to increase the ground's capacity. England faced India in 2018 and Pakistan in 2019 at the ground. In addition, three matches were scheduled to be played at the ground as part of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[3] Of these three, two were abandoned without a ball being bowled due to bad weather. The only match played was Australia v Afghanistan - a match Australia won by 7 wickets.

The ground has long boundaries in comparison to most county cricket clubs.

The former concrete roof over the public terraces, which has now been demolished, was formed from eight hyperbolic-paraboloid umbrellas each approximately 30square feet, designed by T. H. B. Burrough in 1960.[4]

Redevelopment

In July 2009, Gloucestershire C.C.C. announced plans to redevelop the ground into a 20,000-capacity stadium, with an aim to retaining one day international status.[5] [6] The ground now includes a world class media centre and conference facilities. To help fund the project, student accommodation is included in the development. In March 2010, Bristol City Council gave the go-ahead for the new ground.[7]

The following year, the club revised its plans due to concerns from residents on the adjacent Kennington Avenue over permanent stands at the boundary of their property. The permanent capacity was raised to 7,500 (8,000 including the semi-permanent Hammond Roof) with temporary seating increasing capacity to 17,500,[8] but with other changes still implemented: new pavilion, new conference facilities and the construction of new stands (including the demolition of the Jessop stand and Tavern and the rebuilding of the Mound stand to a fixed capacity of 4,500) and 147 apartments in three blocks. These plans were approved on 31 May 2012 and development began in October 2012. The Bristol Pavilion opened in August 2013.[9] Permanent floodlights were approved by Bristol City Council in April 2015, which were installed ready for the start of the 2016 season and which allowed the club to continue to host international matches as well as the four 2019 Cricket World Cup matches it was allocated.[10]

Transport connections

Montpelier railway station is under 1miles from the ground. Mainline stations Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway are 2.5miles and 3.8miles, respectively, from the ground. Former station Ashley Hill was situated nearer to the ground but was closed in 1964. The station is due to reopen as Ashley Down in 2024. Construction commenced in March 2023.[11]

International centuries

One-Day International centuries

The following table summarises the One-Day International centuries scored at Bristol County Ground.[12]

No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Date Result
1 140* Sachin Tendulkar (1/2) 101 Won
2 104* 109 Won
3 102 101 Won
4 113 Sachin Tendulkar (2/2) 101 Won
5 106 121 Lost
6 102 57 Won
7 151 131 Lost
8 128 93 Won
9 107* 78 No result

T20 International centuries

There has only been one T20 International century at this venue.[13]

Women's One-Day International centuries

The following table summarises the women's One-Day International centuries scored at Bristol County Ground[14]

No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Date Result
1 104Meg Lanning (1/2)9823 July 2015Won
2 106*Suzie Bates10924 June 2017Won
3 178*Chamari Atapattu14329 June 2017Lost
4 152*Meg Lanning (2/2)13529 June 2017Won
5147Sarah Taylor1045 July 2017Won
6148Tammy Beaumont1455 July 2017Won
7106Poonam Raut13612 July 2017Lost
8107Sophia Dunkley9315 July 2022Won

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The many shapes of England's cricket stadiums . BBC Sport . 2 July 2019.
  2. Web site: Gloucestershire’s Bristol home renamed as Seat Unique Stadium after signing historic Ground Naming Rights deal . . 8 March 2022.
  3. Web site: ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 schedule announced . . 14 June 2019.
  4. Book: Burrough, THB . Bristol . 1970 . Studio Vista . London . 0-289-79804-3 .
  5. News: Cricket ground's future unveiled. BBC Bristol Sports . BBC News . 28 July 2009 . 2009-07-28 .
  6. Web site: Club Statement to Members. Gloucestershire Cricket. 14 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170914172347/http://www.gloscricket.co.uk/club-statement-to-members/. 14 September 2017. dead.
  7. News: Go-ahead to expand cricket club . BBC News . 2010-03-10 . 10 March 2010.
  8. Web site: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club alters ground plans. BBC West. 2 February 2011. 10 September 2011.
  9. News: Grounds for Celebration . . Bristol . 27 August 2013 . 14 October 2013 .
  10. Web site: Floodlight planning application approved. Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. 29 April 2015. 14 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104518/http://www.gloscricket.co.uk/floodlight-planning-application-approved/. 18 May 2015. dead.
  11. Web site: New Ashley Down railway station construction gets under way . . 7 March 2023.
  12. Web site: County Ground, Bristol / Records / One-Day Internationals / High scores. 1 January 2017.
  13. Web site: High scores in T20I at Bristol.
  14. News: Batting records Women's One-Day Internationals Cricinfo Statsguru ESPN Cricinfo. Cricinfo. 2017-07-27.