Grace Road Explained

Ground Name:Grace Road
Country:England
Location:Leicester, England
Establishment:1878
Seating Capacity:6,000 cricket matches / 19,999 music concerts
End1:Pavilion End
End2:Bennett End
International:true
Firstodidate:11 June
Firstodiyear:1983
Firstodihome:India
Firstodiaway:Zimbabwe
Lastodidate:27 May
Lastodiyear:1999
Lastodihome:Scotland
Lastodiaway:West Indies
Onlywtestdate:8–12 August
Onlywtestyear:2006
Onlywtesthome:England
Onlywtestaway:India
Firstwodidate:30 June
Firstwodiyear:1984
Firstwodihome:England
Firstwodiaway:New Zealand
Lastwodidate:14 September
Lastwodiyear:2023
Lastwodihome:England
Lastwodiaway:Sri Lanka
Year1:1894  - present
Club1:Leicestershire
Date:21 September
Year:2021
Source:https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/576.html CricketArchive

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.

History

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

Three 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

Women's Test centuries

One WTest century has been scored at the venue.[8]

Women's One-Day International centuries

Seven WODI centuries have been scored at the venue.[9]

No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Innings Date Result
1 106 109 1 Won
2 137 Natalie Sciver (1/2) 92 1 Won
3 104* 76 1 Won
4 117* 116 2 Won
5 114 Tammy Beaumont (1/2) 115 1 Lost
6 119 Tammy Beaumont (2/2) 107 1 Won
7 120 Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/2) 74 1 Won

Dimensions

In 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

References

52.6078°N -1.1428°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Leicestershire CCC .
  2. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/ground/57100.html Grounds - Grace Road, Leicester
  3. Web site: History of Leicestershire . 8 September 2008 . 20 November 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081120005131/http://leicestershireccc.com/club_info/history.html . dead .
  4. http://www.leicestershireccc.com/club_info/developments_grace_road.html# Main Developments at Grace Road 1878-2007
  5. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65071.html India v Zimbabwe 1983
  6. http://www.uk.cricket.org/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/WORLD_CUPS/WC99/SCORECARDS/GROUP-A/IND_ZIM_WC99_ODI8_19MAY1999.html India v Zimbabwe 1999
  7. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65215.html Scotland v West Indies 1999
  8. Web site: Statistics / Statsguru / Women's Test Matches / Batting records. ESPNcricinfo. 5 July 2019.
  9. Web site: Statistics / Statsguru / Women's One-Day International Matches / Batting records. ESPNcricinfo. 28 September 2023.