List of Somerset County Cricket Club grounds explained
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Somerset. The club was established in August 1875 and has played first-class cricket since 1882,[1] List A cricket since 1963,[2] and Twenty20 cricket since 2003.[3] Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" has diminished since the 1980s.[4] [5] Somerset have played first class, List A, or Twenty20 matches at eighteen different grounds.
Somerset's first home first-class match was against Hampshire in 1882 at the County Ground, Taunton. This ground is the headquarters of the county club, and has hosted more Somerset matches than any other ground. It was originally known as the Taunton Athletic Ground, and featured a cycling/running track around the outside of the playing area which was later removed.[1] Prior to the cessation of cricket during the First World War, Somerset only played at three other grounds; two in Bath, and Clarence Park in Weston-super-Mare. The Recreation Ground in Bath, the home ground of Bath Rugby,[6] has been a regular setting for Somerset, hosting over 300 county matches. It is also Somerset's only venue other than the County Ground to have hosted a Twenty20 match.[3] Clarence Park also frequently hosted Somerset matches until 1996, and has featured over 200 Somerset games. The next most frequently used ground is Morlands Athletic Ground in Glastonbury, where Somerset played 24 times between 1952 and 1978.
After the First World War, Somerset began playing in a wider variety of locations around the county, including three different grounds in Yeovil, and also hosted five matches at the Recreation Ground in Torquay, despite that being in Devon. They played in three different grounds in Bristol, which has been considered an independent county since 1373, though it was part of the county of Avon from 1974 until 1996,[7] and where Gloucestershire County Cricket Club have their headquarters.[8] After 1979, Somerset only played at the County Ground, the Recreation Ground and Clarence Park until 2012, when they faced Cardiff MCC University at Taunton Vale, their first new ground in 37 years. Somerset have not played a county match outside of Taunton since 2011, when they faced Essex in a Twenty20 match in Bath.
Grounds
Below is a complete list of grounds used by Somerset County Cricket Club for first-class, List A and Twenty20 matches. Statistics are complete through to the end of the 2023 season. Only matches played by Somerset at the grounds are recorded in the table. Matches abandoned without any play occurring are not included.
Bibliography
- Book: Powell, William A. . The Official ECB Guide to Cricket Grounds . Sutton Publishing . Stroud, Gloucestershire . 2003 . 0-7509-3084-5.
Notes and References
- Powell (2003), pp. 278–280.
- Web site: List A Matches played by Somerset . CricketArchive . . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Twenty20 Matches played by Derbyshire . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Remembering Yorkshire County Cricket Club's out grounds. Andrew. Glover. BBC News. 10 April 2013. 24 May 2015.
- Web site: Out of town but not out of favour. . ESPN. Edward. Stockton. 13 June 2006. 26 June 2015.
- Powell (2003), p. 288.
- Web site: City of Bristol . High Sheriff's Association of England and Wales . 2010 . 3 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110526160040/http://www.highsheriffs.com/City%20of%20Bristol/City%20of%20BristolHistory.htm . 26 May 2011 . dead . dmy-all .
- Powell (2003), p. 106.
- Web site: County Ground, Taunton . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 31 January 2016.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on County Ground, Taunton . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 31 January 2016.
- Web site: List A Matches played on County Ground, Taunton . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 31 January 2016.
- Web site: Twenty20 Matches played on County Ground, Taunton . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 31 January 2016.
- Web site: Lansdown Cricket Club Ground, Combe Park, Bath . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Lansdown Cricket Club Ground, Combe Park, Bath (1) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 14 June 2015.
- Web site: Recreation Ground, Bath . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Recreation Ground, Bath (255) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 14 June 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Recreation Ground, Bath (56) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 14 June 2015.
- Web site: Twenty20 Matches played on Recreation Ground, Bath (1) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 14 June 2015.
- Web site: Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare (191) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 14 June 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare (23) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 14 June 2015.
- Web site: Knowle Cricket Club Ground, Bristol . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Knowle Cricket Club Ground, Bristol (3) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Agricultural Showgrounds, Frome . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Agricultural Showgrounds, Frome (18) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Agricultural Showgrounds, Frome (1) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Downside School, Stratton-on-the-Fosse . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Downside School, Stratton-on-the-Fosse (1) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Rowden Road, Wells . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Rowden Road, Wells (11) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: West Hendford, Yeovil . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on West Hendford, Yeovil (5) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Johnson Park, Yeovil . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Johnson Park, Yeovil (12) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Johnson Park, Yeovil (2) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Morlands Athletic Ground, Glastonbury . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Morlands Athletic Ground, Glastonbury (18) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Morlands Athletic Ground, Glastonbury (6) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Imperial Athletic Ground, Bristol . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Imperial Athletic Ground, Bristol (9) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Imperial Athletic Ground, Bristol (8) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Millfield School, Street . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Millfield School, Street (1) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Millfield School, Street (2) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Devonshire Park Ground, Weston-super-Mare . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Devonshire Park Ground, Weston-super-Mare (2) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Ironmould Lane, Bristol . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Ironmould Lane, Bristol (2) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Recreation Ground, Torquay . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Recreation Ground, Torquay (11) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Westlands Sports Ground, Yeovil . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 11 February 2010.
- Web site: List A Matches played on Westlands Sports Ground, Yeovil (8) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 July 2015.
- Web site: Taunton Vale Sports Club Ground, Taunton . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 3 April 2012.
- Web site: First-Class Matches played on Taunton Vale Sports Club Ground, Taunton (2) . CricketArchive . The Cricketer Publishing Ltd . 31 January 2016.