Morris Motors Sports Ground Explained

Ground Name:Morris Motors Sports Ground
Country:England
Location:Cowley, Oxfordshire
Establishment:1920s[1]
Year1:1954-1991
Club1:Oxfordshire
Date:15 August
Year:2010
Source:https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/439.html Ground profile

Morris Motors Sports Ground was a cricket ground in Cowley, Oxfordshire.

The ground was built and initially owned by Morris Motors in the 1920s, under the guidance of its founder William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield.[1]

The first recorded match on the ground was in 1954, when Oxfordshire played their first Minor Counties Championship match at the ground in the against Buckinghamshire. From 1954 to 1991, the ground hosted 32 Minor Counties Championship matches, with the final Minor Counties Championship match seeing Oxfordshire play Berkshire.[2]

The ground has also held List-A matches. The first List-A match saw Oxfordshire play Worcestershire in the 1970 Gillette Cup. In 1972 Oxfordshire played Durham in the 1972 Gillette Cup, with the final List-A match held on the ground between Oxfordshire and Cornwall in the 1975 Gillette Cup.[3]

After over 50 years at the ground, Morris Motors Cricket Club were removed from it by the Morris Motors Athletic & Social Club, the custodians of the ground, shortly before the start of the 2003 season, sparking claims of racism; the social club denied this, claiming the cricket club's removal was a financial decision.[4]

External links

51.7387°N -1.2085°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Morris Motors club faces closure. Giles. Sheldrick. Oxford Mail. 14 June 2007. 15 February 2023.
  2. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/439_minc.html Minor Counties Championship Matches played on Morris Motors Sports Ground
  3. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/439_a.html List-A Matches played on Morris Motors Sports Ground
  4. News: Cricket club get the boot. 9 May 2003. Oxford Mail. 15 February 2023.