New Road, Worcester Explained

Ground Name:Visit Worcestershire New Road
Country:England
Location:Worcester, Worcestershire, England
Establishment:1896
Seating Capacity:5,500
End1:New Road End
End2:Diglis End
International:true
Firstodidate:13 June
Firstodiyear:1983
Firstodihome:West Indies
Firstodiaway:Zimbabwe
Lastodidate:22 May
Lastodiyear:1999
Lastodihome:Sri Lanka
Lastodiaway:Zimbabwe
Firstwtestdate:30 June – 3 July
Firstwtestyear:1951
Firstwtesthome:England
Firstwtestaway:Australia
Lastwtestdate:10–13 July
Lastwtestyear:2009
Lastwtesthome:England
Lastwtestaway:Australia
Firstwodidate:1 July
Firstwodiyear:2000
Firstwodihome:England
Firstwodiaway:South Africa
Lastwodidate:30 June
Lastwodiyear:2024
Lastwodihome:England
Lastwodiaway:New Zealand
Onlywt20idate:23 July
Onlywt20iyear:2022
Onlywt20ihome:England
Onlywt20iaway:South Africa
Year1:1896–present
Club1:Worcestershire
Date:30 June
Year:2024
Source:http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/ground/57424.html cricinfo

Visit Worcestershire New Road is a cricket ground in the English city of Worcester. The home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896, it has been rated as one of the world's most beautiful cricket grounds.[1]

Overview

The ground is situated in central Worcester, on the west bank of the River Severn, overlooked by Worcester Cathedral on the opposite bank. Immediately to the northwest is a road called New Road, part of the A44, hence the name. To the northwest is Cripplegate Park.

Originally, the freehold to the ground was owned by the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral. In 1896, the leasehold was obtained by club secretary Paul Foley upon payment of a modest rent,[2] and the first match (against Berkshire) was played there on 28–29 July[3] [4] of the following year.[5] [6] At the time, Worcestershire was part of the newly created Minor Counties Championship, which Foley had been largely responsible in establishing. Having won the competition in its first four years, from 1895 to 1898, the club applied successfully for first-class status. The first County Championship match at New Road was held on 4–6 May 1899, when the home side lost to Yorkshire by 11 runs. The land was finally purchased in 1976 for the sum of £30,000.[7] The capacity of the ground is 4,500, small by first-class standards.

There is a small cricket shop located just outside the ground, selling cricket equipment, clothing, books and accessories. This shop opened in July 2008, replacing a long-standing older shop inside the ground. The shop also contains the administrative office for ticket sales and enquiries.

Elton John performed to a crowd of 17,000 at the ground in June 2006.[8] [9]

Flooding

In winter, the ground is often submerged by water from the nearby river, and was severely affected by the floods of July 2007. These caused more than one million pounds in damage, and cricket did not return to the ground until the beginning of the following season.[10]

Over the winter of 2023–24 the ground was flooded seven times, which resulted in the first two home games of the 2024 County Championship being played at the Chester Road North Ground in Kidderminster. In April 2024, Worcestershire's board confirmed that they were looking at options to secure the club's long-term future, possibly including a move away from New Road.[11] [12] Speaking on the BBC's Test Match Special podcast, chief executive Ashley Giles explained that of the 30 occasions on which the ground had been flooded since 1899, 19 incidents had occurred in the past 24 years, and the problem was expected to get worse due to climate change.[13]

International cricket

New Road has hosted three men's One Day Internationals: one in the 1983 World Cup, when Gordon Greenidge scored 105 not out (the only men's international century at the ground) to take the West Indies to an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe;[14] and two in the 1999 World Cup: a six-wicket victory for Australia over Scotland[15] and a four-wicket victory for Sri Lanka over Zimbabwe.[16]

The ground has also seen nine Women's Test matches between 1951 and 2009, including the England Women's decisive victory during the 2005 Ashes, in which Katherine Brunt scored 52 and took match figures of 9/111;[17] [18] Brunt also took a first-innings 6/69 in the 2009 Ashes Test at Worcester, which was drawn.[19] [20] It has staged seven Women's ODI between 2000 and 2021,[21] and one Women's Twenty20 International in 2022.[22]

The England Lions (formerly England A) played a four-day match against the Australian touring side at New Road in 2009; in a drawn match, Mike Hussey (150) and Marcus North (191 not out) made runs, while Worcestershire's Stephen Moore responded with 120; Brett Lee took 6/76.[23]

Records

Men's One-Day Internationals

Women's Tests

First-class

List A

See also

References

Sources

52.1892°N -2.2269°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: . 3 March 2017 . The world's 14 most beautiful cricket grounds . . London . 24 May 2024.
  2. News: . 17 October 1896 . Worcestershire Cricket Club Annual Meeting . subscription . . 10950 . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: . 16 April 1897 . Cricket in 1897 . subscription . . 13082 . London . 8 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: . 29 July 1897 . To-day's Cricket . subscription . . 8128 . Liverpool . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: . 15 October 1897 . Worcestershire County Cricket Club . subscription . . 71 . 9235 . 6 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: . 2 August 1897 . Observer's Notes . subscription . Birmingham Daily Gazette . 71 . 9181 . 8 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: White . John . 7 August 1976 . A Shot-in-the-arm . subscription . . Birmingham . 17 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Walden . Celia . 14 June 2006 . Elton rocket . subscription . The Daily Telegraph . 46972 . London . 19 . Newspapers.com.
  9. Web site: BBC - Hereford and Worcester - in Pictures - Elton John Concert Layout.
  10. News: Kidd . Patrick . Patrick Kidd . 23 April 2008 . Worcestershire flooded with optimism . subscription . . 69305 . London . 69.
  11. Web site: . 3 April 2024 . Worcestershire consider move away from New Road after latest floods . ESPNcricinfo . 26 May 2024.
  12. Web site: . 15 April 2024 . Worcestershire willing to consider move away from New Road to secure club's 'long-term future' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240415182738/https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/68821933 . 15 April 2024 . . London . 26 May 2024.
  13. Howells, Kevin (host) . 22 May 2024 . County Cricket: 'The situation is worsening at New Road' . . London . . 23 May 2024.
  14. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/43/43605.html West Indies v Zimbabwe, 2003
  15. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/67/67668.html Australia v Scotland, 1999
  16. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/67/67719.html Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, 1999
  17. Web site: Full Scorecard of England Women vs Australia Women 2nd Test 2005 - Score Report . . 29 July 2019.
  18. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/67/67090/67090.html England Women v Australia Women, 2005
  19. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/204/204506.html England Women v Australia Women, 2009
  20. Web site: Full Scorecard of England Women vs Australia Women Only Test 2009 - Score Report . ESPNcricinfo.com . 29 July 2019.
  21. Web site: Cricket Records in ENG: County Ground, New Road, Worcester in Women ODI matches . Espncricinfo . 15 April 2024.
  22. Web site: Cricket Records in ENG: County Ground, New Road, Worcester in Women T20I matches . Espncricinfo . 15 April 2024.
  23. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/170/170350.html England Lions v Australians, 2009
  24. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/66/66364.html England Women v Australia Women, 1998
  25. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/21/21184.html England Women v. New Zealand Women, 1954
  26. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/47/47571.html England Women v. India Women, 1986
  27. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19826.html England Women v Australia Women, 1951
  28. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/7/7092.html Worcs v Leics, 1906
  29. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/107/107722.html Worcs v Surrey, 2007
  30. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/6/6229.html Worcs v Hants, 1903
  31. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19009.html Worcs v Middx, 1949
  32. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/74/74889.html Worcs v Durham, 2002
  33. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/42/42321.html Worcs v Warwicks, 1982
  34. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/15/15937.html Worcs v Glam, 1936
  35. Same match. Worcs v Somst, 1921
  36. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/16/16349.html Worcs v Essex, 1937
  37. Same match. Worcs v Devon, 1987
  38. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/50/50084.html Worcs v Hants, 1988
  39. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/26/26247.html Worcs v Lancs, 1963
  40. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/35/35193.html Worcs v Yorks, 1975
  41. https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/83/83444.html Worcs v Gloucs, 2005

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