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Grace Road

Coordinates: 52°36′28″N 1°08′34″W / 52.60778°N 1.14278°W / 52.60778; -1.14278
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Grace Road
The Pavilion at Grace Road
Ground information
LocationLeicester, England
Establishment1878
Capacity6,000 cricket matches / 19,999 music concerts
End names
Pavilion End
Bennett End
International information
First ODI11 June 1983:
 India v  Zimbabwe
Last ODI27 May 1999:
 Scotland v  West Indies
Only women's Test8–12 August 2006:
 England v  India
First WODI30 June 1984:
 England v  New Zealand
Last WODI14 September 2023:
 England v  Sri Lanka
Team information
Leicestershire (1894 – present)
As of 21 September 2021
Source: 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

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The Bennett End of the ground
The Meet (right)

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

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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

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Women's Test centuries

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

No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Innings Date Result
1 115 Claire Taylor  England 233  India 3 8 August 2006 Drawn

Women's One-Day International centuries

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

No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Innings Date Result
1 106 Heather Knight  England 109  Pakistan 1 27 June 2017 Won
2 137 Natalie Sciver (1/2)  England 92  Pakistan 1 27 June 2017 Won
3 104* Deandra Dottin  West Indies 76  Pakistan 1 11 July 2017 Won
4 117* Sophie Devine  New Zealand 116  England 2 13 July 2018 Won
5 114 Tammy Beaumont (1/2)  England 115  Australia 1 4 July 2019 Lost
6 119 Tammy Beaumont (2/2)  England 107  South Africa 1 18 July 2022 Won
7 120 Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/2)  England 74  Sri Lanka 1 14 September 2023 Won

Dimensions

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "Leicestershire CCC".
  2. ^ Grounds - Grace Road, Leicester
  3. ^ "History of Leicestershire". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  4. ^ Main Developments at Grace Road 1878-2007 Archived 11 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ India v Zimbabwe 1983
  6. ^ India v Zimbabwe 1999 Archived 2012-09-19 at archive.today
  7. ^ Scotland v West Indies 1999
  8. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Women's Test Matches / Batting records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Women's One-Day International Matches / Batting records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2023.

52°36′28″N 1°08′34″W / 52.60778°N 1.14278°W / 52.60778; -1.14278