| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Colchester, Essex |
| Establishment | 1908 |
| Domestic team information | |
| Essex (1914 – present) Colchester & East Essex () |
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| As of May 27 2008 Source: CricketArchive |
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Castle Park Cricket Ground is an English First-class cricket ground in Colchester. The ground is in Lower Castle Park, part of the land surrounding Colchester Castle. It is used by Essex County Cricket Club for some of their First-class cricket matches. Essex played both County Championship and Pro40 matches here in 2007.[1][2] When the ground isn't used to stage First-class cricket matches, it is frequently used for Colchester & East Essex Cricket Club.
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The ground was opened in 1908 and the first match played here was on June 18, 1914 between Essex and Worcestershire in the County Championship. It was also reopened in 1914 after returning from World War I.[3]
Due to the River Colne running alongside the ground, there used to be regular problems of drainage. In 1966, it was transferred, in the middle of a match, to Colchester's secondary venue, the Garrison Cricket Ground. This arrangement lasted until 1975.
During a county championship match between Essex and Kent at the ground in 1938, Arthur Fagg became the only batsman ever, to hit a double century in each innings, scoring 244 in his first and 202 in his second.[4]
Ken McEwan, always a prolific scorer, hit five hundreds in four consecutive visits to Castle Park between 1981 and 1984. He surpassed himself in 1983, scoring 181 against Gloucestershire and then, in the same week, 189 against Worcestershire, on both occasions securing a comfortable victory for his adoptive county.
In 1981, after Glamorgan had secured a first innings lead, a century each from Graham Gooch and Brian Hardie allowed Essex to declare their second innings at 411 for 9. Undeterred at being set 325 runs in as many minutes, Javed Miandad scored 200 and it was only when he ran out of partners, some 14 runs short of the required total, that Essex and a nervous crowd of supporters could breathe freely again.
The ground is bordered by the remains of a Roman Wall and the willow-lined River Colne. However, this is the cause of the ground's drainage problems.
Lower Castle Park is also the only out ground in England & Wales which has hosted day/night matches.