| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Leyton, London |
| Establishment | 1885 |
| Capacity | 8,000 |
| Domestic team information | |
| Essex (1886–1977) | |
| As of 7 October 2009 Source: Ground profile |
|
Leyton Cricket Ground (formerly known as the County Ground or the Lyttelton Ground[1]) is a cricket ground in Leyton, London.
Contents |
The ground has been used for cricket since the early 19th century. In 1886 a pavilion was built at Leyton Cricket Ground, becoming the headquarters of Essex County Cricket Club until 1933. In 1905 Essex beat the touring Australians, in what was one of the most famous matches at the ground. Essex returned to play matches at Leyton in 1957 and continued to play there until 1977. Essex are considering the possibility of playing some Twenty20 Cup games back at the ground. The pavilion still stands today and is used as a sports ground by local schools. A local cricket club, Leyton County Cricket Club, uses the ground for first team games during the summer.
The ground's most famous moment was when Herbert Sutcliffe and Percy Holmes of Yorkshire made a world record first-class partnership for any wicket of 555 in 1932.[2] This remained the record for any wicket till 1945-6, and it was not until 1976-7 that it was beaten for the first wicket. It remains the record for any wicket made in England.
The ground has also been used for football. Millwall Rovers played London Caledonians at the ground in the East London FA Cup Final in 1886. The game finished 2-2 and both teams shared the cup for six months each. In 1895 Woolwich Arsenal played a Football League Second Division game against Leicester Fosse as their own Manor Ground was closed by the Football League following crowd trouble.[3] Leyton Orient also occasionally played pre-season friendlies at the ground, in the 1900s.