Wanderers Stadium
- Not to be confused with Wanderers Cricket Ground in Namibia.
| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Illovo, Sandton, Johannesburg |
| Capacity | 34,000[1] |
| End names | |
|
Corlett Drive End Golf Course End | |
| International information | |
| First Test | 24 December 1956: South Africa v England |
| Last Test | 18 December 2013: South Africa v India |
| First ODI | 13 December 1992: South Africa v India |
| Last ODI | 5 December 2013: South Africa v India |
| First T20I | 21 October 2005: South Africa v New Zealand |
| Last T20I | 20 November 2013: South Africa v Pakistan |
| Domestic team information | |
|
Transvaal now known as Highveld Lions (1956 – present) | |
|
As of 4 January 2014 Source: Cricinfo | |
Bidvest Wanderers Stadium is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Test, One Day and First class cricket matches are played here. It is also the home ground for the Highveld Lions, formerly known as Gauteng (Transvaal).
The stadium has a seating capacity of 34,000, and was built in 1956 to replace the Old Wanderers Stadium. It was completely overhauled following South Africa's readmission to international cricket in 1991. In 1996, five new 65 metre high floodlight masts replaced the existing four 30 metre high masts enabling day-night limited-overs cricket. It is nicknamed 'The Bullring' due to its design and intimidating atmosphere.
The 2003 Cricket World Cup final was held at the Wanderers Stadium. This stadium also hosted one of the greatest One-day international matches. The match was played between South Africa and Australia in which a world record score of 434 was chased down by South Africa. It hosted matches of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 including the first match and the final which was won by India, who defeated Pakistan.
On 1 October 2004, the Wanderers Clubhouse was virtually destroyed by fire. At that stage it was known as Liberty Life Wanderers, but as from the 2008/09 season, Bidvest Group took up the sponsoring of the ground, thus it became its present day name of BIDVest Wanderers Stadium.
The pitch is considered very bouncy on cracks and dangerous for batting as acknowledged in 2009 ICC Champions Trophy and teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka have always struggled there.
The stadium had also hosted the 2009 Indian Premier League's second semi-final and the final in which the Deccan Chargers beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore to grab the championship title.
The Wanderers Stadium also hosted a rugby union test match in April 1980 between South Africa and the South American Jaguars while Johannesburg's normal venue, Ellis Park Stadium, was being redeveloped.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ www.wanderers.co.za
- ↑ Michael Owen-Smith (1990). Tim Jolland, ed. Test Match Grounds of the World. Willow Books. p. 186. ISBN 0002182823.
Coordinates: 26°7′52.17″S 28°3′26.69″E / 26.1311583°S 28.0574139°E
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lord's |
Cricket World Cup Final Venue 2003 |
Succeeded by Kensington Oval |