Sports Ground, Woodbridge Road, Guildford

Woodbridge Road
Location Guildford, Surrey, England
Establishment 1911
Capacity 4,500
Owner Guildford
Tenants Guildford Cricket Club
End names
Pavilion End
Railway End
Source: CricketArchive

The Sports Ground, Woodbridge Road is a cricket ground in Guildford, Surrey. The ground was given to the town in trust in 1911 by Sir Harry Waechter, Bart. Guildford Cricket Club play their home matches on the ground. Surrey CCC play one County Championship match and one List A one-day match there each season, as well as some second XI fixtures. Until comparatively recently, hockey was played on the ground in winter. The ground was also used for football until at least 1921. It was the home ground of the amateur team Guildford F.C.[1] who existed until 1953 (not to be confused with the professional Guildford City team who played at Josephs Road) and was also used as the venue for some Surrey Senior Cup finals.

The ground capacity is 4,500. The two ends of the ground are known as the Pavilion End and the Railway End.

Surrey first used the ground in 1938, against Hampshire from 13 to 15 July, winning by an innings. They have played there in most seasons since.

In 1957, as part of a visit to Guildford to mark the 700th anniversary of the granting of a royal charter to the town by Henry III, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the ground during a county fixture, and the two teams (Surrey and Hampshire) were presented to them.[2]

The ground is on the small side, so that some high scores have been made there. The highest individual innings played on the ground in first-class matches is Justin Langer's 342 for Somerset in 2006. Somerset made 688-8 declared in their first innings in this match, but Surrey responded with 717 - the highest total made on the ground - and the match was drawn.

The most notable bowling feat is Martin Bicknell's against Leicestershire in 2000. He had match figures of 16-119, the second best match figures ever returned for Surrey. His figures in the second innings were 9-47.[3]

The highest individual innings in a List A one-day match on the ground is 203 by Alastair Brown in a 40 overs a side AXA Life League match against Hampshire in 1997. This remains the highest score in any 40 overs List A match played in England.

The English women's cricket team have played two Test Matches on the ground, against New Zealand in 1996[4] and against Australia in 1998.[5]

The Woodbridge Road groundsman, Bill Clutterbuck, won the Ransomes Jacobsen Trophy for Achievements in Cricket Groundsmanship at the ECB’s annual pre-season dinner for First Class Groundsmen for 2006.[6]

Surrey CCC currently play one first-class and one List A match at Woodbridge Road each season.

In 2016, the ground will host one of Surrey Stars matches in the Women's Cricket Super League debut season.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Guildford City Football Club history". Guildford City FC.
  2. ↑ Stephen Chalke, Micky Stewart and the Changing Face of Cricket, Fairfield Books, 2012, ISBN 978-0956851123, p114.
  3. ↑ "Bicknell's 16-119 best since the summer of 1956 | Report | Cricket News". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  4. ↑ "The Home of CricketArchive". Cricketarchive.com. 1996-07-15. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  5. ↑ "The Home of CricketArchive". Cricketarchive.com. 1998-08-09. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  6. ↑ Archived September 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.

Coordinates: 51°14′34.17″N 0°34′38.46″W / 51.2428250°N 0.5773500°W / 51.2428250; -0.5773500

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