The Bristol County Ground (also known as Nevil Road and currently known as the Seat Unique Stadium for sponsorship reasons[2]) is a senior cricket venue in Bristol, England. It is in the district of Ashley Down. The ground is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.
| Fry's Ground, Nevil Road | |||
 | |||
| Ground information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Ashley Down, Bristol | ||
| Coordinates | 51°28′38.01″N 2°35′02.96″W / 51.4772250°N 2.5841556°W | ||
| Establishment | 1889 | ||
| Capacity | 8,000 17,500 for internationals[1] | ||
| End names | |||
Ashley Down Road End  Bristol Pavilion End | |||
| International information | |||
| First ODI | 13 June 1983: New Zealand v  Sri Lanka | ||
| Last ODI | 29 September 2024: England v  Australia | ||
| First T20I | 28 August 2006: England v  Pakistan | ||
| Last T20I | 27 July 2022: England v  South Africa | ||
| Only women's Test | 16–19 June 2021: England v  India | ||
| First WODI | 21 July 1984: England v New Zealand | ||
| Last WODI | 3 July 2024: England v New Zealand | ||
| First WT20I | 25 June 2011: England v Australia | ||
| Last WT20I | 15 September 2022: England v India | ||
| Team information | |||
| |||
| As of 29 September 2024 Source: CricInfo | |||
History
editInitially known as Ashley Down Ground, it was bought in 1889 by W. G. Grace and has been home to Gloucestershire ever since. It was sold to local confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons and renamed Fry's Ground. The club bought the ground back in 1933 and it reverted to its original name. It was sold again in 1976, this time to Royal & Sun Alliance who renamed the ground the Phoenix County Ground for eight years before changing to The Royal & Sun Alliance County Ground until the ground was again bought by the club and took it up its current title.
The ground hosts One Day Internationals, usually one per year, with the addition of temporary seating to increase the ground's capacity. England faced India in 2018 and Pakistan in 2019 at the ground. In addition, three matches were scheduled to be played at the ground as part of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[3] Of these three, two were abandoned without a ball being bowled due to bad weather. The only match played was Australia v Afghanistan - a match Australia won by 7 wickets.
The ground has long boundaries in comparison to most county cricket clubs.
The former concrete roof over the public terraces, which has now been demolished, was formed from eight hyperbolic-paraboloid umbrellas each approximately 30 square feet (2.8 m2), designed by T. H. B. Burrough in 1960.[4]
Redevelopment
editIn July 2009, Gloucestershire C.C.C. announced plans to redevelop the ground into a 20,000-capacity stadium, with an aim to retaining one day international status.[5][6] The ground now includes a world class media centre and conference facilities. To help fund the project, student accommodation is included in the development. In March 2010, Bristol City Council gave the go-ahead for the new ground.[7]
The following year, the club revised its plans due to concerns from residents on the adjacent Kennington Avenue over permanent stands at the boundary of their property. The permanent capacity was raised to 7,500 (8,000 including the semi-permanent Hammond Roof) with temporary seating increasing capacity to 17,500,[8] but with other changes still implemented: new pavilion, new conference facilities and the construction of new stands (including the demolition of the Jessop stand and Tavern and the rebuilding of the Mound stand to a fixed capacity of 4,500) and 147 apartments in three blocks. These plans were approved on 31 May 2012 and development began in October 2012. The Bristol Pavilion opened in August 2013.[9] Permanent floodlights were approved by Bristol City Council in April 2015, which were installed ready for the start of the 2016 season and which allowed the club to continue to host international matches as well as the four 2019 Cricket World Cup matches it was allocated.[10]
Transport connections
editAshley Down railway station opened on 28th September 2024 and is 0.3 miles from the stadium. [11] Montpelier on the Severn Beach line is under 1 mile (1.6 km) from the ground. Mainline stations Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway are 2.5 miles (4.0 km) and 3.8 miles (6.1 km), respectively, from the ground.
International centuries
editOne-Day International centuries
editThe following table summarises the One-Day International centuries scored at Bristol County Ground.[12]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 140* | Sachin Tendulkar (1/2) | India |
101 |  Kenya |
23 May 1999 | Won |
| 2 | 104* | Rahul Dravid | India |
109 | Kenya |
23 May 1999 | Won |
| 3 | 102 | Ricky Ponting | Australia |
101 | England |
10 June 2001 | Won |
| 4 | 113 | Sachin Tendulkar (2/2) | India |
101 | Sri Lanka |
11 July 2002 | Won |
| 5 | 106 | Andrew Flintoff | England |
121 | New Zealand |
4 July 2004 | Lost |
| 6 | 102 | Moeen Ali | England |
57 |  West Indies |
24 September 2017 | Won |
| 7 | 151 | Imam-ul-Haq | Pakistan |
131 | England |
14 May 2019 | Lost |
| 8 | 128 | Jonny Bairstow | England |
93 | Pakistan |
14 May 2019 | Won |
| 9 | 107* | Ben Duckett | England |
78 |  Ireland |
26 September 2023 | No result |
T20 International centuries
editThere has only been one T20 International century at this venue.[13]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100* | Rohit Sharma | India |
56 | England |
8 July 2018 | Won |
Women's One-Day International centuries
editThe following table summarises the women's One-Day International centuries scored at Bristol County Ground[14]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 104 | Meg Lanning (1/2) | Australia
|
98 | England
|
23 July 2015 | Won |
| 2 | 106* | Suzie Bates | New Zealand
|
109 | Sri Lanka
|
24 June 2017 | Won |
| 3 | 178* | Chamari Atapattu | Sri Lanka
|
143 | Australia
|
29 June 2017 | Lost |
| 4 | 152* | Meg Lanning (2/2) | Australia
|
135 | Sri Lanka
|
29 June 2017 | Won |
| 5 | 147 | Sarah Taylor | England
|
104 | South Africa
|
5 July 2017 | Won |
| 6 | 148 | Tammy Beaumont | England
|
145 | South Africa
|
5 July 2017 | Won |
| 7 | 106 | Poonam Raut | India
|
136 | Australia
|
12 July 2017 | Lost |
| 8 | 107 | Sophia Dunkley | England
|
93 | South Africa
|
15 July 2022 | Won |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The many shapes of England's cricket stadiums". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Gloucestershire's Bristol home renamed as Seat Unique Stadium after signing historic Ground Naming Rights deal". Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. 8 March 2022.
- ^ "ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 schedule announced". ICC. 14 June 2019.
- ^ Burrough, THB (1970). Bristol. London: Studio Vista. ISBN 0-289-79804-3.
- ^ "Cricket ground's future unveiled". BBC Bristol Sports. BBC News. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ^ "Club Statement to Members". Gloucestershire Cricket. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Go-ahead to expand cricket club". BBC News. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ "Gloucestershire County Cricket Club alters ground plans". BBC West. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
- ^ "Grounds for Celebration". Venue. Bristol. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Floodlight planning application approved". Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ "New Ashley Down railway station construction gets under way". BBC News. 7 March 2023.
- ^ "County Ground, Bristol / Records / One-Day Internationals / High scores". Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "High scores in T20I at Bristol".
- ^ "Batting records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 July 2017.