My most stunning cricket grounds
Dean Tuckwell | June 10, 2024
The most stunning settings of cricket grounds that I have seen around the world:
Dharamsala
After seeing a photo of this ground (pictured) I decided to head to Dharamsala for the 4th (& subsequently deciding) test of Australia's 2017 tour to India. It proved to be a great decision with the series locked at 1-1 after Australia won the first test (Steve O'Keefe match figures of 12-70) & India the second (despite Nathan Lyon's 8-50) providing a chance to witness a rare series victory in India and attend the inaugural test at one of the World's most stunning cricket grounds. I convinced my mate Knucklehead to join me and it would be fair to say that he and I had a more enjoyable time than the Australian team (if that isn't the case it may help explain why India won.) Australia was unable to fully capitalise on a Steve Smith hundred (his 3rd of the series) being dismissed for 300 before conceding a lead of 32 on the first innings only after an aggressive 63 from Jadeja batting at 8. The Australian pace attack was steady but not particularly threatening so it was a surprise that the Indian quicks Kumar & Yadav had the Australian top 3 back in the splendid pavilion within 10 overs after a fine display of hostile, accurate fast bowling. The match was as good as over as Jadeja & Ashwin suffocated the remaining batsmen with 3 wickets apiece & the Indians knocked off the runs early on day 4 with 8 wickets in hand.
Dharamsala is located in The Kangra Valley in the shadow of The Himalayas and has been home to The Dalai Lama since he fled Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959. Although the region is not an Indian cricketing stronghold, the stadium is magnificent and the view spectacular with the permanently snow-capped mountain range in the background.
Newlands
If someone was to say to me that Cape Town was the most beautiful city in the world I wouldn't put up much of an argument. Newlands first hosted a test in 1889 and I couldn't wait to visit on the first of my many trips to South Africa in 1990. Like many parts of Cape Town it feels like you are at the base of the Magnificent Table Mountain with some of the best views of the ground being from under the Oaks with the mountain & Devil's Peak in the background. The scent of boerewors cooking on the braais beneath the stand makes a day at Newlands a feast for the senses.
Adelaide Oval
Obviously Adelaide Oval is always mentioned in any conversation on beautiful cricket grounds but there is a good reason for that - it is stunning. It was always thus, but the redevelopment is a wonderful melding of old and new. There is nothing much for me to add that you haven't probably heard every year during the test match except to say, putting my travel agent's hat on for a minute that if you are a cricket fan and ever have the opportunity, take a stadium tour: https://www.adelaideoval.com.au/tours/ You get to go inside the 100 year-old scoreboard (ideally, do this during a Shield game), the dressing rooms, The Members & Bradman Museum. A must for any cricket nuffy!
Lords
A terrific fusion of Victorian & modern architecture, any visit to Lords is a pilgrimage for a cricket lover. Tickets to Ashes tests are prized but any match is worth attending and again the tour is a treasured experience: https://www.lords.org/lords/lord-s-experience/tours You visit the real tennis courts, players' dressing rooms and view The Ashes in The MCC Museum and taking the tour was the only opportunity I ever had to walk through the Long Room.
Hong Kong Cricket Club
Hong Kong is the most visually striking of cities. Built on either side of one of the world's busiest harbours, it seems as if there is a high rise building on almost every piece of available land but that is partly because only about 25% of Hong Kong can be inhabited. Mountains cover the rest of the city meaning there a huge amount of greenspace and giving Hong Kong one of the world's most diverse urban landscapes. The mountains also give awe-inspiring vistas of the harbour and mega-metropolis below, all but as spectacular as the view from Rio De Janeiro's Corcovado. Hong Kong may not have much in the line of beach volleyball, samba or caipirinha bars but it does boast a cricket field halfway up one such green mountain on Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong Cricket Club is Asia's oldest, formed in 1851 only 13 years after the inauguration of the Melbourne Cricket Club and with a view like that you could almost forgive the outfielders for being distracted.
