Kia Oval Grounds Tour
Take A Peek Into English Cricket History With The Kia Oval Cricket Ground Tour
Kia Oval or The Oval is an international cricket ground in England. It is precisely located in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. Opened in 1845, it is the first ground in the country to have hosted an international Test cricket in 1880 and has been the Surrey County Cricket Club’s home ground since its inauguration. The Oval hosts several other sports events here and international cricket isn’t the only “first” it experienced. In 1870, the first international football match between England and Scotland was staged here. In 1872, it organised the first FA Cup final. Kia Oval was the venue for the first rugby varsity match in 1877, and these are but only the first time events to be hosted here. You can visit the stadium for a guided Oval cricket ground tour and learn more about this historically significant sports venue.
Enter The Oval
When stepping inside The Oval, you will enter one of the oldest cricket grounds in England. It was once the largest playing ground of any Test venue in the whole world with a seating capacity of 25,500. Although the Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan has surpassed that record, it still is the largest in Britain. The Oval cricket ground tour lasts for an hour and 30 minutes. Within this duration, you will get the opportunity to discover plenty of information, both about the Surrey County Cricket Club and the other events that have been held in this historic land for about 200 years. With an expert tour guide by your side, pay attention to what they say while leading you through the venue and discuss its exciting history.
A Little Bit About The Oval
The Kia Oval was established on an area of the previous Kennington Common, a massive part of common land which is known for being one of the oldest cricket venues inside the capital. In 1844, the Kennington Oval site was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall as a market garden. It was on the 10th of March 1845, that the land was leased to make a ground for cricket.
Approximately 20,000 people came together in the stadium in 1868 for the first match of the Aboriginal cricket tour of London. Billy Murdoch of Australia was the first cricketer to score a double century in a Test match in 1884. On 7th September 1973, the first One Day International (ODI) match was played here. The stadium has also been the venue for matches of 1975, 79, 83, and the 1999 World Cups. The Kia Oval is also known for having organised five of the fifteen games in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, along with the finals. Learn much more about sports history during your Oval cricket ground tour.
Surrey CCC, the operator and owner of the ground, is presently working on development plans for the Ashes, which will be finished in 2023. This development will increase the audience capacity to 40,000, making The Oval the biggest cricket stadium in the United Kingdom.