Old Trafford Cricket Ground

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Lancashire CCC - main entrance

The Old Trafford Cricket Ground^[1], usually known as simply Old Trafford, is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England that has been the home of Manchester Cricket Club since 1856 and of the Lancashire County Cricket Club since it was founded in 1864. International Test matches have been played there since 1884.

1 The ground
2 Notable moments at Old Trafford
3 Future plans
4 Musical venue
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] The ground

The cricket ground is near the Old Trafford football stadium in the borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, to the south west of central Manchester. Its capacity is 22,000 for Test matches, for which temporary stands are erected, and 15,000 for other matches. 20,000 fans were locked out on the 5th day of the 3rd Test of the 2005 Ashes series.^[2]

The two ends of the ground were known as the Warwick Road End (to the east) and the Stretford End (to the west). The section of Warwick Road leading to the Metrolink Station was renamed Brian Statham Way (in honour of the former Lancashire and England player) and this end of the ground is now known as the Brian Statham End.

When Sophia Gardens, Cardiff comes on stream as a test match venue in 2009 it will supplant Old Trafford as the wettest test cricket venue in England and Wales.^[3]

[edit] Notable moments at Old Trafford

1956 - Jim Laker became the first person to take all 10 wickets in a Test match innings; achieving figures of 10 for 53 in the fourth Test against Australia (the only other bowler to take all 10 wickets is Anil Kumble of India in 1999). Having also taken 9 for 37 in the first innings, Laker ended the match with record figures of 19 for 90, which remain unmatched to this day.

1971 - the Gillette Cup semi-final between Lancashire and Gloucestershire was played in near-darkness. With the time approaching a 8.45pm and 25 runs still needed from the five remaining overs, David Hughes walked out to bat. Hughes, somehow seeing well enough, hit 24 off a single over and set up a notable Lancashire victory.

1984 - Sir Vivian Richards scored his notable 189 not out for the West Indies in the 1st one-day international for the Texaco Trophy against England. Richards added 106 runs for the last wicket - an unbroken stand to which Michael Holding contributed 12 runs. Richards hammered 21 fours and 5 sixes. When Holding joined Sir Viv at the crease, the West Indies were already in a safe position at 166 for 9, of which Sir Viv had made 98!

1993 - Shane Warne's "Ball of the Century" to Mike Gatting.

2005 - The third Test of the Ashes series ended in a thrilling draw, with thousands of fans shut out of the ground on the final day as tickets were sold out.

[edit] Future plans

The cricket ground will form the center of an anticipated 750,000 sq ft development which will have at its heart a new 25,000-seater stadium on its historic site, with new stands, conferencing and banqueting facilities and hotel, and education, training and other sports opportunities for the local community.

Various options for development are now being considered. The development partners are considering a mixed-use scheme of significant quality with business space, residential, retail, hotel, leisure and other supporting development with a potential end value of £190m. More than 2,000 new jobs could be created by the development.

[edit] Musical venue

The ground is occasionally used as a venue for large-scale concerts, with Richard Ashcroft performing a homecoming gig, supported by Razorlight, at the ground on 2006-06-17.The day after on 2006-06-18 The Foo Fighters played with support from The Strokes, Angels and Airwaves, The Subways and Eagles of death metal. On the 28-29 July 2007, Arctic Monkeys will host and headline a "mini-festival" on the ground, supported by Supergrass, The Coral and Amy Winehouse,.^[4]