Mote Park (cricket ground)

Mote Park

Ground information
Location	Maidstone, Kent
Establishment	1857
Capacity	8,500
End names
Mote Avenue End West Park Road End
Domestic team information
Kent (1859 – 2005)
As of 17 December 2007 Source: CricketArchive

Mote Park is a cricket ground in Maidstone, Kent, England. It is inside the grounds of the Mote Park. It is owned by The Mote Cricket Club^[1] and is also used by Maidstone RFC.^[2] Up until 2005, it was also occasionally used by Kent County Cricket Club as one of their outgrounds.

History

The first Kent match at The Mote was in 1859, two years after the founding of The Mote Cricket Club. However, visits by Kent to The Mote were limited until the intervention of Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1908, Viscount Bearstead oversaw the levelling of the original playing area to form the middle of three terraces (the upper and lower levels became rugby pitches) and the wicket was moved to its current position, perpendicular to the original orientation.^[3] In 1910, two permanent buildings were opened. The pavilion which contains the players' dressing rooms and covered seating. The other building is The Tabernacle. Apart from some restoration work, the ground otherwise still resembles the facility constructed in the early 20th century.^[3]

The ground continued to be used by the county side for an annual cricket week until the end of the 2005 season. After 140 consecutive years of play, Mote Park was taken off the list of county grounds used by Kent when an over-watered 'green' wicket, prepared for the County Championship match against Gloucestershire, led to a low scoring game which ended after less than 2 days and a subsequent 8 point points deduction for Kent.^[4] The facilities had only months before been approved for redevelopment as part of a larger scheme to increase the profile of cricket in the county town.^[5] Since that time, The Mote Cricket Club have relaid a number of wickets at a cost of £14,000 with the help of grants and technical assistance from the County Cricket Club and Maidstone Borough Council, and it is hoped this will allow the return of county cricket in the near future.^[6]

Notable cricket performances

• Kent County Cricket Club's highest partnership for any wicket in first-class cricket was made at Mote Park during the 1995 season with Aravinda de Silva and Graham Cowdrey scoring 368.^[3]
• In 1910, C. Blythe and F.E. Woolley bowled unchanged throughout both innings of a fixture with Yorkshire County Cricket Club repeating a performance from 1889, also against Yorkshire by bowlers W. Wright and F. Martin.^[3]
• In 1995 Mark Ealham made the fastest century in the history of the 40-over game. In 44 balls, Ealham scored a hundred, with 9 sixes and 9 fours.^[3]

References

1. ^ "The Mote CC - About Us". The Mote Cricket Club. http://themote.play-cricket.com/home/aboutUs.asp. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
2. ^ "Maidstone Rugby Club". Maidstone Rugby Club. http://www.maidstonerugby.org.uk/welcome.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "A brief history of the Mote". ESPN Cricinfo. http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/60184.html. Retrieved 2011-3-23. 
4. ^ Kent end 140-year Maidstone deal from BBC Sport 30 September 2005
5. ^ Major changes for cricket ground from BBC Sport 2 June 2005
6. ^ "Redevelopment may lead to Kent's Mote return". Kent Messenger. 2008-6-26. http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/newsarchive.aspx?articleid=43888. Retrieved 2011-3-23. 

51°15′52.3″N 0°32′46.7″E / 51.264528°N 0.546306°E / 51.264528; 0.546306Coordinates: 51°15′52.3″N 0°32′46.7″E / 51.264528°N 0.546306°E / 51.264528; 0.546306