The Oval

This article is about the cricket ground in London. For other uses, see Oval (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Kensington Oval.

The Kia Oval

The OCS Stand, completed in 2005
Ground information
Location	Kennington, London, England
Establishment	1845
Capacity	23,500
Owner	Duchy of Cornwall
Tenants	Surrey County Cricket Club
End names
Pavilion End Vauxhall End
International information
First Test	6 September 1880: England v Australia
Last Test	18 August 2011: England v India
First ODI	7 September 1973: England v West Indies
Last ODI	9 September 2011: England v India
Domestic team information
Surrey (1846 – present)
As of June 2011 Source: CricketArchive

The clock outside the Members' Entrance.

The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval. In past years it was officially named as the 'Fosters Oval', 'AMP Oval', 'Brit Insurance Oval', and, presently, as the 'Kia Oval' due to commercial sponsorship deals.

The Oval is the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club, and also traditionally hosts the final Test match of each English summer season in late August or early September. The Oval was the first ground in the United Kingdom and second in the world (after the Melbourne Cricket Ground) to host Test cricket.

The nearest Tube station is Oval, but Vauxhall is only half a mile away.

History

In 1844, Kennington Oval was a market garden. The Oval was then (and still is) owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. Surrey County Cricket Club was set up in 1845. The Duchy was willing to grant a lease of the land for the purpose of a cricket ground, and, on 10 March 1845, the club signed a lease with the Otter Trustees, who held the land from the Duchy of Cornwall, 'to convert it into a subscription cricket ground', for 31 years at a rent of £120 per annum plus taxes (£20 more). The original contract for turfing the Oval cost £300; 10,000 grass turfs came from Tooting Common.

In 1868, 20,000 spectators gathered at the Oval for the first game of the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England, the first tour of England by any foreign side.

Thanks to C. W. Alcock, the Secretary of Surrey from 1872 to 1907, the first ever Test match in England was played at the Oval in 1880 between England and Australia. The Oval thereby became the second ground to stage a Test, after the MCG. In 1882, Australia won the Ashes Test by seven runs within two days. The Sporting Times printed a mocking obituary notice for English cricket, which led to the creation of the Ashes trophy, which is still contested whenever England plays Australia. The first Test double century was scored at the Oval in 1884 by Australia's Billy Murdoch.

The current pavilion was completed in time for the 1898 season.^[1]

In 1907, South Africa became the 2nd visiting Test team to play a Test match at this venue. In 1928, West Indies played its first Test match at this venue followed by New Zealand in 1931. In 1936, India became the 5th foreign visiting Test side to play at the Oval, followed by Pakistan in 1954 and Sri Lanka in 1998. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are yet to play a Test match at the venue.

The Brit Oval under lights

During the Second World War, the Oval was intended for use as a prisoner of war camp, although it was never employed as such. The Oval is referenced by the poet Philip Larkin in his poem about the First World War, "MCMXIV".^[2]

The first One Day International match at this venue was played on 7 September 1973 between England and West Indies. It had the privilege of hosting matches of the 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1999 World Cups. It also hosted five of the fifteen matches in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, including the final. No floodlit day/night international match has been played here to date, although Surrey have played several floodlit one-day matches. In fact, Surrey's ground is noted as having the first floodlights at a sport arena in the form of gas-lamps dating back to 1889.^[3]

The ground also had a Zeppelin and later a hot air balloon employed for aerial views during tests but this was never commercially viable and was gone by the turn of the millennium. Several other British grounds had this feature also such as Edgbaston. The Oval once held the record for the largest playing area of any Test venue in the world, but that record has since been surpassed by Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan (though it is still the largest in Britain).

The billionaire Paul Getty, who had a great affinity for cricket and was at one time Surrey CCC President built a replica of the Oval on his Wormsley Park estate.^[4] The famous gasholders at the Oval are actually newer than the ground by several years, having been built circa 1853. There has been much speculation of late as to whether they should be demolished; however, many believe they are part of the Oval's landscape and therefore their future looks secure.

End names

The names of the ends are the Pavilion End and the Vauxhall End.

21st century redevelopment

The OCS Stand as pictured from the Bedser Stand

The Pavilion

At the end of the 2002 cricket season, Surrey started redeveloping the Vauxhall End. The development included knocking down the outdated Surridge, Fender, Jardine and Peter May north stands and creating in their place a single four tier grandstand known as the OCS Stand. This work was completed in May 2005, increasing ground capacity to around 23,000.

In January 2007, Surrey announced plans to increase capacity by a further 2,000 seats, this time by redeveloping the Pavilion End. The Lock, Laker and Peter May south stands will be replaced with a new stand, which will have a hotel backing on to it. The Surrey Tavern at the entrance to the ground will be demolished and a new pedestrian plaza will be created in its place, improving access to the ground and opening up views of the historic pavilion. These plans were delayed by objections raised by the Health & Safety Executive as the ground is close to a gasometer. Planning permission was eventually granted, but not before the credit crunch struck. As of November 2010, Surrey still plans to proceed with the development when its hotel partner can obtain funding.^[5]

In 2009, permanent floodlights were installed for use in day/night matches. The floodlights are telescopic and can be retracted when not in use.

Football

The Oval was also an important site in the historical development of football, before the game had its own separate national stadium. Football had been played in this part of London for many years prior to the inauguration of the Oval: "The Gymnastic Society" – arguably the world's first Football club – met regularly at Kennington Common during the second half of the eighteenth century to play football^[6]

First international football match

See also: England v Scotland representative matches (1870–1872)

The Oval was home to the first ever international football match on the March 5, 1870, England against Scotland, organised by the Football Association^[7][8] The game resulted in a 1–1 draw. Similar international matches between England and Scotland took place at the Oval in 1871, in February 1872 and 1873. On 8 March 1873, the England national team beat Scotland 4–2. England would continue to play occasionally at the Oval until 1889.

An illustration of an 1872 England vs Scotland match. The background shows the distinctive gas holder of The Oval

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

Date	Result	Competition	Winner
5 March 1870	1–1	Friendly	Draw
19 November 1870	1–0	Friendly
25 February 1871	1–1	Friendly	Draw
17 November 1871	2–1	Friendly
24 February 1872	1–0	Friendly
8 March 1873	4–2	Friendly
6 March 1875	2–2	Friendly	Draw
3 March 1877	1–3	Friendly
5 April 1879	5–4	Friendly
12 March 1881	1–6	Friendly
21 March 1885	1–1	Home International	Draw
13 April 1889	2–3	Home International

First FA Cup final

On 16 March 1872, The Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1–0 to win the first ever FA Cup. This final was notable for the Engineers' modern footballing style of teamwork rather than individual play.^[9] C. W. Alcock, Secretary of the Football Association, was the prime mover of the competition. He had just become Secretary of Surrey, so that The Oval was the natural choice of venue for the final. Alcock also captained the successful Wanderers side. The Oval hosted all subsequent FA Cup finals (1873 excluded) up until 1892.

The Oval is one of two grounds (Bramall Lane in Sheffield being the other) to have staged both England Football and Cricket internationals, and also FA Cup Finals. The Oval also hosted the second ever Rugby Union international between England and Scotland in 1872 (the first was hosted at Raeburn Place a year earlier).

In recent years, the Oval has held an exhibition match for Australian rules football in October each year, between better performing Australian teams or to show the rivalry between certain clubs. In 2005, a record crowd for Australian rules football in England (18,884) saw the Fremantle Dockers Football Club defeat the West Coast Eagles.

Results of FA Cup finals at the Oval

Year	Attendance	Winner		Runner-up		Notes
1872	2,000	Wanderers	1	Royal Engineers	0
1874	2,000	Oxford University	2	Royal Engineers	0
1875	3,000	Royal Engineers	1	Old Etonians	1
Replay	3,000	Royal Engineers	2	Old Etonians	0
1876	3,500	Wanderers	1	Old Etonians	1
Replay	1,500	Wanderers	3	Old Etonians	0
1877	3,000	Wanderers	2	Oxford University	1
1878	4,500	Wanderers	3	Royal Engineers	1
1879	5,000	Old Etonians	1	Clapham Rovers	0
1880	6,000	Clapham Rovers	1	Oxford University	0
1881	4,500	Old Carthusians	3	Old Etonians	0
1882	6,500	Old Etonians	1	Blackburn Rovers	0
1883	8,000	Blackburn Olympic	2	Old Etonians	1
1884	12,000	Blackburn Rovers	2	Queen's Park	1
1885	12,500	Blackburn Rovers	2	Queen's Park	0
1886	15,000	Blackburn Rovers	0	West Bromwich Albion	0	2–0 in replay at Racecourse Ground, Derby
1887	15,500	Aston Villa	2	West Bromwich Albion	0
1888	19,000	West Bromwich Albion	2	Preston North End	1
1889	22,000	Preston North End	3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0
1890	20,000	Blackburn Rovers	6	Sheffield Wednesday	1
1891	23,000	Blackburn Rovers	3	Notts County	1
1892	32,810	West Bromwich Albion	3	Aston Villa	0

Rugby

Between 1872 and 1879, the Oval held 7 full cap international rugby union matches, as follows:

Date	Competition	Home team		Away team
5 February 1872		England	1G	Scotland	2G
23 February 1874		England	1G	Scotland	0G
15 February 1875		England	2G	Ireland	0G
6 March 1876		England	1G	Scotland	0G
5 February 1877	1877 Home Nations Championship	England	2G	Ireland	0G
4 March 1878	1878 Home Nations Championship	England	0G	Scotland	0G
24 Mar 1879	1879 Home Nations Championship	England	3G	Ireland	0G

On Wednesday 3 March 1875, the Oval held the final of the United Hospitals Challenge Cup, the oldest rugby union cup competition in the world.

Other events

The ground has hosted many other events, including hockey fixtures, as well as concerts.

In October 2011 the grounds served as the practice facility for the NFL's Chicago Bears. The Bears were in London to play a match against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium.

Floor directory

Bedser Stand

4th floor	Executive Boxes 33–41 CEO and Finance Department Boardroom
3rd floor	Executive Boxes 21–32 Communications Centre
2nd floor	The Montpelier Club Surrey Cricket, England and Visiting Player Facilities
1st floor	Staff Administration Offices Upper Bedser Stand Seating
Ground floor	Ken Barrington Cricket Centre Reception The Brit Oval Retail Store Prince's Trust Team Room TriNorth Offices Staff and Player Entrance
Basement floor	Ken Barrington Cricket Centre

OCS Stand

4th floor	Roof Terrace
3rd floor	Executive Boxes 43–57 Broadcast Centre Legends Lounge
2nd floor	England Suite John Major Room India Room
1st floor	Australia Suite Press Box Debenture Lounge Ashes Suite Suite 3 Pakistan Room
Ground floor	Reception

Pavilion

5th floor	Library CW Alcock Room Guildford Room Mickey Stewart Surrey Club's Room
4th floor	Pavilion Café Bar Counties Room Pavilion Top Seating
3rd floor	Pavilion Restaurant Captain's Room Pavilion Shelf Seating
2nd floor	Committee Room Prince of Wales Room Pavilion Balcony Seating
1st floor	Long Room and Ali Brown 268 Bar Sandham Laker and Presidents Rooms Members Museum Pavilion Terrace Seating
Ground floor	Members Entrance

Transport connections

Service	Station/Stop	Lines/Routes served	Directions
London Buses	Oval Station	36, 185, 436
	Camberwell New Road	155, 333	0.1 mile walk[10]
	Oval Station	155, 333	0.1 mile walk[11]
London Underground	Oval
	Vauxhall		0.5 mile walk[12]
National Rail		South West Trains

See also

Cricket portal

• List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
• List of Test cricket grounds
• History of Test cricket (to 1883)
• History of Test cricket (1884 to 1889)
• History of Test cricket (1890 to 1900)
• List of international cricket centuries at the Oval
• Gasworks Gallery, next to the ground

• Archbishop Tenison's School – an historic school located next to the ground, often used as a vantage point for TV cameras and crews

Notes

1. ^ Surrey CCC history.
2. ^ "As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park..." Philip Larkin, "MCMXIV".
3. ^ Cricket's Strangest Matches page 34 ISBN 1-86105-293-6
4. ^ [Deathwatch] John Paul Getty II, billionaire , 70
5. ^ Exciting ground developments continue at the Oval, surreycricket.com, 18 January 2007.
6. ^ Football The First Hundred Years: The Untold Story by Adrian Harvey, Routledge 2005, page 54
7. ^ When and where was the first football match held? – Times Of India
8. ^ BBC – A Sporting Nation – The first international football match
9. ^ http://www.innotts.co.uk/soccer/books/kw3.pdf Details of the 1872 FA Cup Final (PDF file)
10. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Kennington,+Oval+(Stop+N)+%4051.482330,-0.111780&daddr=51.482853,-0.113506&geocode=FdqOEQMdXEv-_w%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=18&dirflg=w&sll=51.48288,-0.113334&sspn=0.001677,0.003449&ie=UTF8&ll=51.482719,-0.112803&spn=0.003354,0.006899&z=17 Walking directions to The Oval from Camberwell New Road bus stop
11. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Oval,+Oval+(Stop+Q)+%4051.481490,-0.112870&daddr=Kennington+Oval&geocode=FZKLEQMdGkf-_w%3BFdSQEQMdoET-_w&hl=en&mra=prev&dirflg=w&sll=51.482367,-0.112497&sspn=0.000885,0.002642&ie=UTF8&z=18 Walking directions to The Oval from Oval Station bus stop
12. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=A202&daddr=Kennington+Oval&geocode=FZudEQMd5x3-_w%3BFfaQEQMdwkT-_w&hl=en&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=17&dirflg=w&sll=51.485358,-0.121247&sspn=0.003541,0.010568&ie=UTF8&ll=51.484403,-0.117781&spn=0.003541,0.010568&z=17 Walking directions to The Oval from Vauxhall Station

External links

• Surrey Cricket web site
• Cricinfo page on The Oval
• Aerial view of The Oval at Google Maps
• Annotated aerial photograph
• Images of The Oval

Preceded by none	FA Cup Final Venue 1872	Succeeded by Lillie Bridge London
Preceded by Lillie Bridge London	FA Cup Final Venue 1874–1892	Succeeded by Fallowfield Manchester

Coordinates: 51°29′1.39″N 0°6′53.93″W / 51.4837194°N 0.1149806°W / 51.4837194; -0.1149806