County Cricket Ground, Derby

County Ground

View from the new stand during Derbyshire v Australia tour match - 9th July 2010
Ground information
Location	Derby, England
Establishment	1863
Capacity	9,500 (4,000 seated)
End names
Pavilion End Racecourse End
International information
First ODI	18 June 1983: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	28 May 1999: New Zealand v Pakistan
Domestic team information
Derbyshire (1871 – present)
As of 26 August 2010 Source: CricketArchive

The County Cricket Ground, usually shortened to County Ground and also known as the Racecourse Ground, is a cricket ground in Derby and has been the home of Derbyshire County Cricket Club since at least 1871. As the name implies it originally hosted horse racing.

It also held the games of Derby County Football Club until their move to the Baseball Ground in 1895. The first FA Cup final outside London was held at the ground in 1886 when Blackburn Rovers beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 in a replay. England played one football international here, beating Ireland 9-0 in the British Home Championship on March 9, 1895.

The playing area used to feature pitches laid on an east-west axis. Most first-class grounds feature pitches laid north-south to avoid problems with the light from the setting sun. Derbyshire re-laid the pitch on a north-south axis over the 2009/10 winter at a cost of £100,000, ready for the 2010 season. This involved moving some of the floodlights and the electronic scoreboard to suit the new alignment.^[1]

In early 2010 a large new 1,800 seat stand was erected at the North end (Racecourse) of the ground, which opened in May.^[2] A new marquee was also built next to the media centre which is used for private functions and entertainment during match days.^[3]

A view of the new stand during the Derbyshire v Australia tour match - 9th July 2010.

See also

• List of cricket grounds in England and Wales

References

1. ^ "Sun rises on Derbyshire's new square". Cricinfo. 2009-09-10. http://www.cricinfo.com/derbyshire/content/current/story/424445.html. Retrieved 2010-08-26. 
2. ^ "New stand complete". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 2010-05-17. http://www.derbyshireccc.com/servlets/template?FILE=news-fullstory&SID=14709224251383490385&news_id=2482&title=New%20stand%20complete.html. Retrieved 2010-08-26. 
3. ^ "Work on state of the art new facility nears completion". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 2010-07-05. http://www.derbyshireccc.com/servlets/template?FILE=news-fullstory&SID=13106013292669905908&news_id=2612&title=The%20County%20Ground%E2%80%99s%20new%20marquee:%20the%20newest%20facility%20in%20Derby. Retrieved 2010-08-26. 

Coordinates: 52°55′39.02″N 1°27′39.97″W / 52.9275056°N 1.4611028°W / 52.9275056; -1.4611028