Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a stadium in North Sound, Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda. It was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup where it hosted Super 8 matches. The stadium usually caters for 10,000 people, but temporary seating doubled its capacity for the 2007 World Cup. The stadium is named after former West Indies cricket captain Viv Richards.

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
The stadium in 2015
Ground information
LocationNorth Sound, Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda
Establishment2006
Capacity10,000
End names
Andy Roberts End
Curtly Ambrose End
International information
First Test30 May–3 June 2008:
 West Indies v  Australia
Last Test16–19 June 2022:
 West Indies v  Bangladesh
First ODI27–28 March 2007:
 West Indies v  Australia
Last ODI6 December 2023:
 West Indies v  England
First T20I19 May 2010:
 West Indies v  South Africa
Last T20I13 November 2021:
 Argentina v  Canada
First WODI8 September 2019:
 West Indies v  Australia
Last WODI9 December 2022:
 West Indies v  England
First WT20I18 February 2012:
 West Indies v  India
Last WT20I11 December 2022:
 West Indies v  England
As of 6 December 2023
Source: Cricinfo

Location edit

The stadium is about 10–20 minutes' drive from the capital city, St. John's, and the country's international airport. The venue cost approximately US$60 million to build, with the majority of the funds coming from a Chinese Government grant.[1] The first Test match staged on the ground began on 30 May 2008 when the West Indies hosted Australia, with the match ending in a draw.

Facilities edit

 
The stadium in 2012

The stadium constitutes two main stands: the Northern Stand and the five-story South Stand. In 2008, the roof of the South Stand was damaged by high winds.[2] Other facilities include a practice pitch for the various cricket teams, training infrastructure and a media centre. Sir Viv Richards Stadium is one of the few state-of-the-art venues that encompass underground passageways for the cricket teams to move about in.[3][4]

Prior to the start of the first Test against England on 13 April 2015, the north and south ends were renamed for two former West Indies cricketers, Sir Curtly Ambrose and Sir Andy Roberts.

Outfield controversy edit

The ground's second Test match against England on 13 February 2009 was abandoned after only ten balls due to the outfield's dangerous condition.

The groundstaff had applied extra layers of sand after recent heavy rain, and again after a brief shower the morning of the match; this resulted in West Indian bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards being unable to gain any traction when running in.[5]

The sandy nature of the outfield had earned the ground the nickname of 'Antigua's 366th beach' in the buildup to the game.[6]

Following the abandonment, inquiries were held by the WICB and the ICC: these caused great embarrassment for West Indies cricket.

The ICC subsequently ordered that the ground be suspended from staging any international matches for twelve months, and an official warning was issued to the WICB.

List of five wicket hauls edit

Tests edit

Eight five wicket hauls in Test matches have been taken at the venue.[7]

No. Bowler Date Team Opposing team Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Result
1 Brett Lee 30 May 2008   Australia   West Indies 2 21 59 5 2.8 Drawn
2 Sunil Narine 25 July 2012   West Indies   New Zealand 1 43 132 5 3.06 Won
3 Kemar Roach 25 July 2012   West Indies   New Zealand 3 23.2 60 5 2.57 Won
4 Ravichandran Ashwin 21 July 2016   India   West Indies 3 25 83 7 3.32 Won
5 Kemar Roach 4 July 2018   West Indies   Bangladesh 1 5 8 5 1.6 Won
6 Shannon Gabriel 4 July 2018   West Indies   Bangladesh 3 12 77 5 6.41 Won
7 Ishant Sharma 22 August 2019   India   West Indies 2 17 43 5 2.52 Won
8 Jasprit Bumrah 22 August 2019   India   West Indies 4 8 7 5 0.87 Won

One Day Internationals edit

One five wicket haul in One-Day Internationals has been taken at the venue.[8]

No. Bowler Date Team Opposing team Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Result
1 Jason Holder 2 July 2017   West Indies   India 2 9.4 27 5 2.79 Won

Twenty20 Internationals edit

One five wicket haul in Twenty20 Internationals has been taken at the venue.[9]

No. Bowler Date Team Opposing team Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Result
1 Ryan McLaren 19 May 2010   South Africa   West Indies 2 3.5 19 5 4.95 Won

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Pitch Report – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium". Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  2. ^ "Stolen goods, missing ladies and a flying roof". Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  3. ^ "Sir Vivian Richards Stadium". Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  4. ^ Indian Times. "Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Antigua Test in turmoil". skysports.com. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  6. ^ "Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua". Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Statistics - Statsguru - Test Matches - Bowling Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Statistics - Statsguru - One-Day Internationals - Bowling Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Statistics - Statsguru - One-Day Internationals - Bowling Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.

External links edit

17°6′12″N 61°47′5″W / 17.10333°N 61.78472°W / 17.10333; -61.78472