Interior view of Grace Road cricket ground
Grace Road in the city of Leicester has staged well over half the county's first-class games and almost every game in List A and Twenty20 cricket.

Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. The club was established on 25 March 1879.[1] It has since played first-class cricket from 1894, List A cricket from 1963 and Twenty20 cricket from 2003.[2][3][4][A] Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" has diminished since the 1980s.[5][6] Leicestershire's first XI have played home matches at fifteen different grounds.

The club's debut home match in first-class cricket was played at Grace Road in Leicester. After the 1900 season, the club ceased using Grace Road,[7] as it was felt that it was located too far from the centre of the city.[8] Instead, Aylestone Road became the club's headquarters, and staged nearly 400 first-class matches between 1901 and the outbreak of the Second World War.[9] Due to a combination of wartime damage and industrial development, however, the club was forced to discontinue using Aylestone Road after the war, and Grace Road once again became the club's main venue.[8] In the years after the war, the county also utilised grounds in other towns including Hinckley, Melton Mowbray, Barwell and Loughborough.

In addition to the county's inaugural first-class match, Grace Road also played host to Leicestershire's first home games in the other formats of cricket. In 1964 it staged the county's first home List A game against Northamptonshire and in 2003 it was the venue for the county's first home game in Twenty20 cricket against Yorkshire. The ground has hosted the vast majority of the county's games, including every Twenty20 match since the introduction of that format. Since 1991, when the club played its last game at Leicester Road in Hinckley, the only venue other than Grace Road to host any of Leicestershire's matches is the Oakham School Ground, which is actually located in the adjacent county of Rutland.[10] The school was used for five first-class matches from 2000–07 and nine List A games from 2001–08, followed by a further List A game in 2018 after an absence of ten years.

Grounds

Below is a complete list of grounds used by Leicestershire County Cricket Club for first-class, List A and Twenty20 matches. Statistics are complete through to the end of the 2020 season. Only matches played by Leicestershire CCC at the grounds are recorded in the table. Matches abandoned without any play occurring are not included.

Name Location First-class List A Twenty20
First Last Matches First Last Matches First Last Matches
Grace Road[11] Leicester 17 May 1894
v Yorkshire		 22 August 2020
v Nottinghamshire		 845[7] 27 May 1964
v Northamptonshire		 6 May 2019
v Warwickshire		 508[12] 16 June 2003
v Yorkshire		 18 September 2020
v Nottinghamshire		 108[13]
Aylestone Road[14] Leicester 13 May 1901
v Surrey		 16 June 1962
v Cambridge University		 399[9] – – 0 – – 0
Ashby Road[15] Hinckley 19 August 1911
v Warwickshire		 17 July 1937
v Worcestershire		 19[16] – – 0 – – 0
Bath Grounds[17] Ashby-de-la-Zouch 20 June 1912
v Derbyshire		 6 June 1964
v Derbyshire		 43[18] – – 0 – – 0
Park Road[19] Loughborough 31 May 1913
v Nottinghamshire		 9 August 1952
v Kent		 15[20] 2 August 1970
v Nottinghamshire		 no other matches to date 1[21] – – 0
Fox and Goose Ground[22] Coalville 12 June 1913
v Worcestershire		 11 July 1914
v Worcestershire		 2[23] – – 0 – – 0
College Ground[24] Loughborough 13 June 1928
v Derbyshire		 6 July 1929
v Glamorgan		 2[25] – – 0 – – 0
Oakham School Ground[26] Oakham 31 August 1935
v Kent		 30 May 2007
v Nottinghamshire		 9[27] 3 June 2001
v Lancashire		 31 May 2018
v Nottinghamshire		 10[28] – – 0
Egerton Park[29] Melton Mowbray 1 June 1946
v Somerset		 29 May 1948
v Kent		 3[30] – – 0 – – 0
Kirkby Road[31] Barwell 19 June 1946
v Lancashire		 25 June 1947
v Worcestershire		 3[32] – – 0[B] – – 0
Town Ground[33] Coalville 10 June 1950
v Warwickshire		 no other matches to date 1[34] – – 0 – – 0
Coventry Road[35] Hinckley 23 June 1951
v Middlesex		 22 July 1964
v Kent		 17[36] – – 0 – – 0
Brush Ground[37] Loughborough 16 May 1953
v Hampshire		 19 June 1965
v Middlesex		 16[38] – – 0 – – 0
Snibston Colliery Ground[39] Coalville 5 June 1957
v Glamorgan		 10 July 1982
v Derbyshire		 8[40] 12 July 1970
v Glamorgan		 no other matches to date 1[41] – – 0
Leicester Road[42] Hinckley 29 July 1981
v Nottinghamshire		 2 July 1991
v Gloucestershire		 11[43] 3 June 1984
v Essex		 no other matches to date 1[44][B] – – 0

Notes

A. ^ First-class cricket matches are designed to be contested over multiple days, with each team permitted two innings with no limit to the number of overs in an innings.[45] List A matches, also known as limited overs or one-day matches, are intended to be completed in a single day and restrict each team to a single innings of between 40 and 60 overs, depending on the specific competition.[46] Twenty20 matches restrict each team to a single innings of 20 overs.[47]

B. ^ The Leicestershire Cricket Board team played one List A match at each of Kirkby Road and Leicester Road in 2001.[48] The Leicestershire Cricket Board is a separate organisation from Leicestershire County Cricket Club and its matches are not included in the totals.

References

  1. ^ Marshall, Ian (2015). Playfair Cricket Annual 2015. Hachette UK. p. 1871. ISBN 978-1-4722-1218-4.
  2. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Leicestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  3. ^ "List A Matches played by Leicestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Twenty20 Matches played by Leicestershire". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  5. ^ Glover, Andrew (10 April 2013). "Remembering Yorkshire County Cricket Club's out grounds". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  6. ^ Stockton, Edward (13 June 2006). "Out of town but not out of favour". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b "First-Class Matches played on Grace Road, Leicester (803)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b Williamson, Martin. "Leicester Electricity Sports Cricket Club Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b "First-Class Matches played on Aylestone Road, Leicester (399)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Oakham School - Contact Us". Oakham School. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Grace Road, Leicester". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  12. ^ "List A Matches played on Grace Road, Leicester (461)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Twenty20 Matches played on Grace Road, Leicester (61)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Aylestone Road, Leicester". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Ashby Road, Hinckley". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  16. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Ashby Road, Hinckley (19)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Bath Grounds, Ashby-de-la-Zouch". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  18. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Bath Grounds, Ashby-de-la-Zouch (43)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Park Road, Loughborough". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  20. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Park Road, Loughborough (15)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  21. ^ "List A Matches played on Park Road, Loughborough (15)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  22. ^ "Fox and Goose Ground, Coalville". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  23. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Fox and Goose Ground, Coalville (2)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  24. ^ "College Ground, Loughborough". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  25. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Fox and College Ground, Loughborough (2)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  26. ^ "Doncaster Close, Oakham School". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  27. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Doncaster Close, Oakham School (9)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  28. ^ "List A Matches played on Doncaster Close, Oakham School(9)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  29. ^ "Egerton Park, Melton Mowbray". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  30. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Egerton Park, Melton Mowbray (3)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  31. ^ "Kirkby Road, Barwell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  32. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Kirkby Road, Barwell (3)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  33. ^ "Town Ground, Coalville". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  34. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Town Ground, Coalville (1)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  35. ^ "Coventry Road, Hinckley". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  36. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Coventry Road, Hinckley (17)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  37. ^ "Brush Ground, Loughborough". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  38. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Brush Ground, Loughborough (16)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  39. ^ "Snibston Colliery Ground, Coalville". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  40. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Snibston Colliery Ground, Coalville (8)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  41. ^ "List A Matches played on Snibston Colliery Ground, Coalville (1)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  42. ^ "Leicester Road, Hinckley". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  43. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Leicester Road, Hinckley (11)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  44. ^ "List A Matches played on Leicester Road, Hinckley (1)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  45. ^ "The LV= County Championship, Other First Class Matches and Non-First Class MCC University Matches against Counties" (PDF). England and Wales Cricket Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  46. ^ Knight, Julian (2011). "Losing Cricket's Stuffy Image: Introducing One-Day Cricket". Cricket for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781119996569. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  47. ^ "NatWest T20 Blast" (PDF). England and Wales Cricket Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  48. ^ "List A Matches played by Leicestershire Cricket Board". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2015.

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