Imperial Athletic Ground
Encyclopedia
The Imperial Athletic Ground was a cricket
ground in south Bristol
owned by the Imperial Tobacco
group and used by Somerset
. The first first-class
match on the ground was in 1957, when Somerset played Sussex
in the County Championship
. From 1957 to 1966, the ground played host to 9 first-class matches, with the final first-class match held at the ground between Somerset and Hampshire
.
The ground also hosted List-A matches, the first of which was between Somerset and Gloucestershire
in the 1971 John Player League. Between 1971 and 1979, the ground held 8 List-A matches, the last of which was between Somerset and Gloucestershire in the 1979 John Player League.
During its existence the ground also played host to Somerset Second XI matches in the Minor Counties Championship, Second XI Championship
and Second XI Trophy.
In 2000 the ground was sold by the local council and a modern housing estate today covers it.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
ground in south Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
owned by the Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
group and used by Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
. The first first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
match on the ground was in 1957, when Somerset played Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. From 1957 to 1966, the ground played host to 9 first-class matches, with the final first-class match held at the ground between Somerset and Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
.
The ground also hosted List-A matches, the first of which was between Somerset and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
in the 1971 John Player League. Between 1971 and 1979, the ground held 8 List-A matches, the last of which was between Somerset and Gloucestershire in the 1979 John Player League.
During its existence the ground also played host to Somerset Second XI matches in the Minor Counties Championship, Second XI Championship
Second XI Championship
The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status...
and Second XI Trophy.
In 2000 the ground was sold by the local council and a modern housing estate today covers it.
External links
- Imperial Athletic Ground on CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...
- Imperial Athletic Ground on CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...