Kensington Oval
Encyclopedia
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown
on the island of Barbados
. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket
. Locally referred to as "The Mecca" of cricket, it has hosted many important and exciting cricket games between local, regional, and international teams during its 120+ year history.
assumed former ownership of the ground.
The first international match held was in 1895 when Slade Lucas' side
visited the island. The first Test match was held in January 1930, when the West Indies and England
played to a draw. Since the genesis there have been a total of 43 Test matches played on the Kensington Oval grounds, 21 of those matches won by the West Indian cricket team
. The new stadium has been commemorated through two 2007 Barbadian postage stamp
s.
in a BDS$90M (US$
45 Million) redevelopment. Demolition of the old stadium began on schedule in June, 2005 after completion of the first Test against Pakistan
. The names of the former stands which made up the Kensington stadium were the George Challenor stand, the Hall and Griffith, the Kensington, the Mitchie Hewitt, the Pickwick, and the Three Ws stand plus the Peter Short Media Centre. Most of these names have been retained.
outfield reconstruction.
The topsoil on the grounds previous outfield was a sandy clay loam, which struggled to cope with Bridgetown's occasional heavy rainfall, with climate data indicating that a storm lasting up to an hour could dump about 50mm of rain once every five years. The topsoil was a complete mixture of soils and significantly varied in depth, laying over ancient coral reef limestone.
The new outfield consists of; 175mm of amended root-zone, 125mm of unamended root-zone sand
, a 50mm blinding layer and a 100mm gravel drainage layer.
Although many types of grass options was suggested to be used for the outfield, it was decided to use Tifway 419 hybrid Bermuda grass as this type of grass is highly disease resistant, dense and spreads quickly to ensure quick recovery from injury and allows close mowing.
The Cricket pitch was reconstructed with four main pitches and a profile consisting of; 200mm of clay
, over 150mm of medium-fine sand along with a gravel drainage layer. The square's soil is made up of 71% clay, 14% silt and 14% sand and during the redevelopment it was isolated from the rest of the ground so that it could be constructed before the outfield was completed. The pitch square's was sown down with Princess Bermuda grass, with the base and soil added in layers, before completion in May 2006.
, hockey, inter-school athletics, Miss Barbados
pageants, and concert events. The ground also has a jumbo TV screen and also a jacuzzi
type area, for fans to watch while relaxing in the pool (similar to Chase Field
in Phoenix, Arizona
). Behind this is a large grassy hill for fans to have picnics on, which has a bunker underneath for the media
.
On August 5th, 2011 - Barbadian Superstar Rihanna will perform for the first time in her home country on her LOUD tour at the Kensington Oval.
final between Australia and Sri Lanka, held on April 28, with the official attendance reaching 20,108.
This was the first World Cup final to be a repeat – the sides previously met in the 1996 World Cup final, which Sri Lanka won. Australia has won every World Cup match against Sri Lanka apart from that loss. The match was Sri Lanka's second World Cup final appearance and Australia's sixth, their fourth in a row.
Ricky Ponting
won the toss and elected to bat. However, the start of play was delayed due to rain, and the match was reduced to 38 overs per side. Adam Gilchrist
played an incredible innings of 149 – the highest for any batsman in a World Cup final – to give Australia an imposing total going in at to break. While Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara
and Sanath Jayasuriya
were adding 116 for the second wicket, the contest was alive, but after the pair got out, Sri Lanka's chances slowly washed way. Further rain forced the reduction of Sri Lanka's innings to just 36 overs, with the target revised to 269. At the culmination of the 33rd over, with Sri Lanka still trailing the adjusted Duckworth-Lewis target by 37 runs, the umpires suspended the game due to bad light. While Australia's players began to celebrate their victory (since the minimum 20 overs had been reached), the umpires incorrectly announced that because the match was suspended due to light and not rain, the final three overs would have to be bowled the following day. With Sri Lanka needing 61 runs from 18 deliveries, Mahela Jayawardene agreed there was no need to return the following day, and instructed his team to resume batting, with Ricky Ponting agreeing to play only spinners. Umpires later apologized for their error, and that the match should have ended then with Australia winning by 37 runs. The last three overs were played in almost complete darkness, during which Sri Lanka added nine runs, giving Australia a 53-run victory via the DL method, as Sri Lanka had batted 2 overs fewer than Australia.
on 16 May 2010. The match was won by England, delivering the team its first ever victory in a worldwide limited overs tournament, and its first International Cricket Council
trophy. Australia batted first and scored 147 runs for the loss of six wickets. England bettered Australia's total with 18 balls to spare. Craig Kieswetter
was England's top scorer with 63 runs from 49 balls while Kevin Pietersen
scored 47 from 31. David Hussey
of Australia scored 59. Pietersen was subsequently named Man of the Tournament having scored 248 runs, while Kieswetter was Man of the Match
.
recognised the Kensington Oval as one of its Structural Awards
winners; this was under the section of "Awards for Sports or Leisure Structures". In summing up the stadium the ISE stated: "…This inspiring structure, created with meticulous attention to buildability, has added an outstanding addition to the Barbados skyline. It is already immensely popular with the most enthusiastic cricket audience in the world…"
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
on the island of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket
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...
. Locally referred to as "The Mecca" of cricket, it has hosted many important and exciting cricket games between local, regional, and international teams during its 120+ year history.
History
Cricket at the Oval began in 1882 when the Pickwick Cricket ClubPickwick Cricket Club
Pickwick Cricket Club is a Barbados cricket club. The club was founded on 23 November 1882, the second oldest cricket club in Barbados after Wanderers Cricket Club...
assumed former ownership of the ground.
The first international match held was in 1895 when Slade Lucas' side
RS Lucas' XI cricket team in West Indies in 1894-95
A team of Amateurs under the captaincy of Mr. R. Slade Lucas toured the West Indies in the 1894-95 season playing matches between January and April 1895. They played a total of 16 matches of which 8 are regarded as first-class.-Touring team:...
visited the island. The first Test match was held in January 1930, when the West Indies and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
played to a draw. Since the genesis there have been a total of 43 Test matches played on the Kensington Oval grounds, 21 of those matches won by the West Indian cricket team
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
. The new stadium has been commemorated through two 2007 Barbadian postage stamp
Postage stamps and postal history of Barbados
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Barbados.The first Europeans to arrive on the island were probably the Portuguese in about the year 1500. In 1605 Sir Olave Leigh landed on the island and claimed it for King James. The first group of English settlers, about 30, arrived...
s.
Structures and facilities
The stands of the Kensington Oval were extensively rebuilt for the 2007 Cricket World Cup2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
in a BDS$90M (US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
45 Million) redevelopment. Demolition of the old stadium began on schedule in June, 2005 after completion of the first Test against Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The names of the former stands which made up the Kensington stadium were the George Challenor stand, the Hall and Griffith, the Kensington, the Mitchie Hewitt, the Pickwick, and the Three Ws stand plus the Peter Short Media Centre. Most of these names have been retained.
Outfield
In 2004, the STRI construction team were chosen to redevelop the Kensington Oval outfield, after they were previously involved with the Lord's Cricket GroundLord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
outfield reconstruction.
The topsoil on the grounds previous outfield was a sandy clay loam, which struggled to cope with Bridgetown's occasional heavy rainfall, with climate data indicating that a storm lasting up to an hour could dump about 50mm of rain once every five years. The topsoil was a complete mixture of soils and significantly varied in depth, laying over ancient coral reef limestone.
The new outfield consists of; 175mm of amended root-zone, 125mm of unamended root-zone sand
Sand-based athletic fields
Sand-based athletic fields are sporting grounds constructed on sand. They can have certain advantages over those built on native soils.-Choice of soil:...
, a 50mm blinding layer and a 100mm gravel drainage layer.
Although many types of grass options was suggested to be used for the outfield, it was decided to use Tifway 419 hybrid Bermuda grass as this type of grass is highly disease resistant, dense and spreads quickly to ensure quick recovery from injury and allows close mowing.
The Cricket pitch was reconstructed with four main pitches and a profile consisting of; 200mm of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, over 150mm of medium-fine sand along with a gravel drainage layer. The square's soil is made up of 71% clay, 14% silt and 14% sand and during the redevelopment it was isolated from the rest of the ground so that it could be constructed before the outfield was completed. The pitch square's was sown down with Princess Bermuda grass, with the base and soil added in layers, before completion in May 2006.
Events
The Kensington Oval has also hosted many non-cricket events such as matches of the Barbados national football teamBarbados national football team
The Barbados national football team, nicknamed Bajan Pride, is the national association football team of Barbados and is controlled by the Barbados Football Association. It has never qualified for a major international tournament...
, hockey, inter-school athletics, Miss Barbados
Miss Barbados
Miss Barbados may refer to:* Barbados' delegation for Miss Universe, see Miss Barbados Universe* Barbados' delegation for Miss World, see Miss Barbados World...
pageants, and concert events. The ground also has a jumbo TV screen and also a jacuzzi
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
type area, for fans to watch while relaxing in the pool (similar to Chase Field
Chase Field
Chase Field is a baseball stadium located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona and is the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. It opened in , just in time for the Diamondbacks' first game as an expansion team...
in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
). Behind this is a large grassy hill for fans to have picnics on, which has a bunker underneath for the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
On August 5th, 2011 - Barbadian Superstar Rihanna will perform for the first time in her home country on her LOUD tour at the Kensington Oval.
2007 Cricket World Cup Final
The expanded Kensington Oval was the venue for the 2007 Cricket World Cup2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
final between Australia and Sri Lanka, held on April 28, with the official attendance reaching 20,108.
This was the first World Cup final to be a repeat – the sides previously met in the 1996 World Cup final, which Sri Lanka won. Australia has won every World Cup match against Sri Lanka apart from that loss. The match was Sri Lanka's second World Cup final appearance and Australia's sixth, their fourth in a row.
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
won the toss and elected to bat. However, the start of play was delayed due to rain, and the match was reduced to 38 overs per side. Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
played an incredible innings of 149 – the highest for any batsman in a World Cup final – to give Australia an imposing total going in at to break. While Sri Lankan batsmen Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
and Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
were adding 116 for the second wicket, the contest was alive, but after the pair got out, Sri Lanka's chances slowly washed way. Further rain forced the reduction of Sri Lanka's innings to just 36 overs, with the target revised to 269. At the culmination of the 33rd over, with Sri Lanka still trailing the adjusted Duckworth-Lewis target by 37 runs, the umpires suspended the game due to bad light. While Australia's players began to celebrate their victory (since the minimum 20 overs had been reached), the umpires incorrectly announced that because the match was suspended due to light and not rain, the final three overs would have to be bowled the following day. With Sri Lanka needing 61 runs from 18 deliveries, Mahela Jayawardene agreed there was no need to return the following day, and instructed his team to resume batting, with Ricky Ponting agreeing to play only spinners. Umpires later apologized for their error, and that the match should have ended then with Australia winning by 37 runs. The last three overs were played in almost complete darkness, during which Sri Lanka added nine runs, giving Australia a 53-run victory via the DL method, as Sri Lanka had batted 2 overs fewer than Australia.
2010 ICC World Twenty20 Final
The Final was held in BarbadosBarbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
on 16 May 2010. The match was won by England, delivering the team its first ever victory in a worldwide limited overs tournament, and its first International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
trophy. Australia batted first and scored 147 runs for the loss of six wickets. England bettered Australia's total with 18 balls to spare. Craig Kieswetter
Craig Kieswetter
Craig Kieswetter is an England cricketer of South African and Scottish heritage. He is a wicket-keeper batsman. An aggressive batsman, he began his career with the South Africa Under-19s, before stating that he wished to play international cricket for England. He began playing county cricket for...
was England's top scorer with 63 runs from 49 balls while Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
scored 47 from 31. David Hussey
David Hussey
David John Hussey is an Australian cricketer. Hussey is a right-handed batsman and can also bowl right-arm offbreaks. He is the younger brother of Australian Test cricketer Michael Hussey.-Australian domestic career:...
of Australia scored 59. Pietersen was subsequently named Man of the Tournament having scored 248 runs, while Kieswetter was Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
.
Awards
In 2008 the Institution of Structural EngineersInstitution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
recognised the Kensington Oval as one of its Structural Awards
Structural Awards
The Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards have been awarded for the structural design of buildings and infrastructure since 1968...
winners; this was under the section of "Awards for Sports or Leisure Structures". In summing up the stadium the ISE stated: "…This inspiring structure, created with meticulous attention to buildability, has added an outstanding addition to the Barbados skyline. It is already immensely popular with the most enthusiastic cricket audience in the world…"
The pre-2007 Stadium
These are historic stands as they looked in 2000. These former stands were demolished to make way for the new stadium.See also
- List of Test cricket grounds
- List of international cricket centuries at Kensington Oval
External links
- Kensington Oval profile information – Barbados Tourism Investment Inc.
- Photo of the new Kensington Oval
- Kensington Oval profile