Grace Road, known for sponsorship reasons as the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road, is a cricket ground in Leicester, England. It is the home ground and administrative base of Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
History
Leicestershire County Cricket Club bought in 1877 the land on which Grace Road now stands from the then Duke of Rutland, and spent the massive sum of £40,000 on developing a cricket club, athletic track and hotel.Grounds - Grace Road, Leicester The first match played there took place three months later, when Leicestershire played a touring Australia team. Contrary to popular belief, the road was named after Grace Margaret Yearby, the daughter of a local property owner Edward John Yearby, not W. G. Grace.
Leicestershire CCC left the Grace Road site in 1901, owing to low attendances at matches, which were blamed on lack of public transport to the ground. The club moved to a site near to Aylestone Road in order to be closer to the city centre. Leicestershire eventually returned to Grace Road in 1946, after the end of the Second World War,Main Developments at Grace Road 1878-2007 and has been based there ever since, re-purchasing the land in 1966.
The record attendance, at Leicestershire's match against the touring 1948 Australians, is 16,000.
International cricket Three One Day Internationals have been played at Grace Road, although none has involved the England team.
In the 1983 Cricket World Cup eventual winners India, chasing a target of 156, beat Zimbabwe by five wickets.India v Zimbabwe 1983 The second and third games were both in the 1999 World Cup. In the second Zimbabwe beat India by three runs,India v Zimbabwe 1999 and in the third the West Indies beat Scotland by eight wickets.Scotland v West Indies 1999
International centuries Women's Test centuries One WTest century has been scored at the venue.
No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Innings Date Result 1 115 Claire Taylor 233 3 Drawn
Women's One-Day International centuries Eight WODI centuries have been scored at the venue.
No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Innings Date Result 1 106 Heather Knight 109 1 Won 2 137 Natalie Sciver (1/2) 92 1 Won 3 104* Deandra Dottin 76 1 Won 4 117* Sophie Devine 116 2 Won 5 114 Tammy Beaumont (1/2) 115 1 Lost 6 119 Tammy Beaumont (2/2) 107 1 Won 7 120 Nat Sciver-Brunt (2/2) 74 1 Won 8 104 Maia Bouchier 95 2 Won
Dimensions In front of the wicket at both ends the pitch is measured at 63 metres, while square of the wicket on both sides the dimensions are recorded as 76 metres. This is the largest county ground including England's major international venues such as the Oval.
See also List of cricket grounds in England and Wales List of Leicestershire County Cricket Club grounds
References