County Cricket Ground, Derby

County Cricket Ground

View from the new stand during Derbyshire v Australia tour match - 9 July 2010
Ground information
Location	Derby, Derbyshire
County club	Derbyshire
Establishment	1863
Capacity	9,500 (4,000 seated)
End names
Pavilion End Racecourse End
International information
First ODI	18 June 1983:  New Zealand v  Sri Lanka
Last ODI	28 May 1999:  New Zealand v  Pakistan
Team information
Derbyshire (1871 – present) Derbyshire Cricket Board (1999 – 2002)
As of 26 August 2010 Source: CricketArchive

The County Cricket Ground (known as the 3aaa County Ground for sponsorship reasons; usually shortened to the County Ground and also known as the Racecourse Ground) is a cricket ground in Derby, England. It has been the home of Derbyshire County Cricket Club since 1871. The ground was first used by South Derbyshire Cricket Club in 1863 and was initially located within Derby Racecourse, although racing ceased after 1939. The ground has staged two One Day Internationals: New Zealand against Sri Lanka during the 1983 World Cup and New Zealand against Pakistan during the 1999 World Cup. It will be one of the venues for the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup.

The ground was also formerly used for football, and was the home of Derby County F.C. between 1884 and 1895. It staged the first ever FA Cup Final match played outside London, a replay of the 1886 Final, and hosted an international match between England and Ireland in 1895.

History

The ground was first used by South Derbyshire Cricket Club in 1863 and was initially located within Derby Racecourse, although racing ceased after 1939.

It also held the games of Derby County Football Club until their move to the Baseball Ground in 1895. The first FA Cup final outside London was held at the ground in 1886 when Blackburn Rovers beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 in a replay. England played one football international here, beating Ireland 9-0 in the British Home Championship on 9 March 1895.

The playing area used to feature pitches laid on an east-west axis. Most first-class grounds feature pitches laid north-south to avoid problems with the light from the setting sun. Derbyshire re-laid the pitch on a north-south axis over the 2009/10 winter at a cost of £100,000, ready for the 2010 season. This involved moving some of the floodlights and the electronic scoreboard to suit the new alignment.^[1]

In early 2010 a large 1800 seat stand was erected at the North (Racecourse) end of the ground.^[2] This stand was taken down in late 2015 in order to make way for a new £2.2 million 4 storey media centre, due for completion in August 2016. Some 1100 seats were immediately reinstated at the opposite (Pavilion) end of the ground, with the remaining being reinstated next to the new media centre once complete. A new marquee was also built in 2010, next to the media centre which is used for private functions and entertainment during match days.^[3]

In 2014 Derbyshire County Cricket Club signed a sponsorship agreement with Derbyshire-based apprenticeship training business Aspire Achieve Advance Ltd (3aaa). This deal resulted in the County Ground being renamed The 3aaa County Ground for the next three years.^[4][5] When spoken this is pronounced 'three-a'.^[6]

In February 2016, it was announced that the County Ground would be one of the host venues for the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup in England.^[7] Along with Bristol, Derby will host one of the semi finals of the tournament.

A view of the new stand during the Derbyshire v Australia tour match - 9 July 2010.

See also

• List of cricket grounds in England and Wales

References

Coordinates: 52°55′39.02″N 1°27′39.97″W / 52.9275056°N 1.4611028°W / 52.9275056; -1.4611028