Antigua Recreation Ground is the

national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

. It is located in St. John's, on the island of

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

. The ground has been used by the

West Indies cricket team The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly Commonwealth Caribbean, English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West I ...

and

Antigua and Barbuda national football team The Antigua and Barbuda national football team is the national team of Antigua and Barbuda and is controlled by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, a member of the CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). History First int ...

. It had

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

status. It was also known as the Old Recreation Ground, or the Old Rec. against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the ''"

Blackwash The Wisden Trophy was awarded to the winner of the Test cricket series played between England cricket team, England and the West Indies cricket team, West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963 to commemorate the hundredth edition of Wisden Crick ...

"'' series of 1986 at the Recreation Ground. It was also where

Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing reco ...

twice set the record for highest individual Test innings, scoring 375 in 1994 and the current record of 400 not out in 2004, both times against England. In May 2003 the West Indies completed the highest ever successful run chase in Test Cricket at the ARG, making 418/7 against Australia in their fourth innings to win by 3 wickets. Antigua is considered to be a good wicket on which to bat – hard and dry whilst not offering much bounce or movement to bowlers. This is colloquially known as a "featherbed". After the building of the

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a stadium in North Sound, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda. It was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup where it hosted Super 8 matches. The stadium usually caters for 10,000 people, but temporary seating doubl ...

for the 2007 World Cup, no further Test cricket was expected at the Recreation Ground. However, due to the abandonment of the Second Test between West Indies v England on 13 February 2009 after just ten balls (due to an unfit outfield), an extra Test, called the Third Test, began at the Antigua Recreation Ground on 15 February 2009, despite concerns about the dilapidated condition of the stadium. Like many other cricket grounds in the Caribbean, the Antigua Recreation Ground traditionally hosts a variety of off the field entertainment, particularly music, both live and recorded, during breaks in play. For many years, an entertainer called ''

Gravy Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt an ...

'' would operate in the stands, usually in

fancy dress A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock char ...

List of five-wicket hauls

A total of 16

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...

s were taken in Test matches on the ground.

Notes

References

{{World Series Cricket Grounds Sports venues in Antigua and Barbuda Buildings and structures in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda

Sport in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda Cricket grounds in Antigua and Barbuda Test cricket grounds in the West Indies Football venues in Antigua and Barbuda Sports venues completed in 1978 1978 establishments in the British Empire

List of five-wicket hauls

See also

Notes

References