Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in North Sound,

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 ...

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 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 doubled its capacity for the 2007 World Cup. The stadium is named after former West Indies cricket captain

Viv Richards Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...

Location

The stadium is about 10–20 minutes' drive from the capital city, St. John's, and the country's

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

. The venue cost approximately US$60 million to build, with the majority of the funds coming from a Chinese Government grant. The first Test match staged on the ground began on 30 May 2008 when the West Indies hosted Australia, with the match ending in a draw.

Facilities

The stadium constitutes two main stands: the Northern Stand and the five-story South Stand. In 2008, the roof of the South Stand was damaged by high winds. Other facilities include a practice pitch for the various cricket teams, training infrastructure and a media centre. Sir Viv Richards Stadium is one of the few state-of-the-art venues that encompass underground passageways for the cricket teams to move about in. Prior to the start of the first Test 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 ...

on 13 April 2015, the north and south ends were renamed for two former West Indies cricketers, Sir Curtly Ambrose and Sir Andy Roberts.

Outfield controversy

The ground's second Test match against England on 13 February 2009 was abandoned after only ten balls due to the outfield's dangerous condition. The groundstaff had applied extra layers of sand after recent heavy rain, and again after a brief shower the morning of the match; this resulted in West Indian bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards being unable to gain any traction when running in. The sandy nature of the outfield had earnt the ground the nickname of 'Antigua's 366th beach' in the buildup to the game. Following the abandonment, inquiries were held by the

WICB WICB (91.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Ithaca, New York, United States. Established in 1947, the station is owned by Ithaca College. WICB broadcasts an alternative music format to the greater Ithaca area. Along with alternative m ...

and the ICC: these caused great embarrassment for West Indies cricket. The ICC subsequently ordered that the ground be suspended from staging any international matches for twelve months, and an official warning was issued to the WICB.

List of five wicket hauls

Tests

Eight five wicket hauls in Test matches have been taken at the venue.

One Day Internationals

One five wicket haul in One-Day Internationals has been taken at the venue.

Twenty20 Internationals

One five wicket haul in Twenty20 Internationals has been taken at the venue.

References

External links

Cricinfo
{{coord, 17, 6, 11.79, N, 61, 47, 5.46, W, type:landmark, display=title Sports venues in Antigua and Barbuda Saint George Parish, Antigua and Barbuda Cricket grounds in Antigua and Barbuda Football venues in Antigua and Barbuda Test cricket grounds in the West Indies Sports venues completed in 2006 2006 establishments in Antigua and Barbuda Chinese foreign aid 2007 Cricket World Cup stadiums