The Peshawar Club Ground is a
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
ground in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, used for one Test match between
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in February 1955. It staged
first class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
matches from 1938 to 1987.
History of matches
The history of first class cricket at the Peshawar Club Ground began with the
North West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...
in the Indian
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...
. With the separation of Pakistan in 1949, the NWFP team was admitted into the
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...
, and again played at Peshawar until they were replaced in the Trophy by a
Peshawar city team in 1956. Before that, in February 1955, Pakistan had entertained India for the only Test match to be played here. In a drawn four-day encounter,
Polly Umrigar
Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar (28 March 1926 – 7 November 2006) was an Indian cricketer. He played in Indian cricket team (1948- 1962) and played first-class cricket for Bombay and Gujarat. Umrigar played mainly as a middle-order batsman ...
hit a century for India before he was run out.
The following year,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
played a
Governor-General of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islami ...
's XI here, while a full-strength Pakistan side beat a non-Test touring team from
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
. For Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches, the Peshawar team switched between this ground and the
Peshawar Gymkhana Ground
Peshawar Gymkhana Ground is a Club cricket ground located in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Overview and history
Peshawar Gymkhana Ground is located adjacent to Arab Niaz Stadium in the vicinity of Shahi Bagh ...
until 1971. In 1957, Peshawar off spinner
Haseeb Ahsan
Haseeb Ahsan ( ur, حسيب احسن; 15 July 1939 – 8 March 2013) was a Pakistani cricketer who played 12 Test matches for Pakistan between 1958 and 1962. He was born in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A right-arm off spinner, he took 27 wic ...
achieved the best figures on the ground with 13 for 47 in a match against
Punjab B.
Touring teams occasionally visited the ground, though no more Test matches were played. In 1967, an
MCC Under-25 side played a Pakistan North Zone team, a match which is notable for
Mike Brearley
John Michael Brearley (born 28 April 1942) is a retired English first-class cricketer who captained Cambridge University, Middlesex, and England.
He captained the international side in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 18 and losing only 4. ...
's highest first class score. The visitors' captain made 312
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
in a day as MCC piled up 514 for four against opposition including the later Test captain
Intikhab Alam
Intikhab Alam Khan (Urdu:) (born 28 December 1941) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 47 Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1959 to 1977. He captained Pakistan in 17 Tests between 1969 and 1975. He a ...
, declared, then won by an innings and 139 runs on the third day. He shared double century stands with
Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott (born 9 April 1946) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). Knott is widely regarded as one of the most eccentric characters in cricket and as o ...
and
Alan Ormrod
Joseph Alan Ormrod (born 22 December 1942) is a former English first-class cricketer who played for Worcestershire and Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropo ...
(records for the first and fifth wickets at the ground), and his innings remains the highest on the ground, despite
Zakir Butt Zakir may refer to:
People
* Zakir Hasan (cricketer, born 1972), a Bangladeshi cricketer
* Zakir Hasan (cricketer, born 1998), a Bangladeshi cricketer
* Zakir Hossain, Bangladeshi cricketer
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Indian film actor
* Zakir Hussain ...
's 290 for
Pakistan Railways
Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...
six years later. Brearley was dropped several times after reaching his double-century and there appears to have been some suggestion that at some stage the scorers may have got Brearley and his batting partner Ormrod mixed up.
Matches by touring teams became more common in the 1970s, with
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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(then not a Test nation) all playing a team at this ground. Most matches were drawn, though England won by the use of two declarations, while New Zealand lost against a team with nine players who would appear in the Test series against them. An International XI captained by
Vanburn Holder
Vanburn Alonzo Holder (born 10 October 1945) is a Barbadian former first-class cricketer who played in 40 Test matches and 12 One Day Internationals for the West Indies cricket team between 1969 and 1979. A fast-medium bowler, he bowled along ...
also beat a near full-strength Pakistan here in 1976 in a 40-over match.
By November 1984, the new
Arbab Niaz Stadium
Arbab Niaz Stadium ( ur, ارباب نیاز سٹیڈیم), formerly known as Shahi Bagh Stadium ( ur, شاہی باغ سٹیڈیم), is a cricket stadium in Peshawar, Pakistan and home ground of Peshawar Zalmi. It is owned by Khyber Pakhtunkh ...
in Peshawar was ready, and the Club Ground was disused. It hosted Peshawar for the last time in their
1986–87 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy campaign, where they played eight home matches, and since then the Arbab Niaz has taken over as Peshawar's international and first class ground of choice.
International centuries
A single Test century was scored at the venue.
International five-wicket hauls
Two five-wicket hauls in Test matches were taken at the venue.
See also
*
List of Test cricket grounds
One hundred and twenty-one grounds have hosted Test cricket since the first officially recognised Test match between Australia and England in Melbourne in March 1877. The grounds are listed in the order in which they were first used as a venue f ...
*
One-Test wonder
In cricket, a one-Test wonder is usually a cricketer who is only selected for one Test match during his career and never represents his country again. This is not necessarily due to a poor performance and can be for numerous reasons, such as injur ...
*
1938–39 Ranji Trophy
References
External links
First-Class Matches played on Peshawar Club Ground (62)
{{coord missing, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Test cricket grounds in Pakistan
Football venues in Pakistan
Stadiums in Pakistan
Cricket grounds in Pakistan
Sport in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Sport in Peshawar