Racecourse Ground, Hereford
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The Racecourse Ground is a
cricket ground 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 (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the ...
in
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
. The ground is located inside Hereford Racecourse and is the only remaining former
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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
venue in England which lies inside a racecourse. It played host to first-class and
List A cricket List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the num ...
matches for
Worcestershire County Cricket Club Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Worcestershire. Its Vitality Blast T20 team has been rebranded ...
between 1919 and 1988, and minor counties matches for
Herefordshire County Cricket Club Herefordshire County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Herefordshire. The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Champion ...
from 1992 to 1996.


History

The cricket ground lies within Hereford Racecourse and was established in 1909. It first held a
first-class match 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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
ten years later when
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
played HK Foster's XI in 1919, played as part of the county's first-class programme after they decided not to enter the
County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
immediately after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Worcestershire's
Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Ameri ...
claimed 12 wickets in the match for 122 runs. The ground staged a further first-class match in 1919, when the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team visited to play HK Foster's XI, with the Australians
Johnny Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...
scoring 138 runs in the Australian Imperial Forces first innings of 405 all out. Worcestershire returned to ground following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, playing a first-class match against the
Combined Services The Combined Services cricket team represents the British Armed Forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lo ...
in 1947; Worcestershire's
Roly Jenkins Roly Jenkins (24 November 1918 – 22 July 1995) was an English cricketer from the period immediately after World War II, almost exclusively for Worcestershire County Cricket Club as a leg spinner. Along with Doug Wright and Eric Hollies, Jenki ...
and
Dick Howorth Richard Howorth (26 April 1909 – 2 April 1980) was an English cricketer who played as an all-rounder for Worcestershire County Cricket Club between 1933 and 1951. Chiefly remembered as a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Howorth also occasionall ...
each taking a
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 batter. Taking ...
in the Combined Services first innings. It would be 34 years before Worcestershire returned to using the Racecourse Ground as an outground, with it hosting one
County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...
match each in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Worcestershire played four List A one-day matches at the ground between 1983 and 1987 in the John Player Special League and Refuge Assurance League. The ground was selected as one of the host venues for the
1986 ICC Trophy The 1986 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 11 June and 7 July 1986. It was the third ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, and as with the previous two tournaments, games between the 16 participating teams we ...
, a
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
qualifying competition for
associate members Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japanes ...
of the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
. It hosted one game between
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. Following Durham's elevation to first-class status in 1991,
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
replaced them in the
Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...
for 1992. Between 1992 and 1996, Herefordshire played six Minor Counties Championship matches at the ground, in addition to one match in the 1993
MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...
. County matches typically attracted around 4,000 people, with a Refuge Assurance League match between Worcestershire and
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
which featured
Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one of ...
and
Tim Curtis Timothy Stephen Curtis (born 15 January 1960) is a former England cricketer, English teacher and Director of Sport at RGS Worcester. He retired from teaching in 2016. A right-handed batsman born at Chislehurst in Kent, Curtis was a prolific sco ...
seeing 7,500 attend. The
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
, which was built in 1889, is located some way from the playing surface, which is accessed across the track itself. As such, players watch matches from a tent, which adjoined the scorers' and press tent in the south-west of the ground. On major matchdays the north-west of the ground was given to match sponsors and accommodated tents and a
double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They app ...
. There are two scoreboards at the ground; a permanent one adjoining the main pavilion and a temporary scoreboard closer to the playing area. Following the closure of
Derby Racecourse Derby Racecourse is a former horse racing venue in Derby, England, from 1848 to 1939. It was preceded by two earlier courses, at different locations. Earlier courses It is unknown exactly when horse racing first started in Derby, although a ...
in 1939, the Racecourse Ground became the only first-class ground in England to enclosed by a racecourse.


Records


First-class

* Highest team total: 405 all out by Australian Imperial Forces v HK Foster's XI, 1919 * Lowest team total: 84 all out by
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
v
Combined Services The Combined Services cricket team represents the British Armed Forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lo ...
, 1947 * Highest individual innings: 138
not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...
by
Johnny Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...
for Australian Imperial Forces v HK Foster's XI, 1919 * Best bowling in an innings: 6-50 by
Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Ameri ...
for HK Foster's XI v Worcestershire, 1919 * Best bowling in a match: 12-122 by Humphrey Gilbert, as above


List A

* Highest team total: 233 for 6 by Worcestershire v
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, 1986 * Lowest team total: 154 all out by Surrey v Worcestershire, 1987 * Highest individual innings: 108 by Jack Russell for Gloucestershire v Worcestershire, 1986 * Best bowling in an innings: 3-23 by Paul Pridgeon for Worcestershire v Gloucestershire, 1986


References


External links


Racecourse Ground
at
ESPNcricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
{{coord, 52.0683, -2.7286, type:landmark_region:UK, display=title Hereford Cricket grounds in Herefordshire Sports venues completed in 1909 1909 establishments in England Worcestershire County Cricket Club Herefordshire County Cricket Club