Sabina Park 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 and the home of the

Kingston Cricket Club Representing Kingston upon Thames in Surrey, the original Kingston Cricket Club was prominent in the 18th century, taking part in known matches from 1720 to 1767. According to surviving records, it had no specific venue and is known to have play ...

, and is the only

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 ...

ground in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

History

Sabina Park was originally a Pen (urban residence and adjoining land of a wealthy merchant, shopkeeper or professional), part of which was eventually sold to the

for their grounds. The entire Estate was 30 acres. The Great House at Sabina Park Pen was named Rosemount.

Sabina Park Pen

Higman and Hudson tell us that the name is a "transfer name" ie a name copied from somewhere else, in this case "the region around Rome" of

Magliano Sabina Magliano Sabina ( Maglianese: , Sabino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about north of Rome and about west of Rieti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,829 and an ar ...

. Shalman Scott, writing in the Jamaica Observer, claims that: Known ownership of Sabina Park Pen includes:

Sabina Park Cricket Ground

From 1880, Sabina Park was rented by Kingston Cricket Club from Mrs. Blakely, the then owner, for an annual fee of £27. This arrangement continued until 27 November 1890 when it was purchased for £750. Sabina Park became a

ground in 1930 when it hosted the visiting MCC team for the fourth and final Test in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

' first home series. The picturesque ground is perhaps one of the most significant in Test cricket history recording the first triple century in the game 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 ...

Andy Sandham Andrew Sandham (6 July 1890 – 20 April 1982) was an English cricketer, a right-handed batsman who played 14 Test matches between 1921 and 1930. Sandham made the first triple century in Test cricket, 325 against the West Indies in 1930, and ...

's 325 versus the

in the 1930 game. The 365 not out by Sir

Garfield Sobers Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, ...

which stood as a Test record for over 36 years is also regaled, as is

Lawrence Rowe Lawrence George Rowe (born 8 January 1949) is a former West Indian cricketer. A stylish top order batsman, he also played for Jamaica and Derbyshire in his cricketing career. Rowe was later named as one of Jamaica's top five cricketers of the 2 ...

's world record on debut 214 and 100 not out against the visiting

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 ...

in 1972.Heatley, pp. 174. Sabina Park was the venue for the abandoned test in 1998 involving the touring England team. The test was abandoned after less than an hour's play due to the pitch being deemed unfit for play. Prior to

Independence Park Independence Park may refer to: * Independence Park Botanic Gardens, a botanical garden in Baton Rouge, Louisiana * Independence Park (Charlotte, North Carolina), a park in Charlotte, North Carolina * Independence Park (Chicago), a park in Chicag ...

opening in 1962, it would also host the

Jamaica national football team The Jamaica national football team, nicknamed the "Reggae Boyz", represents Jamaica in international football. The team's first match was against Haiti in 1925. The squad is under the supervising body of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF ...

Facilities

The members pavilion lies square of the wicket on the west side. The Blue Mountains form a backdrop to the north, facing the George Headley Stand, with

Kingston Harbour Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to th ...

to the south. This view is currently blocked by the Northern Stand, built as part of the ground's redevelopment for the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

. The

George Headley George Alphonso Headley OD, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before World War II. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for the West Indies and one of the greatest crick ...

stand which dominates the south end is currently the only stand in the ground named after anyone, and has a capacity of just over 6,000. The Eastern Stands has given way to a "Party Stand" replacing the popular "Mound" stand. The general capacity of Jamaicans for excess is aptly demonstrated in the construction of the huge five-level concrete stand which hosts the outside broadcast facilities, players facilities as well as a fleet of upscale private boxes. In terms of size, Sabina Park is still relatively small. It can fit a 400-metre running track comfortably on its perimeter, but little else, and with its refurbishing, the capacity has increased to 20,000. With the commissioning of floodlights in August 2014, Sabina Park became the last of the international grounds in the Caribbean to have this facility. The ground is now capable of hosting day/night matches and this is especially useful for the

Caribbean Premier League The Caribbean Premier League (abbreviated to CPL or CPLT20) is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament held in the Caribbean. It was founded by Cricket West Indies in 2013 to replace the Caribbean Twenty20 as the premier Twenty20 competition in ...

where the

Jamaica Tallawahs The franchise Jamaica Tallawahs is the representative team of Jamaica in the Caribbean Premier League of cricket. It was one of the six teams created in 2013 for the inaugural season of the tournament. The Jamaica Tallawahs play their home gam ...

play their home games. A

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

featuring 19 famous Jamaican cricketers was constructed outside the ground in 2021.

References

External links