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Hampshire County Cricket Club was established in August 1863. Since then, Hampshire has played first-class, List A one-day, and Twenty20 matches at various venues across what is considered the historic extent of Hampshire. Unlike most professional sports in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different home grounds in various towns and cities for home matches, although the use of minor "outgrounds" has diminished since the 1980s. Particularly in the early days of county cricket where personal transportation was a rare commodity, it was an expectation that cricket would have to be taken to the large and diverse areas a county would geographically cover. The Antelope Ground hosted their inaugural home first-class match in 1864, whilst the County Ground has hosted the most home matches in both first-class and one-day cricket, when it was used as Hampshire's headquarters between 1885 and 2000. Hampshire's current headquarters, since 2001, has been at the Rose Bowl. As of 2024, Hampshire have played home fixtures at 14 venues.

History

Headquarters

Hampshire's inaugural home first-class match came against Sussex at the Antelope Ground in Southampton in 1864, a ground which had been used by various ad-hoc Hampshire representative sides since 1842. The Antelope Ground was Hampshire's first headquarters. Hampshire left the Antelope Ground in 1885, moving to their new headquarters at the County Ground in Southampton, after a lease was successfully acquired by the cricketer James Fellowes, which began an association at the County Ground which would last for 115 years. During Hampshire's tenure of the County Ground, they played 565 first-class and 209 one-day matches there. Necessitated by a need to move from the cramped conditions of the County Ground and develop a headquarters which could attract international cricket, Hampshire moved to the purpose-built Rose Bowl in the Southampton suburb of West End ahead of the 2001 season, which remains their main home venue. In addition to hosting Hampshire matches, the Rose Bowl has played host to Test, One Day International, and Twenty20 International matches for England.

Outgrounds

Hampshire have used several "outgrounds" as venues for home matches. Beginning in 1875, Hampshire played two matches in Winchester at the Green Jackets Ground and Winchester College. In 1888, Hampshire began playing first-class matches in Portsmouth at the United Services Recreation Ground, which was used by the officers and ranks of services teams based in the city. Hampshire would use the United Services Recreation Ground as an outground for over a century, playing 316 first-class and 54 one-day matches there, before matches hosted in Portsmouth were moved to the Rose Bowl upon its completion. In 1897, Hampshire began playing at Dean Park Cricket Ground in Bournemouth. With the early matches played there proving to be financially successful, the ground was afforded two Hampshire home matches per season starting in 1899, which formed part of the matches played there during the Bournemouth Cricket Week. Following changes to county borders in 1972 that transferred Bournemouth from Hampshire to Dorset, Hampshire's use of the ground diminished and it last played host to a Hampshire home fixture in 1992. During Hampshire's use of Dean Park, they played 336 first-class and 68 one-day matches there.

Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, Hampshire played one first-class match in Alton at the Municipal Ground against the touring South Africans in 1904. The following year, they played at the Officers Club Services Ground in Aldershot for the first time, which is also the home ground of the British Army cricket team; they would play five first-class matches there up to 1948. In 1906, Hampshire played at May's Bounty in Basingstoke for the first time. They played intermittently at May's Bounty until 2010, playing 46 first-class and 30 one-day matches there. Hampshire played on the Isle of Wight, which had become its own administrative county separate from Hampshire in 1890, for the first time in 1938 at the Victoria Recreation Ground in Newport, but played there for only two seasons before the Second World War. They later returned to the island in 1956, playing annually at the newly constructed J Samuel White's Ground in Cowes until 1962. Half a century would pass before Hampshire would play matches at a new outground. This would come in 2013, when the Nursery Ground, located adjacent to the Rose Bowl, hosted a first-class MCC Universities Match against Loughborough MCCU. In 2019, with the Rose Bowl hosting matches in the World Cup, Hampshire returned to the Isle of Wight to play at the Newclose County Cricket Ground near Newport; since 2019, one first-class and two one-day matches have been played there.

Grounds

As of 2024, Hampshire have played 1,494 first-class matches at fourteen home grounds, and 509 List A matches at six home grounds. They have also played 125 Twenty20 matches, all of which have been played at the Rose Bowl. The twelve grounds that Hampshire have used for home matches are listed below, with statistics complete through to the end of the 2024 season. Note: Only matches which involve Hampshire as the home team are recorded, while matches which were abandoned without a toss or a ball being bowled are excluded from the count.

Grounds

Name	Location	First-class			List A			Twenty20
		First	Last	Matches	First	Last	Matches	First	Last	Matches
Antelope Ground	Southampton	7 July 1864 v Sussex	7 August 1884 v Somerset	27	–	–	0	–	–	0
Green Jackets Ground	Winchester	only match: 1 July 1875 v Sussex	–	1	–	–	0	–	–	0
Winchester College Ground	Winchester	only match: 19 August 1875 v Kent	–	1	–	–	0	–	–	0
United Services Recreation Ground	Portsmouth	28 August 1882 v Sussex	19 July 2000 v Kent	316	22 May 1965 v Kent	23 July 2000 v Middlesex	54	–	–	0
County Ground	Southampton	15 June 1885 v Marylebone Cricket Club	13 September 2000 v Yorkshire	565	1 May 1965 v Norfolk	17 September 2000 v Nottinghamshire	207	–	–	0
Dean Park	Bournemouth	1 July 1897 v Gentlemen of Philadelphia	18 August 1992 v Middlesex	336	22 May 1963 v Derbyshire	16 August 1992 v Northamptonshire	68	–	–	0
Municipal Ground	Alton	only match: 7 July 1904 v South Africans	–	1	–	–	0	–	–	0
Officers Club Services Ground	Aldershot	25 May 1905 v Surrey	16 June 1948 v Combined Services	5	–	–	0	–	–	0
May's Bounty	Basingstoke	21 May 1906 v Warwickshire	3 August 2010 v Durham	46	29 April 1967 v Lincolnshire	18 June 2000 v Durham	30	–	–	0
Victoria Recreation Ground	Newport	20 August 1938 v Northamptonshire	24 June 1939 v Middlesex	2	–	–	0	–	–	0
J Samuel White's Ground	Cowes	26 May 1956 v Worcestershire	26 May 1962 v Worcestershire	7	–	–	0	–	–	0
Rose Bowl	West End	9 May 2001 v Worcestershire	still in use	185	4 May 2001 v Surrey	still in use	148	13 June 2003 v Sussex	still in use	125
Nursery Ground	West End	only match: 17 April 2013 v Loughborough MCCU	–	1	–	–	0	–	–	0
Newclose County Cricket Ground	Newport	only match: 20 May 2019 v Nottinghamshire	–	1	9 August 2022 v Northamptonshire	22 August 2023 v Kent	2	–	–	0

References

Explanatory notes

1. First-class cricket has been played in Hampshire since 1772. This list only covers the grounds used by Hampshire County Cricket Club since 1864, and not those used by ad-hoc Hampshire representative sides prior to that date.
2. Hampshire also played a one-day match at Dean Park as the away team against Dorset in the 1998 NatWest Trophy.

Citations

1. Collis, Sam (9 October 2006). "A brief history of Hampshire". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
2. Glover, Andrew (10 April 2013). "Remembering Yorkshire County Cricket Club's out grounds". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
3. Stockton, Edward (13 June 2006). "Out of town but not out of favour". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
4. ^ Allen, Dave (4 December 2019). "From The Archive: Hampshire's Outgrounds". www.utilitabowl.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
5. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 9.
6. "Wisden – Other deaths in 1916". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
7. Laven, Kate. "Hampshire bids farewell to Northlands Road". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
8. "First-Class Matches played on County Ground, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
9. "List A Matches played on County Ground, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
10. Chevallier 2015, p. 471.
11. ^ "The Rose Bowl". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
12. "Test Matches played on The Rose Bowl, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
13. "ODI Matches played on The Rose Bowl, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
14. "International Twenty20 Matches played on The Rose Bowl, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
15. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, pp. 11, 14.
16. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 14.
17. ^ Allen, Dave (20 July 2000). "United Services Portsmouth – The Hampshire Years 1888–2000". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
18. ^ "First-Class Matches played on United Services Recreation Ground, Portsmouth". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
19. ^ "List A Matches played on United Services Recreation Ground, Portsmouth". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
20. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 19.
21. A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Bournemouth, Poole and District. London: Ward, Lock & Co. 1933. p. 11. OCLC 35284946.
22. O’Hara, Liam. "Field of Dreams – Dean Park Ground". Dorset Life (April 2016 ed.). Corfe Castle. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016.
23. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Dean Park, Bournemouth". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
24. ^ "List A Matches played on Dean Park, Bournemouth". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
25. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 23.
26. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 22.
27. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Officers Club Services Ground, Aldershot". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
28. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 24.
29. ^ "First-Class Matches played on May's Bounty, Basingstoke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
30. ^ "List A Matches played on May's Bounty, Basingstoke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
31. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 26–27.
32. Cricket Grounds of Hampshire 1988, p. 27.
33. ^ "First-Class Matches played on The Rose Bowl (Nursery), Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
34. Tennant, Ivo (26 November 2018). "Hampshire to play Championship game on Isle of Wight in 2019". www.thecricketer.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
35. ^ "First-Class Matches played on Newclose County Cricket Ground, Newport". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
36. ^ "List A Matches played on Newclose County Cricket Ground, Newport". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
37. "Antelope Ground, Southampton". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
38. "First-Class Matches played on Antelope Ground, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
39. "Green Jackets Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
40. "First-Class Matches played on Green Jackets Ground, Winchester". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
41. "Winchester College Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
42. "First-Class Matches played on Winchester College Ground, Winchester". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
43. "United Services Recreation Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
44. "County Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
45. "First-Class Matches played on County Ground, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
46. "List A Matches played on County Ground, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
47. "Dean Park". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
48. "Dorset v Hampshire, National Westminster Bank Trophy 1998 (1st Round)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
49. "Municipal Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
50. "First-Class Matches played on Anstey Park, Alton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
51. "Officers Club Services Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
52. "May's Bounty". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
53. "Victoria Recreation Ground, Newport". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
54. "First-Class Matches played on Victoria Recreation Ground, Newport". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
55. "J Samuel White's Ground". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
56. "First-Class Matches played on J Samuel White's Ground, Cowes". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
57. "First-Class Matches played on Rose Bowl, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
58. "List A Matches played on Rose Bowl, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
59. "Twenty20 Matches played on Rose Bowl, Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
60. "Rose Bowl (Nursery), Southampton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
61. "Newclose County Cricket Ground, Newport". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 May 2019.

Works cited

• Chevallier, Hugh (2015). "England v Sri Lanka". In Berry, Scyld; Booth, Lawrence (eds.). The Shorter Wisden 2011–2015. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472927330.
• Cricket Grounds of Hampshire. Nottingham: ACS. 1988. OCLC 20758890.

• Hampshire County Cricket Club
• Cricket grounds in Hampshire
• Lists of English and Welsh county cricket grounds
• Hampshire-related lists