United Services Recreation Ground facts for kids
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| Ground information | |||||
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| Location | Portsmouth, Hampshire | ||||
| Coordinates | 50°47′45″N 1°05′50″W / 50.7959°N 1.0973°W | ||||
| Establishment | c. 1852 | ||||
| Capacity | 8,000 | ||||
| End names | |||||
| Railway End Officer's Club End |
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| Team information | |||||
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| As of 28 December 2011 Source: Ground profile |
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The United Services Recreation Ground is a famous sports field in Portsmouth, England. It's a place where many different sports have been played, like cricket, rugby, and hockey. The ground is owned by The Crown.
For a long time, from 1882 to 2000, it was one of the main home grounds for Hampshire County Cricket Club. Today, the United Services Portsmouth Cricket Club plays here. It's also a big rugby venue for the United Services Portsmouth Rugby Football Club, who have been playing there since 1882. The Royal Navy Rugby Union also uses this ground for their games. The two ends of the ground are called the Railway End and the Officer's Club End.
Contents
History of the Sports Ground
How the Ground Started
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The area where the ground now stands was once a sea inlet in the 1600s. A dam was built across it, which let sea water in at high tide. When the tide went out, the dam closed, and the water flowed under a watermill called King's Mill. This mill helped make grain. Over time, the land was slowly reclaimed from the sea.
People have played cricket at the United Services Recreation Ground since 1852. The ground became what it is today after many old defense buildings in the city were taken down in the 1870s.
The first big cricket match, called a first-class game, happened here on August 17, 1882. The touring Australians played against a team from Cambridge University. Just a week later, Hampshire played their first match here against Sussex.
In 1893, the Australians played here again and set a new record for the highest score in a first-class innings, making 843 runs!
A local football club, Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C., also played their home games here from 1894. This club later led to the creation of the famous Portsmouth F.C..
Hampshire Cricket's Home Ground
Hampshire became a top-level cricket county again in 1895. They started playing two to three matches at the ground each season. In 1897, Arthur Webb scored Hampshire's first ever century (100 runs) at the ground. A match in 1898 against Surrey drew a big crowd of about 5,000 people.
Because of the ground's connection to the navy, players from the armed services sometimes joined the Hampshire team. The early 1900s were tough for Hampshire, but they started winning more games after 1907. This regular schedule of matches continued until World War I.
After the war, Hampshire continued to play many matches here each season. In 1920, Alex Bowell and George Brown made Hampshire's first ever 200-run opening partnership. With strong players like Alec Kennedy and Jack Newman, Hampshire had a great season in 1921, winning all three matches at the ground.
Later in the 1920s, the Royal Navy played their first big cricket match here against the touring New Zealanders. In 1925, Stuart Boyes took the first hat trick (three wickets in a row) at the ground. Hampshire kept playing here throughout the 1930s. In 1937, Gerry Hill and Donald Walker set a record partnership of 235 runs for the fifth wicket, which still stands today.
World War II stopped county cricket until 1946. During the war, Portsmouth was heavily bombed.
After World War II
Big cricket matches returned to the ground after the war. In 1948, a record 10,000 people came to watch Hampshire play Sussex. Hampshire continued to play four matches here each season in the 1950s.
Under leaders like Desmond Eagar and Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, Hampshire became a very strong team. With great batters like Roy Marshall and Jimmy Gray, and bowlers like Derek Shackleton, Hampshire won the County Championship for the first time in 1961. They won four of their five matches at this ground that season.
A new type of cricket, called List A cricket, started in 1963. The ground held its first List A match in 1965. Over the years, two or three List A matches were played here each season. In 1969, 8,000 fans watched Hampshire play Essex.
In 1971, a match between Hampshire and the touring Pakistanis saw protests by Bangladeshis about the war happening in their home country. Hampshire won the County Championship again in 1973.
By the end of the 1970s, fewer big matches were held here. There were also some problems at the ground. In 1975, trees at one end were removed, which made it hard for batters to see. New screens had to be bought for matches to return in 1976. That year, vandals even attacked the pitch before a match, but the game still went on!
Later Years and Changes
Over time, the number of Hampshire matches played at the ground decreased. By 1980, only two first-class matches were held each season.
In 1990, there were two amazing matches. Hampshire beat Derbyshire in a one-day game, bowling them out for just 61 runs. This is still one of Hampshire's lowest scores against an opponent. In the longer County Championship match, Malcolm Marshall took 7 wickets in just 51 balls to help Hampshire win. The local newspapers called it Marshall's "finest hour."
Hampshire continued to use the ground through most of the 1990s. In 1993, Hampshire and Sussex scored a combined 1,457 runs, a record for the ground. In 1994, Hampshire made their fourth highest score here, 512 runs against Durham.
However, in 1999, Hampshire didn't play at the ground because of concerns about the pitch quality. They returned in 2000 for two final first-class matches. In the last first-class game, Rahul Dravid scored the final century at the ground for Kent. Hampshire lost their final first-class match here.
Their very last game at the ground was a few days later, a List A match against Middlesex. Hampshire lost this game too. Because of ongoing pitch problems and Hampshire's move to their new Rose Bowl ground, these were the last times Hampshire played at the United Services Recreation Ground.
Hampshire played 314 first-class matches here, winning 104 of them. They also played 54 List A matches at the ground.
Ground Records
Here are some of the highest and lowest scores, and best performances at the United Services Recreation Ground:
First-class Matches
- Highest team score: 843 by Australians against Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present in 1893.
- Lowest team score: 35 by Hampshire against Middlesex in 1922.
- Highest individual score: 302 not out by Percy Holmes for Yorkshire against Hampshire in 1920.
- Best bowling in one innings: 9 wickets for 30 runs by Derek Shackleton for Hampshire against Warwickshire in 1960.
- Best bowling in a match: 13 wickets for 86 runs by Malcolm Heath for Hampshire against Sussex in 1958.
List A Matches
- Highest team score: 313 for 2 wickets (in 50 overs) by Hampshire against Sussex in 1993.
- Lowest team score: 61 (in 19.1 overs) by Derbyshire against Hampshire in 1990.
- Highest individual score: 166 not out by Trevor Jesty for Hampshire against Surrey in 1983.
- Best bowling in one innings: 6 wickets for 22 runs by Raymond Bailey for Northamptonshire against Hampshire in 1972.
