War Memorial Athletic Ground facts for kids
The War Memorial Athletic Ground, often called the War Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. It's a special place where both cricket and football are played. It's the home ground for both Stourbridge Cricket Club and Stourbridge Football Club.
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| Address | High Street Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands |
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| Current use | Cricket and Football |
| Opened | Early 19th Century |
A special archway stands at the entrance to the sports ground. This archway is a war memorial, built to remember brave people. It was designed by Geoffrey Ince, the Stourbridge Borough Surveyor. The archway was finished and opened in December 1928.
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Cricket at the Ground
The War Memorial Ground has a long history with cricket. Many exciting matches have taken place here over the years.
International Cricket Matches
This ground has even hosted international cricket games! Two matches for the ICC Trophy were played here. In 1979, Bermuda played against Papua New Guinea. Later, in 1986, Argentina played against the East Africa team. The ground also hosted a game in 1997 between an England Cricket Board team and Ireland.
Domestic Cricket Matches
Worcestershire County Cricket Club has played many important matches here. They played 61 "first-class" games at the ground. First-class cricket is a high level of the sport, usually lasting several days. Most of these games were part of the County Championship, a big competition in England.
Only three "List A" games have been played here. List A cricket is a shorter form of the game, like one-day matches. All these games also involved Worcestershire. The county's second team continued to play at the ground until the early 1990s.
In 1911, Worcestershire had a tough game here. They lost to Lancashire by a huge 372 runs. This was their biggest defeat ever in terms of runs for a long time. In 1909, two players from Kent, Frank Woolley and Arthur Fielder, made an amazing partnership. They scored 235 runs together for the 10th wicket. This is still one of the highest 10th-wicket partnerships in the County Championship.
Cricket Records
Over the years, some impressive records have been set at this ground:
- Highest team score: Lancashire scored 592 runs for 9 wickets against Worcestershire in 1909.
- Lowest team score: Worcestershire was bowled out for just 43 runs against Kent in 1913.
- Highest individual score: Frederick Bowley scored 217 runs for Worcestershire in 1905.
- Best bowling in one innings: Reg Perks took 9 wickets for only 40 runs for Worcestershire in 1939.
Football at the Ground
The War Memorial Athletic Ground has been the home of Stourbridge F.C. since 1888. This makes it a very historic place for football fans in the area.
Exciting FA Cup Matches
The ground has seen some thrilling FA Cup matches. The FA Cup is one of the oldest and most famous football competitions in the world.
- On November 7, 2009, Stourbridge played against League One team Walsall in the first round. Stourbridge lost 0-1, but it was a big game for the club.
- On November 22, 2011, Stourbridge hosted a first-round replay against Plymouth Argyle. Stourbridge won this exciting match 2-0!
- On December 13, 2016, the ground hosted a second-round FA Cup match. Stourbridge played against Northampton Town. Stourbridge won 1-0, which was a huge moment. This win sent the club into the FA Cup third round for the very first time in its history!
