The Oval

For the football ground in Belfast, see The Oval (Belfast).

File:OCS Stand from the Bedser Stand at the Oval.JPG

The Oval in 2005

Kennington Oval, generally known as The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, south London. It was opened in 1845 by the Montpelier Cricket Club on part of Kennington Common, which had itself hosted top-class cricket since 1724. Soon afterwards, it became the home ground of the Surrey team.

The Oval stages international and county cricket on a regular basis. The first-ever Test match in England was played at The Oval in September 1880. In 1882, the ground staged the famous "Ashes Match". England play at least one Test at The Oval every year, traditionally the last of the season, in addition to other international matches. The ground is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and Surrey County Cricket Club is a long-term tenant there. Surrey use The Oval for most of their home matches in the County Championship and other domestic competitions. The ground has a seating capacity of 27,500.

The Oval Media

• TheOvalCricketGroundPitchDimensions.svg

  Diagram of The Oval Cricket Ground showing the pitch and stands. Distances from the centre of the pitch to the boundary shown in metres. Derived from Google Earth screenshot.

• The Oval Clock.jpg

  The clock by the Members' entrance to the pavilion

• Cricket, WG Grace, 1891- Kennington Oval.jpg

  The Kennington Oval; scanned image from "Cricket", by WG Grace, 1891.

• OCS Stand (Surrey v Yorkshire in foreground).JPG

  Surrey v Yorkshire (OCS stand in background)

• Gasholders at the Oval.JPG

  The famous gasholders at the Oval, as photographed by self on 17 April 2005. The London Eye is visible to the left of the taller gasholder.

• Northern line flag box.svg

  Northern line flag box. Based on

• Northern line flag box.png.
• Flag box for the London Underground Victoria line.