Sabina Park is a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

ground and the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

ground in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

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 Kingston Cricket Club 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 state that the name is a "transfer name", i.e., a name copied from somewhere else, in this case "the region around Rome" of Magliano Sabina. 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 an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

' 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's Andy Sandham's 325 versus the

in the 1930 game. The 365 not out by Sir

Garfield Sobers The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, NH, AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a Barbadian born former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowle ...

which stood as a Test record for over 36 years is also regaled, as is Lawrence Rowe's world record on debut 214 and 100 not out against the visiting

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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 opening in 1962, it would also host the

Jamaica national football team The Jamaica national football team, nicknamed the "''Reggae Boyz''", represents Jamaica in men's international Association football, football. The team's first match was against Haiti national football team, Haiti in 1925. The squad is under ...

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 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 2 ...

. The

George Headley George Alphonso Headley Order of Distinction, OD, Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (30 May 1909 – 30 November 1983) was a Jamaican cricketer who played 22 Test cricket, Test matches, mostly before World War II. Co ...

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 where the Jamaica Tallawahs play their home games. A

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, 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'' ...

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

References

External links