The Salem Oval is a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

ground located in the village of Salem, Montserrat. The ground was constructed following the destruction of Montserrat's main cricket ground in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

, which was destroyed in the Soufrière Hills eruption of 1997.

History

The ground was completed by the year 2000, with the first match held at the ground seeing Montserrat play a minor match against

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two ...

. The following year, the touring

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

played at the ground against the

University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...

, with half the islands population reportedly attending. This match did not hold first-class status, it was not until 2003 that first-class cricket returned to Montserrat

Sturge Park Sturge Park was a cricket ground located on five acres of land adjacent to Plymouth, Montserrat. The ground, used by the Montserrat cricket team and infrequently by the Leeward Islands cricket team, was destroyed in the Soufrière Hills volcani ...

previously held six first-class and five

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

matches. when the Leeward Islands played

West Indies B West Indies B is a List A cricket team that participates in the West Indian domestic List A tournament and was formerly also a first-class cricket team that participated in the West Indian domestic First Class competition from the 2000–01 se ...

in the 2002/03 Carib Beer Cup. The ground has held two more first-class matches for the Leeward Islands, one in the 2004/05 Carib Beer Cup against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

and another in the 2007/08 Carib Beer Cup against

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

. Seven first-class

centuries A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

have been scored there, while five

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...

s have been taken. Montserrat continue to play minor matches there, with the ground serving as their main home ground.

Records

First-class

* Highest team total: 579 all out by

v Leeward Islands, 2004/05 * Lowest team total: 191 all out by

v Leeward Islands, 2002/03 * Highest individual innings: 265 by

Daren Ganga Daren Ganga (born 14 January 1979) is a former Trinidadian cricketer. He was a right-handed top order batsman and part-time right-arm offbreak bowler. After debuting as a 19-year-old he has found himself in and out of the West Indian cricket t ...

for Trinidad and Tobago v Leeward Islands, 2004/05 * Best bowling in an innings: 6/153 by

Omari Banks Omari Ahmed Clement Banks (born 17 July 1982) is an Anguillan musician and former cricketer, who appeared in 10 Test matches for the West Indies, as well as domestic matches for the Leeward Islands. In 2011, Banks began to pursue his musical ca ...

for Leeward Islands v Trinidad and Tobago, 2004/05

Notes and references

External links

Salem Oval
at CricketArchive

at

ESPNcricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

{{coord, 16.7477, -62.2224, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Cricket grounds in Montserrat Salem, Montserrat

History

Records

First-class

See also

Notes and references

External links