Newlands Cricket Ground

Newlands Cricket Ground (known as Six Gun Grill Newlands for sponsorship reasons) in Cape Town is a South African cricket ground. It is the home of the Cape Cobras, who play in the Sunfoil Series, Momentum 1 Day Cup and RamSlam Pro20 competitions. It is also a venue for Test matches, ODIs and T20Is. Newlands is regarded as one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, being overlooked by Table Mountain and Devil's Peak. It is close to Newlands Stadium, which is a rugby union and football venue. The cricket ground opened in 1888. In March 2019, it was announced that the owners of Newlands Cricket Ground, the Western Province Cricket Association, went into partnership with Sanlam, to form a new office-block development as part of the cricket ground.[2]

Six Gun Grill Newlands
Newlands
Ground information
LocationCape Town, South Africa
Coordinates33°58′25.32″S 18°28′8.16″E
Establishment1888
Capacity25,000[1]
TenantsWestern Province Cricket Association and Western Province Cricket Club
End names
Wynberg End
Kelvin Grove End
International information
First Test25–26 March 1889:
 South Africa v  England
Last Test3–7 January 2020:
 South Africa v  England
First ODI7 December 1992:
 South Africa v  India
Last ODI4 February 2020:
 South Africa v  England
First T20I12 September 2007:
 Australia v  Zimbabwe
Last T20I1 December 2020:
 South Africa v  England
First women's Test13–27 January 1961:
 South Africa v  England
Last women's Test25–29 February 1972:
 South Africa v  New Zealand
First WODI18 October 2009:
 South Africa v  West Indies
Last WODI23 October 2009:
 South Africa v  West Indies
First WT20I26 October 2009:
 South Africa v  West Indies
Last WT20I1 February 2019:
 South Africa v  Sri Lanka
Team information
Western Province
Cape Cobras (2005 – present)
Cape Town Blitz (2018-present)
As of 1 December 2020
Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Official name

The ground's official name is "Six Gun Grill Newlands" as of October 2020, acknowledging a commercial sponsorship arrangement with a local maker of spices and seasonings. Previously it was known as "PPC Newlands" in a deal with a cement firm, "Sahara Park Newlands" after a computer company, and "Liberty Life Newlands" when an insurance company held the naming rights. It is still often referred to by its historic name, simply "Newlands".

History

The title deed for the land currently containing the ground was granted to a brewer, Jacob Letterstedt in 1845, who then presented it to his daughter, Lydia Corrina, as a wedding present upon her marriage to the Vicomte de Montmort.

The land, partly wetland and heavily wooded, was rented to the Western Province Cricket Club in 1887 for £50, with a 25-year lease being signed in 1888 and the rental increased to £100. Each of the club's life members contributed £25 towards the costs, and a further £350 was received in donations towards the construction of a pavilion.[3]

The ground was levelled and officially opened with a two-day match between Mother Country and Colonial Born, which went on to become a regular feature. There was no scoreboard, and a pond existed behind the location of the current scoreboard.[3]

The scoreboard at Newlands cricket ground Cape Town South Africa during the match between Western Province and Eastern Province in February 1972

Before the arrival of the Australians in 1902, which included Victor Trumper, the pine trees, which extended from the "B" field along Camp Ground Road and around the pavilion, were replaced by oak trees. This is the site of the current Oaks Enclosure, one of the most popular vantage points. A then-record crowd of 10 000 arrived to see the Test.[3]

Between 1991 and 1997 numerous changes were made to the ground. Large portions of the grass embankments were replaced by pavilions increasing the seating capacity to 25,000.

In March 2019, it was announced that an office block development would be added to the historic cricket ground, as an addition to the existing stadium, making Newlands Cricket Ground a mixed-use precinct.[4] The mixed-use precinct is owned by South African investment company, Sanlam (51%) and the Western Province Cricket Association (49%).[5]

Test cricket

The ground hosted its first Test match on 24 March 1889 when England defeated South Africa by an innings and 202 runs. There have been 55 Test matches played at the ground of which South Africa has won 23, their opponents 21 and 11 which ended in a draw. The last team to beat South Africa there was England in January 2020.[6]

Limited over cricket

The first One Day International played at the ground was on 7 December 1992 when South Africa beat India by 6 wickets. As of June 2019, there have been 41 One Day Internationals played at the ground including five in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. South Africa has won 30 of its ODI games here and lost 6 (India being the most recent opposition victor in February 2018).

Newlands is one of the few cricket grounds in South Africa that tends to favour spinners. Most grounds tend to favour pacemen or batsmen, but the Western Cape has had a history of having very good spinners, a recent example being Paul Adams.

Office Block Development

In July 2016, the City of Cape Town approved the rezoning application to transform the Newlands Cricket Ground into a sustainable mixed-use sport, commercial, education and leisure-orientated precinct.[7] The cricket field and surrounding seating were specifically excluded from any form of development.[7]

In March 2019 that the Newlands Cricket Ground would become a mixed-use precinct, extending beyond a cricket stadium, thanks to a commercial development and partnership between Sanlam and the Western Province Cricket Association[5]

The first phase of the development is expected to be completed in December 2020, whilst the long-term plan for the Newlands Cricket Ground development will see further upgrades to the historic cricket ground that will take the project into 2024.[8]

According to the official website for the commercial development, JSE-listed AdvTech is the anchor tenant for the redevelopment.[9][7]

Other sports

The ground has also hosted exhibition matches in Australian rules football. In 1998, a crowd of 10,123 saw the Brisbane Lions play Fremantle.

  • Newlands overlooked by Devil's Peak
  • Newlands Ground

See also

References
  1. "Record crowds pour into Newlands".
  2. "WP Cricket Association in new R750 million Newlands development". IOL.
  3. "History of Newlands". Supersport. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  4. "Western Province Cricket plans to upgrade Newlands". ANI.
  5. "WP Cricket announces R750m Newlands upgrade". Sport24.
  6. "Cricinfo - Statsguru - Newlands, Cape Town - Tests - Match results list". stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  7. admin. "Redevelopment of Newlands underway, first phase completed by 2020 – Cape Cobras". Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  8. "Newlands Cricket Ground | Premuim Mixed Use Precinct". Newlands Cricket Ground. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  9. "Novus" (PDF). Southern Suburbs Tatler.
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