Queen's Park, Chesterfield

Queen's Park is a county cricket ground located in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England and lies within a park in the centre of the town established for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. It has a small pavilion and is surrounded by mature trees.[1]

Queen's Park
Ground information
LocationChesterfield
Establishment1898
Capacity7,000
End names
Lake End
Pavilion End
International information
First WODI30 June 1973:
 International XI v  New Zealand
Last WODI2 July 2011:
 Australia v  India
Team information
Derbyshire (1898–1998, 2006–present)
As of 6 September 2020
Source: Cricinfo

The park is the home of Chesterfield CC and also played home to Derbyshire CCC for 100 years between 1898 and 1998, before the county team returned in 2006 after an 8-year absence.[2] It was at one time surrounded by a banked cycle track. It is a small ground and slow to dry after rain, which can provide a green wicket. The size of the ground however, lends itself to rapid scoring on good wickets.[citation needed]

History

edit

In 1886, the then Mayor of Chesterfield proposed that a public park be created to mark Queen Victoria's upcoming golden jubilee in 1887. However, it took the Local Government Board a further six years to agree on costs and the park was eventually opened to the public on 2 August 1893.[3] Chesterfield Cricket Club was granted exclusive use of the ground in February 1894, and the first game was played there on 5 May 1894.[4]

There was an unusual incident during the County Championship match between Derbyshire and Yorkshire in mid-1946. After two overs were bowled in the Derbyshire first innings, Yorkshire captain Len Hutton asked for the length of the pitch to be measured. It was found to be 24 yards long, instead of the regulation 22 yards. The pitch was correctly reset, and the game continued.[5]

The return of county cricket

edit
 
The pavilion

After a century of first-class cricket at Chesterfield between 1898 and 1998, the next seven seasons saw Derbyshire play no first-class or List A matches on the ground, although the Marylebone Cricket Club played a first class match against the touring Sri Lanka team in 2002.[6]

However, following a multimillion-pound refurbishment and upgrade of the entire park including the cricketing facilities,[7] Derbyshire returned by taking on Worcestershire in a County Championship Division Two game between 26 and 29 July. The game ended in a draw, with Australian Marcus North avoiding defeat for the home side by scoring 161 runs, including 24 boundaries. Attendances for all four days was high, and saw Derbyshire announce a four-year deal to play County Cricket at the ground soon after the game.[8]

The Sunday then saw a visit from a star-studded Surrey Brown Caps side and despite a heavy loss, a large crowd were treated to some entertainment by Surrey batsman Ali Brown who scored 106 from just 68 deliveries.[9]

2007 festival

edit

The 2007 festival was scheduled to run from 25 to 29 July and would have consisted of a four-day County Championship game against Somerset and the Pro40 opener against Kent. Both of these matches were moved to Derbyshire's regular ground in Derby due to the Queen's Park ground being waterlogged. Instead, the festival began with the Pro40 game against Durham on 4 September[10] and saw Durham win convincingly by seven wickets.[11] The festival continued with the County Championship game against Nottinghamshire from 6 to 9 September, where Nottinghamshire won by an innings and six runs inside three days. Nottinghamshire skipper Stephen Fleming helped the visitors to the win, scoring 243 runs, including 40 fours.[12]

First-class records at Queen's Park

edit

Notation

edit
Team notation
  • 300-3 indicates that a team scored 300 runs for three wickets and the innings was closed, either due to a successful run chase or if no playing time remained.
  • 300-3d indicates that a team scored 300 runs for three wickets, and declared its innings closed.
  • 300 indicates that a team scored 300 runs and was all out.
Batting notation
  • 100 indicates that a batsman scored 100 runs and was out.
  • 100* indicates that a batsman scored 100 runs and was not out.
  • 100* against a partnership means that the two batsmen added 100 runs to the team's total, and neither of them was out.
Bowling notation
  • 5-100 indicates that a bowler captured 5 wickets while conceding 100 runs.

Team scoring records

edit

Batting records

edit
Highest individual score
Runs Player Opponent Season
343* Percy Perrin (Essex) v. Derbyshire 1904
Source: CricketArchive.com. Last updated: 6 October 2008.
Highest partnership
Runs Team Players Opposition Season
554 (1st wicket) Yorkshire Jack Brown (300) John Tunnicliffe (243) v. Derbyshire 1898
Source: CricketArchive.com. Last updated: 6 October 2008.

Bowling records

edit
  • Highest attendance – 14,000 v. Yorkshire, 1948[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Grounds – Queen's Park, Chesterfield". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Derbyshire CCC – Queen's Park at Chesterfield". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  3. ^ "A History of Queens Park". Chesterfield Borough Council. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  4. ^ "A Short History of Chesterfield Cricket Club". Chesterfield Borough Council. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  5. ^ Brodribb, Gerald (1995). Next Man In: A Survey of Cricket Laws and Customs (New 2nd Revised ed.). London: Souvenir Press. ISBN 978-0-285-63294-3.
  6. ^ "First-class matches played on Queen's Park, Chesterfield". Cricket Archive. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Queen's Park Chesterfield at Queen's Park". Visit Chesterfield. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  8. ^ "Derbyshire v Worcestershire at Chesterfield on 26th to 29th July". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Derbyshire v Surrey at Chesterfield on 30th July 2006". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 30 July 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  10. ^ "Derbyshire reschedule Chesterfield festival". ESPNcricinfo. 25 July 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  11. ^ "Derbyshire v Durham at Chesterfield on 4 September". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire at Chesterfield on 6 to 8 September". Derbyshire County Cricket Club. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
edit

53°13′58″N 1°25′57″W / 53.23278°N 1.43250°W / 53.23278; -1.43250