Somewhere sporty: the Oval • The Oval is a cricket ground (I'm sorry, but some of my readers need to know that). • The Oval was built in the 1840s on the site of a market garden belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall. • The cricket ground at the Oval is circular, although the area of land it's built on is indeed an ellipse. • The Oval is the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club, even though Kennington hasn't been part of Surrey since 1889. • The first ever football FA Cup Final was held at The Oval in 1872 (Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers one nil). • The first ever international test match on English soil was played at The Oval. We beat Australia by five wickets. • Two years later the Aussies thrashed us at the Oval (by 7 runs) and "The Ashes" were born. • The Oval website still proudly boasts that this is "WHERE THE ASHES WERE WON" in 2005, despite the fact that we've lost them (miserably) since. • The Oval is dominated to the north by giant gasholders. In their shadow stands a pink pub called The Cricketers, which is now extremely closed. [photo] • The old stands at the Vauxhall End were knocked down in 2002 and replaced by a big curvy four-tier grandstand. [photo] This £25m development is screened from the outside by a plant-covered wall. • The Oval is currently known as The Brit Oval, after a sponsored brand of insurance you'd never have heard of otherwise. • "Brit Insurance's vision is to build on its position as a leading and profitable UK-domiciled international general insurance and reinsurance group that improves the economic well-being and quality of life of all its stakeholders." (No, I can't spot the cricketing connection either) • The Brit Oval is home not just to a cricket ground but also to the Brit Oval Shop, the Brit Oval Conference Centre and the Brit Oval Health and Fitness Centre. • You can watch all the cricket that isn't being played at The Oval at the moment on this webcam. by tube: Oval, Vauxhall; by bus: 36, 185, 436
• The Oval is a cricket ground (I'm sorry, but some of my readers need to know that).
• The Oval is dominated to the north by giant gasholders. In their shadow stands a pink pub called The Cricketers, which is now extremely closed. [photo]
