World Cup 2019 venues part 1: Lord’s, The Oval, Old Trafford

The 2019 World Cup will be played in 11 venues across England and Wales. The grounds will host from 3 to 6 matches each. Seldom has a more diverse set of grounds been chosen: while Lord’s has been the traditional “home” of cricket and The Oval had hosted a Test as early as in 1880, The Rose Bowl came into being only in the 21st century.

Lord’s also boasts of the biggest capacity (28,000), while the tiny County Ground of Taunton can accommodate just 12,000.

Here, in Part 1 of a three-part series, we shall look at three grounds that will host matches in World Cup 2019.

Lord’s, London

Ask around, and almost every cricketer will tell you that they had dreamt of playing at Lord’s at some point. So vast, so imposing is the history and the legends and tales that the slope, the stands, the media centre, everything is paled into background.

Lord’s will host five matches this World Cup including the final:
Pakistan vs South Africa, June 23
England vs Australia, June 25
Australia vs New Zealand, June 29 (D/N)
Pakistan vs Bangladesh, July 5
Final, July 14

The Oval, London

The gasometers no longer define the ground the way they used to, but The Oval – traditionally the venue of the last Test of the English summer – had hosted the first international match on English soil. The Oval has traditionally produced high-scoring matches, but a mild breeze has often made batsmen uncomfortable.

The Oval will be hosting six matches, including the tournament opener:
England vs South Africa, May 30
Bangladesh vs South Africa, June 2
Bangladesh vs New Zealand, June 5 (D/N)
India vs Australia, June 9
Sri Lanka vs Australia, June 15

Old Trafford, Manchester

Home to the first ODI on English soil, Old Trafford looks snazzier following a revamp earlier this decade. While the ground evokes memories of Jim Laker’s 19 wickets and Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century, this has been a ground where swing bowlers have made hay under a thick cloud cover. The ends, after all, are named after Brian Statham and James Anderson – Lancashire’s greatest bowlers.

Old Trafford will host six matches this time, the most:
India vs Pakistan, June 16
England vs Afghanistan, June 18
West Indies vs New Zealand, June 22
West Indies vs India, June 27
Australia vs South Africa, July 6
Semi-final 1, July 9

Venue	Lord’s	The Oval	Old Trafford
City	London	London	Manchester
Home county	Middlesex	Surrey	Lancashire
Capacity	28,000	25,500	26,000
2019 World Cup matches	5	5	6
Matches (since 2010)	13	24	9
Average score (since 2010)	267	277	255
4s/50 overs (since 2010)	24	25	22
6s/50 overs (since 2010)	3	4	3
50s	41	77	22
50s/match	3.15	3.21	2.44
Balls/wicket (SR)	40.0	42.3	33.1
4WIs	8	9	5