Dean Park Cricket Ground

Dean Park is a cricket ground in Bournemouth, set among mature trees and lawns. It was first used in 1871 for a match between Bournemouth Cricket Club and artillery officers. Hampshire and Dorset County Cricket Clubs played many matches here over more than a century. The ground once hosted one of the earliest floodlit football matches in 1878. Bournemouth F.C. even changed its name to Bournemouth Dean Park when it moved here in 1888. The ground staged 343 first-class matches between 1897 and 1992. It also held 77 List A games, the last in 2010, and one Women’s One-day International in 1973. Kent scored 610 runs here in 1906, the highest team total on the ground. Hampshire were bowled out for 31 in 1965, the lowest total. Dick Moore made 316 runs in a single innings in 1937, still the highest individual score. Today the ground belongs to Park School and hosts sports days and a nursery. The pavilion and playing area remain, framed by the surrounding parkland. Visitors can still see the pitch and outfield where county and university teams once played. The old scoreboard stands near the boundary, a quiet reminder of the ground’s long sporting past.