Old Trafford Cricket Ground

Old Trafford Cricket Ground stands in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, on land once part of the de Trafford estate. Opened in 1857 for Manchester Cricket Club, it became the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club in 1864. The ground has carried the Emirates name since 2013 after a sponsorship deal. It lies about two miles south-west of Manchester city centre, close to Old Trafford football stadium. A five-minute walk along Warwick Road and Sir Matt Busby Way links the two venues. The ground has shaped cricket history in England. It hosted the first Ashes Test in England in 1884 and has staged five Cricket World Cups, including finals and semi-finals. In 1956 Jim Laker took nineteen wickets in a single Test innings, a record that remains unmatched. Sachin Tendulkar scored his first Test century here at seventeen, while Shane Warne bowled the ‘Ball of the Century’ in 1993. The ground has also hosted landmark moments such as the first one-day match in 1963 and a nail-biting Ashes draw in 2005. Visitors find a modernised ground with The Point, a red conference centre overlooking the pitch. The historic pavilion remains recognisable from earlier decades. The ground has two ends: the James Anderson End at the north and the Brian Statham End at the south. A media and players centre sits beside the Brian Statham End, and the Old Trafford tram stop lies just to the south-east. The site’s drainage systems, including a hover cover, help cope with Manchester’s frequent rain.