St Lawrence Ground
Encyclopedia
The St Lawrence Ground is a cricket
ground in Canterbury
, Kent
and is the home of Kent County Cricket Club
. It is one of the oldest grounds on which first-class cricket
is played, having been in use since 1847. It is also notable as one of the two grounds used regularly for first-class cricket that have a tree within the boundary
(the other is Pietermaritzburg Oval
in South Africa
).
Capacity at the ground was increased to 15,000 in 2000, and four One Day International matches have been played there, one each in 1999 (part of the 1999 Cricket World Cup
), 2000, 2003 and 2005. There are hopes that the English cricket team
may play Test matches
at the St Lawrence Ground at some point in the future.
Cricket
grounds in most parts of the world are devoid of any trees or shrubs. The lime tree at the St Lawrence Ground was an exception: the ground opened as the Beverley ground in 1847, and was built around the tree.
The presence of a tree within the playing area required special local rules. Shots blocked by the tree were counted as a four
. Only four cricketers have cleared the tree to score a six: Arthur 'Jacko' Watson of Sussex
in 1925, the West Indies'
Learie Constantine
(1928), Middlesex's
Jim Smith
(1939), and Carl Hooper
(1992).
The tree was diagnosed with heartwood fungus in the 1990s, and it was pollarded
to encourage new growth, reducing it from over 120 feet to around 90 feet in height. Finally, high winds in England
on 7 January 2005 caused the 200 year-old tree snap in two, leaving a 7-foot stump. Wood from the dead tree will be made into mementos that will be sold to supporters.
A new lime tree was planted outside of the playing area in 1999 by EW Swanton, in preparation for the ultimate demise of its predecessor. The club moved it within the playing area on 8 March 2005, although it was still less than 6 feet high.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
ground in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and is the home of Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
. It is one of the oldest grounds on which first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
is played, having been in use since 1847. It is also notable as one of the two grounds used regularly for first-class cricket that have a tree within the boundary
Boundary (cricket)
Boundary has two distinct meanings in the sport of cricket:# the edge or boundary of the playing field, and# a manner of scoring runs.-Edge of the field:...
(the other is Pietermaritzburg Oval
Pietermaritzburg Oval
City Oval is a multi-purpose stadium in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches and hosted two matches during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 12,000 people. It has a tree within the boundary ropes, similar to St Lawrence Ground,...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
).
Capacity at the ground was increased to 15,000 in 2000, and four One Day International matches have been played there, one each in 1999 (part of the 1999 Cricket World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
), 2000, 2003 and 2005. There are hopes that the English cricket team
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
may play Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
at the St Lawrence Ground at some point in the future.
Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
grounds in most parts of the world are devoid of any trees or shrubs. The lime tree at the St Lawrence Ground was an exception: the ground opened as the Beverley ground in 1847, and was built around the tree.
The presence of a tree within the playing area required special local rules. Shots blocked by the tree were counted as a four
Boundary (cricket)
Boundary has two distinct meanings in the sport of cricket:# the edge or boundary of the playing field, and# a manner of scoring runs.-Edge of the field:...
. Only four cricketers have cleared the tree to score a six: Arthur 'Jacko' Watson of Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
in 1925, the West Indies'
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...
(1928), Middlesex's
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
Jim Smith
Jim Smith (cricketer)
Cedric Ivan James Smith was an English cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1935 to 1937....
(1939), and Carl Hooper
Carl Hooper
Carl Llewellyn Hooper is a former West Indian cricket player and captain.-Career:He was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side that included such players as Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh and represented...
(1992).
The tree was diagnosed with heartwood fungus in the 1990s, and it was pollarded
Pollarding
Pollarding is a pruning system in which the upper branches of a tree are removed, promoting a dense head of foliage and branches. It has been common in Great Britain and Europe since medieval times and is practiced today in urban areas worldwide, primarily to maintain trees at a predetermined...
to encourage new growth, reducing it from over 120 feet to around 90 feet in height. Finally, high winds in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 7 January 2005 caused the 200 year-old tree snap in two, leaving a 7-foot stump. Wood from the dead tree will be made into mementos that will be sold to supporters.
A new lime tree was planted outside of the playing area in 1999 by EW Swanton, in preparation for the ultimate demise of its predecessor. The club moved it within the playing area on 8 March 2005, although it was still less than 6 feet high.
Ground Development
The Club announced in late 2006 that it would redevelop the ground. The planned £9 million development includes a hotel, health and fitness centre, and conference facilities.The pavilion and other stands will also be upgraded. Money for the project will be raised by the building of private housing on the nets behind the pavilion and on the car park of the local pub, the Bat and Ball. These plans were put on indefinite "hold" in 2008 because of the credit crisis, the fall in the property market and other problems in the British economy. Plans were resurrected in Summer 2009 and work started in September 2010External links
- Ground page at CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
- Cricket club plans tree planting (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, 25 January 2005) - Dead cricket tree to be replaced (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, 14 January 2005) - End of innings for cricket tree (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, 10 January 2005) When the tree fell in 2005 most of the reports mentioned only Constantine, Smith and Hooper. But Frank Keating's article in the Guardian mentions that Jacko Watson was the first.