22 cities which have multiple Test grounds

There have been 109 grounds which have hosted international Tests. Out of those, there are many multiple Test venues in the same cities.

Out of 22, six cities are from India and rest are from other nations Getty Images

Cricket is one of the most popular games across the globe, mostly followed passionately in South Asia. One of the reasons behind this game being special is the beautiful cricket grounds around the world where the game is played. Some of them are quite iconic where players love to play at least once in their life. There have been 109 grounds which have hosted international Tests. Out of those, there are many multiple Test venues in the same cities. A total of 22 cities are there in the world, where multiple grounds have hosted Tests. No doubt that India has most cities with multiple Test grounds. Out of 22, six cities are from India and rest are from other nations. Abhishek Kumar finds out such cities and grounds and brings them to the cricket lovers notice.

1. Colombo P Sara Oval, Colombo Cricket Club Ground, R Premadasa Stadium and Sinhalese Sports Club Ground

General view of P Sara Oval (top left), Colombo Cricket Club Ground (top eight), R Premadasa Stadium (down left) and Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (down right) Getty Images and AFP

Colombo is the capital city of Sri Lanka and has most Test venues. There are total of eight grounds in Sri Lanka on which Test matches have been played. Four out of them are in Colombo. The first ground to host a Test match from this city was P Sara Oval back in February 1982 between Sri Lanka and England, which was also the first international match for Sri Lanka. It is the same ground where legendary Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara bid farewell from international cricket.

The second ground in this city is Colombo Cricket Club Ground, which lasted for only three Tests between 1984 and 1987. Sri Lanka has a very good record at this venue by not losing a single match with two wins and a draw. Since 1987, this ground has never been used for any Tests.

Third one is Sinhalese Sports Club, which is still active since 1984. There have been 39 Tests played so far at this venue, out of which Sri Lanka won 18, lost 7 and drawn 14. The fourth Test ground at Colombo is the famous R Premadasa Stadium, where former Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya became the first batsman from the nation to score a triple century. This ground is still active but mostly used for One-Day Internationals.

2. Mumbai Gymkhana Ground, Brabourne Stadium and Wankhede Stadium

General view of Brabourne Stadium (left), Bombay Gymkhana (top right) and Wankhede Stadium (down right) Getty Images

After Lord s, if there is a place which should be named as Home of Cricket , then it should be surely Mumbai. It is the city which has given two of the greatest batsmen of the nation Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. There are total of three Test venues in this city and oldest one is Gymkhana Ground, where India played its first home match against England. This was the first and last international match played at this ground, which was exclusively formed for Europeans in 1875. Currently, this ground is famously known as Azad Maidan.

After the World War II, Brabourne Stadium over took this venue as the main cricket ground of this city. This is probably the most inconsistent ground in terms of Test matches being played. India started playing Tests at this venue in 1948 and continued till 1973. Then, it was used once again for Tests in 2009. It is the same ground where Virender Sehwag scored 293 runs against Sri Lanka which was India s last match at this venue.

Third Test venue of Mumbai is famous Wankhede Stadium, where India registered its second World Cup victory in 2011 with the famous final six by captain MS Dhoni. India started playing at this ground since 1975 by taking over Brabourne Stadium. This is probably one of most used Test venues in India.

3. Johannesburg Old Wanderers, Ellis Park and The Wanderers Stadium

The Wanderers Stadium Getty Images

The first cricket ground in Johannesburg was Old Wanderers, which hosted Test matches for South Africa between 1896 and 1939. But later it was demolished at the end of 1945-46 season when the land was required for Railways and cricket was moved to the nearby Ellis Park, which is also the second ground to host Test matches for South Africa. Ellis Park is basically a rugby ground and it was used between 1948 and 1954.

The end of hosting Test matches at Ellis Park came in 1956-57 when the New Wanderers Stadium was completed. Since then, Test matches in Johannesburg are only being played at this venue also known as Kent.

4. Nagpur Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground and Jamtha

Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground Getty Images

There are total of two grounds which have hosted Test matches for India in Nagpur. First is Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Ground and the other is the name famously known Jamtha Stadium. The VCA ground hosted its first Test in 1969, whereas Jamtha s turn came in 2008. And since then, it has taken over the VCA ground for any international matches.

5. London Kennington Oval and Lord s

General view of Kennington Oval and Lord s Getty Images

Both Kennington Oval and Lord s are amongst the oldest Test grounds in the history of cricket. Both the venues are in the same city of London and are still actively hosting matches in every format of the game.

6. Durban Lord s and Kingsmead

Kingsmead Cricket Ground Getty Images

Durban is another city of South Africa which has produced multiple Test venues. First one was known as Lord s which was used between 1910 and 1921 and later it was demolished. After this, Kingsmead came to replace this venue and the matches have been played on this ground in every format of the game since 1923.

7. Lucknow University Ground and KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium

This city of India had two Test venues in the past but does not carry a very good record in terms of lasting. First is University Ground and the only Test played was back in 1952 between India and Pakistan. Similar fate met with the second ground of the city known as KD Singh Babu Stadium, which has also hosted only one Test for India in 1994.

8. Lahore Bagh-e-Jinnah and Gaddafi Stadium

Bagh-e-Jinnah and Gaddafi Stadium Getty Images and AFP

Formely known as Lawrence Garden, Lahore Gymkhana and after the independence it was named as Bagh-e-Jinnah Cricket Ground which hosted only three Tests in Pakistan between 1955 and 1959. After that, the famous Gaddafi Stadium took over this old ground and has hosted all forms of game for Pakistan.

9. Hyderabad Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal

Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Getty Images

Initially known as Fateh Maidan but later renamed as Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, the ground started hosting Test matches for India from 1955 to 1988. In this long period, there were only three Tests played and in all three New Zealand were India s opponent. This is the home ground for some former big players from India like ML Jaisimha, Mohammad Azharuddin, MAK Pataudi and VVS Laxman.

After Hyderabad got its own recognition of an individual domestic cricket board, this ground was taken by Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh and a new venue for Hyderabad Cricket Association was made. It was active since 2004 but the first Test came in 2010 and once again it was India vs New Zealand.

10. Chittagong MA Aziz Stadium and Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium

MA Aziz Stadium and Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Getty Images and AFP

Chittagong is the famous city of Bangladesh which has two Test grounds. First one is MA Aziz Stadium, where Bangladesh won its first Test in January 2005 against Zimbabwe. This ground is designed like a concrete copy of Old Trafford. It hosted Test matches for Bangladesh between 2001 and 2005 and after that Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium took over in the same city in 2006. This ground was made on a prime agricultural land with a three-tier pavilion.

11. Christchurch AMI Stadium and Hagley Oval

General view of AMI Stadium (above) and Hagley Oval (down) Getty Images and AFP

The beautiful city of Christchurch in New Zealand has also two Tests grounds. One is the famous AMI Stadium and second is Hagley Oval. AMI hosted New Zeland s first Test which they lost to England by eight wickets in January 1930. From there on, Tests matches were hosted on this ground till 2006. Further, Hagley Oval took it over and hosted its first Test in 2014 between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

12. Karachi National Stadium and Southend Club Cricket Stadium

National Stadium of Karachi AFP

Karachi is Pakistan s most populous and largest city and is famously known for its National Stadium which has been hosting international matches for the nation since 1955. Beside this, one more ground got the chance to host a Test in the same city and it is known as Southend Club Cricket Stadium. In this ground only one Test has been played so far and that too way back in 1993 between Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

13. Chandigarh Sector 16 Stadium and Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

PCA IS Bindra Stadium of Mohali Getty Images

This is one of the most recent Test venues of India, which has hosted its first Test in 1990 between India and Sri Lanka at Sector 16 Stadium. This was the only Test played at this venue and further it was taken over by Punjab Cricket Association Stadium since 1994. This one is situated in the outskirts of the city and is truly a world class venue for international matches.

14. Dunedin Carisbrook and University Oval

General view of Carisbrook (above) and University Oval (down) Getty Images and AFP

Carisbrook is Dunedin s main sporting venue for both cricket and rugby. It hosted its first Test match in 1955 between New Zealand and England and was active for longer formats till 1998. Later, it was taken over by University Oval located in Logan Park, which hosted its first Test in 2008. This ground has a very small capacity of only 4,500.

15. Multan Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium and Multan Cricket Stadium

Multan Cricket Stadium Getty Images

Multan is famously known for Sehwag s triple century but it was the not the first ground to host a Test for Pakistan in the city. Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium was the first ground in this city of Pakistan to host Tests against West Indies in 1981 and later it was replaced with Multan Cricket Stadium. It has one of the greenest outfields visible in Pakistan. It started hosting Test matches since 2001.

16. Bulawayo Queens Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club

Bulawayo Athletic Club hosted Zimbabwe s first Test at home in 1992 against New Zealand, which was also the last international match played at this venue. Later, all matches in Bulawayo were played at Queens Sports Club since 1994. It is also known as one of the loveliest international venues.

17. Chennai MA Chidambaram Stadium and Nehru Stadium

MA Chidambaram Stadium is the third oldest Test ground in India, which hosted its first match in 1934 against England. It is amongst the most famous Test venues where India have won 87 matches till now. In between, there was another ground in Chennai which hosted Tests but did not last long. Named after India s first Prime Minister, Nehru Stadium got its first Test to host in 1956 against New Zealand but after 1965, there was no match played on this ground.

18. Brisbane Brisbane Cricket Ground and Exhibition Ground

The Exhibition Ground of Brisbane had a short span as there were only two Tests played; first in 1928 and second in 1931. Since then, this venue is no longer used for playing cricket as Brisbane Cricket Ground of Woolloongabba took over in the same year of 1931. The first Test at this ground was played in November 1931 and since then, it has been the active venue across the formats. Till now, Australia have played 58 Tests, won 36 out of them, lost eight, tied one and drew 13 on this ground.

19. Dhaka Bangabandhu National Stadium and Shere Bangla National Stadium

The Bangabandhu National Stadium is the only stadium till date to be used as host venue by two different nations in Tests. Pakistan was the first team to host a Test here, before Bangladesh was formed. Also, this was the same venue where Pakistan played its first home Test. It was active till 2005 and after that it was given to national football squad. On the other hand, Shere Bangla National Stadium has been hosting international matches across the formats since 2007.

20. Peshawar Peshawar Club Ground and Arbab Niaz Stadium

The Peshawar Club Ground retired from hosting international cricket matches after its debut in 1955. It is one of those grounds where Pakistan played one of the Tests of their first home Test series. After that game, local tournament matches were played at this venue but no international action happened there. Arbab Niaz Stadium is another international Test venue in the same city, which remained active in Tests till 2003 and in ODIs, till 2006. The first Test at this ground was played in 1995. Because of no Tests being played in Pakistan since 2009, this ground is also used for local matches.

21. Rawalpindi Pindi Club Ground and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

The Pindi Club Ground was among those grounds which lasted for only one Test, which was played in 1965 but continued hosting ODIs till 1987. No idea, why this venue stopped hosting international cricket games but later another ground from the same city emerged as international venue and that was Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It hosted its first Test in 1993 and last in 2004.

22. Kandy Asgiriya Stadium and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

The Asgiriya Stadium hosted its first Test in 1983 and remained active till 2007. It is located in the heart of Sri Lanka and is the home ground of Trinity College. It is considered to be among the most beautiful Test venues. After 2007, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium became the main attraction of the city becoming the international Test venue in 2010. This ground has been active since then across the formats.

(Abhishek Kumar is a cricket devotee currently staffing with CricLife and CricketCountry.com. He can be followed at @abhik2593)