Centurion Park

Centurion Park

Centurion
Crowd during a function in 2006 at the park
Ground information
Location	Centurion, South Africa
Coordinates	25°51′35″S28°11′43″E / 25.85972°S 28.19528°E / -25.85972; 28.19528
Capacity	22,000
Owner	SuperSport
Tenants	South Africa national cricket team
End names
West Lane End Hennops River End
International information
First Test	16–20 November 1995:   South Africa v   England
Last Test	26–28 December 2023:   South Africa v   India
First ODI	11 December 1992:   South Africa v   India
Last ODI	15 September 2023:   South Africa v   Australia
First T20I	29 March 2009:   South Africa v   Australia
Last T20I	26 March 2023:   South Africa v   West Indies
First WODI	13 March 2002:   South Africa v   India
Last WODI	12 February 2016:   South Africa v   England
First WT20I	21 February 2018:   South Africa v   India
Last WT20I	6 February 2019:   South Africa v   Sri Lanka
Team information
Northerns (1995–present) Titans (2004–present) Tshwane Spartans (2018-2019) Pretoria Capitals (2023-present)
As of 28 December 2023 Source: Cricinfo

Centurion Park is a cricket ground in Centurion in South Africa. It is also known as SuperSport Park since television company SuperSport bought shares in the stadium. The capacity of the ground is 22,000. ^{[1] [2]}

The Titans cricket team have played most of their home games here since 2004. The ground was home to the Titans' predecessor team Northerns (previously Northern Transvaal) since 1986. It is also the home ground of the Pretoria Capitals.

Name

The town of Verwoerdburg was renamed Centurion at the end of apartheid, with the politically neutral new name of the town coming from that of the cricket ground.

Notable fixtures

Test matches

The first Test match at Centurion was held in November 1995, as the opening match of the first post-apartheid tour of South Africa by the England cricket team; however, the match was drawn after being severely affected by rain. ^[3]

Centurion was the venue for the notorious fifth Test match of the next England tour in 2000, when (after three days' play were lost to rain) South African captain Hansie Cronje forfeited his team's second innings to allow for a result on the final day of the match, which England won. ^[4] It was later revealed that Cronje had done so after being approached by a bookmaker and offered money to stop the match ending in a draw. ^[5]

Further controversy occurred in 2001, when the scheduled third Test between South Africa and India at Centurion was declared to be an "unofficial" Test after the Board of Control for Cricket in India refused to accept the International Cricket Council's match referee, Mike Denness, who had disciplined several Indian players in the previous match at Port Elizabeth. ^[6]

In December 2010, India batsman Sachin Tendulkar scored his 50th Test century at Centurion in the first Test of the 2010–11 Indian tour of South Africa. ^{[7] [8]}

From the summer of 2018/19, the ground usually hosts a Boxing Day Test.

One-Day Internationals

Centurion was a venue for the 2003 Cricket World Cup which took place in South Africa. It was also selected as a venue for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy and hosted the final on 5 October 2009.

Other cricket competitions

The 2009 Indian Premier League was held in South Africa, and Centurion was one of eight grounds used. It hosted twelve matches, including one of the semi-finals.

Supersport Park also hosted^{[ when? ]} a domestic and continental Sixes tournament, where home side, the Titans, came out on top in the domestic competition, and South Africa winning the continental competition against Kenya in the final.

Other sports

Centurion hosted an Australian rules football practice match in 2008 between Carlton and Fremantle. ^[9]

Music

On 17 September 2011, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for Gravity Tour supporting their album Gravity.^{[ citation needed ]}

Records

Cricket records

Test records

• Highest Test Total: 621 – South Africa vs. Sri Lanka, 26 December 2020
• Highest Individual Test Score: 208 – Hashim Amla, South Africa vs. West Indies, 17 December 2014
• Best Test Innings Bowling Figures: 7/29 – Kyle Abbott, South Africa vs. Pakistan, 22 February 2013
• Best Test Match Bowling Figures: 13/144 – Kagiso Rabada, South Africa vs. England, 22 January 2016

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds

References

1. "SuperSport Park". TravelGround. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
2. "Cricket Grounds in South Africa • CricTours". CricTours. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
3. "Full Scorecard of England vs South Africa 1st Test 1995/96". ESPNCricinfo . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
4. "Full Scorecard of England vs South Africa 5th Test 1999/00". ESPNCricinfo . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
5. Williamson, Martin (28 October 2006). "An offer too good to be true". ESPNCricinfo . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
6. Majumder, Sanjoy (23 November 2001). "Cricket outrage unites Indians". BBC News . Retrieved 7 January 2022.
7. "Statistics / Statsguru / SR Tendulkar / Test Matches". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
8. "1st Test, India tour of South Africa at Centurion, Dec 16-20 2010, Match Summary, ESPNCricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
9. "Dockers down Blues in Pretoria - World Footy News". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012.

External links

• Centurion Park  at ESPNcricinfo