View source for County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford

{{Short description|Cricket ground in Essex, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox cricket ground
|       ground_name = County Ground
|          nickname =
|             image = Essex CCC vs Gloucestershire CCC 2008.jpg
|           caption = The Pavilion at Chelmsford
|           country = England
|          location = [[Chelmsford]], [[Essex]]
|  seating_capacity = 6,500
|              end1 = {{pad|2em}} Sir Alastair Cook End {{pad|2em}} [[Image:ChelmsfordCountyCricketGroundPitchDimensions.svg|200px]]
|              end2 = Graham Gooch End

|     international = true
|      firstodidate = 20 June
|      firstodiyear = 1983
|      firstodihome = Australia
|      firstodiaway = India
|       lastodidate = 14 May
|       lastodiyear = 2023
|       lastodihome = Ireland
|       lastodiaway = Bangladesh

|      firstwodidate = 20 June
|      firstwodiyear = 2000
|      firstwodihome = England
|      firstwodiaway = South Africa
|       lastwodidate = 29 May
|       lastwodiyear = 2024
|       lastwodihome = England
|       lastwodiaway = Pakistan

|      firstwt20idate = 29 June
|      firstwt20iyear = 2010
|      firstwt20ihome = England
|      firstwt20iaway = New Zealand
|       lastwt20idate = 26 May
|       lastwt20iyear = 2025
|       lastwt20ihome = England
|       lastwt20iaway = West Indies

|             club1 = [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]
|             year1 = 1925 &ndash; present

|              date = 29 May
|              year = 2024
|            source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/ground/56887.html Cricinfo
}}
The County Ground in [[Chelmsford]], [[Essex]], has been the official home ground of [[Essex County Cricket Club]] since 1967. It has been used for [[first-class cricket]] since 1925 and [[List A]] matches since 1969. The capacity is 6,500, mostly in single-tier seating with a single double-tiered stand. The pavilion was completed in the 1970s.<ref name=cricinfo>{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/ground/56887.html |title=County Ground |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=16 May 2013}}</ref>

==History==
Essex's first match at the ground took place in June 1925 against [[Oxford University Cricket Club|Oxford University]].{{sfn|Lemmon|Marshall|1987|p=164}} and their first [[County Championship]] game at Chelmsford was against [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] in 1926.{{sfn|Powell|1989|p=61}} When the club left its headquarters at [[Leyton Cricket Ground]] at the end of the 1933 season they began a period of playing games at various venues around the county, with a week allocated to each. Chelmsford was given two weeks a season{{sfn|Lemmon|Marshall|1987|p=186}} but poor attendances led to Essex ceasing to play at the ground after 1956.{{sfn|Lemmon|Marshall|1987|p=239}} In 1966 the club purchased the Chelmsford ground for £15,000, with some financial assistance from [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]]'s Supporters Association, and the ground became Essex's headquarters with home matches returning there from the 1967 season.{{sfn|Lemmon|Marshall|1987|p=383}} The pavilion was opened during the 1970 season<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Preston |editor1-first=Norman |editor1-link=Norman Preston |title=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1971 |date=1971 |publisher=Sporting Handbooks |location=London |isbn=0850200237|page=336}}</ref> and the permanent scoreboard at the ground was constructed in 1981.{{sfn|Powell|1989|page=61}}
[[File:2 37 Unveiled stone.jpg|thumb|left|A memorial unveiled in 2025 to Essex players who served and died in both World Wars.]]
In April 2024, Essex Cricket renamed the two bowling ends of the ground after former players [[Alastair Cook|Sir Alastair Cook]] and [[Graham Gooch]]. The River End was renamed to the Sir Alastair Cook End, and the Hayes Close End to the Graham Gooch End.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Essex rename stands in honour of Gooch and Cook |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/68782951 |access-date=2024-04-13 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Domestic cricket==
[[File:Essex CCC v Sri Lankans 2016.jpg|left|thumb|The River End of the ground, showing the main scoreboard]]
Chelmsford is a small ground, and is notoriously difficult to defend a total at in limited overs cricket, demonstrated by the fact that no side has ever defended a score of under 170 in T20 cricket here.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-27|title=What's a winning score on this pitch?|url=https://t20-head-to-head.com/whats-a-winning-score/|access-date=2021-06-01|website=T20 Head to Head|language=en-GB}}</ref> Former Essex and England batsman [[Graham Gooch]] scored most of his [[First-class cricket|first-class]] runs there.<ref name="cricinfo" /> [[Graham Napier]] scored 152 off 58 balls (16 sixes and 10 fours) in a [[Twenty20]] match v [[Sussex CCC|Sussex]] at the ground.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/7471312.stm | title = Awesome Napier shatters records  | date = 24 June 2008 | access-date = 16 May 2013| publisher = BBC Sport}}</ref> The success of Essex County Cricket Club in the shorter versions of the game between 2005 and 2008 led to the attraction of many new fans. Eventually the ground was regularly selling out in [[Twenty20]] and [[Friends Provident Trophy]] games.

The [[Ford Motor Company]] had naming rights for the ground for between 2005 and 2013.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/essex/4357661.stm | title = Essex rename ground with sponsors| publisher= BBC Sport | date = 17 March 2005 | access-date = 16 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=drop>{{Cite web | url = http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/undefined-headline/story-17881786-detail/story.html | publisher = This is total Essex | access-date = 16 May 2013 | date = 17 January 2013 | title = Essex keen to sell name of stadium | first = David | last = Arnold}}</ref>  From 2017 to 2019 the naming rights to the stadium were bought by Cloudfm and the ground was known as the Cloudfm County Ground.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cloudfmgroup.com/cloudfm-declares-new-sponsorship-deal-with-essex-cricket/|title=Cloudfm 'declares' new sponsorship deal with Essex Cricket {{!}} Cloudfm Group|website=cloudfmgroup.com|access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>  The large amount of passionate support Essex receive at this ground has led to it being popularly referred to as 'Fortress Chelmsford'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/cricket/eagle_extras_just_how_big_are_essex_1_1384231|title=Eagle Extras: Just how big are Essex?|last=Long|first=James|date=21 May 2012|work=[[Eastern Daily Press]]|access-date=16 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310005644/http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/cricket/eagle_extras_just_how_big_are_essex_1_1384231|archive-date=10 March 2014}}</ref>

==International cricket==
{{as of|2023|5}}, the venue has hosted six men's [[One Day International]] (ODI) matches. The first ODI was played between [[Australia cricket team|Australia]] and [[India cricket team|India]] during the [[1983 Cricket World Cup]] and the most recent ODI match was played between [[Ireland national cricket team|Ireland]] and [[Bangladesh national cricket team|Bangladesh]] during the [[Bangladeshi cricket team against Ireland in England in 2023]] series in May 2023, as part of the [[2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ireland-to-host-india-for-three-t20is-in-august-1363970|title=Ireland to host India for three T20Is in August|last=|first=|date=17 March 2023|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=26 March 2023}}</ref>

==Ground redevelopment since 2010==
New development to the ground include the building of new apartment blocks, the construction of a new cricket school, public square and an access bridge from the Chelmsford town centre side of the ground.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-21012526|title=Essex County Cricket Club signs ground redevelopment deal|date=14 January 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=15 February 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2019 the ground's floodlights were replaced by larger, square floodlights.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Lemmon |first2=Mike |last2=Marshall |title=Essex County Cricket Club The Official History |date=1987 |publisher=The Kingswood Press |location=London |isbn=0434981117}}
*{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=William |title=The Wisden Guide to Cricket Grounds |date=1989 |publisher=Stanley Paul & Co Ltd |location=London |isbn=009173830X}}

==See also==
*[[List of cricket grounds in England and Wales]]

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{{Essex CCC}}
{{Sunrisers (women's cricket)}}
{{Cricket in England}}

[[Category:Cricket grounds in Essex]]
[[Category:Essex County Cricket Club]]
[[Category:Sport in Chelmsford]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Chelmsford (city)]]