View source for County Cricket Ground, Derby

{{short description|Cricket ground in Derbyshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox cricket ground
|       ground_name = The County Ground
|          nickname = 
|             image = Photo from Racecourse end.JPG
|           caption = Derbyshire v. Australia tour match, July 2010, taken from the position of the new media centre
|           country = England
|          location = [[Derby]], [[Derbyshire]]
|     establishment = 1863
|  seating_capacity = 9,500<ref>{{cite web|title=County Ground|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/ground/56953.html|website=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref>
|              end1 = Racecourse End [[Image:DerbyCountyCricketGroundPitchDimensions.svg|200px]]
|              end2 = Pavilion End
|        county club = [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]]
|     international = true
|      firstodidate = 18 June
|      firstodiyear = 1983
|      firstodihome = New Zealand
|      firstodiaway = Sri Lanka
|       lastodidate = 28 May
|       lastodiyear = 1999
|       lastodihome = New Zealand
|       lastodiaway = Pakistan
|     firstwodidate = 15 July
|     firstwodiyear = 1998
|     firstwodihome = England
|     firstwodiaway = Australia
|      lastwodidate = 23 May
|      lastwodiyear = 2024
|      lastwodihome = England
|      lastwodiaway = Pakistan
|    firstwt20idate = 5 August
|    firstwt20iyear = 2006
|    firstwt20ihome = England
|    firstwt20iaway = India
|     lastwt20idate = 6 September
|     lastwt20iyear = 2023
|     lastwt20ihome = England
|     lastwt20iaway = Sri Lanka
|             year1 = 1871–present
|             club1 = [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]]
|             year2 = 2000
|             club2 = [[Derbyshire Cricket Board]]
|             year3 = 2011–2013
|             club3 = [[Derbyshire Women cricket team|Derbyshire Women]]
|             year4 = 2017
|             club4 = [[Loughborough Lightning (women's cricket)|Loughborough Lightning]]
|              date = 23 May
|              year = 2024
|            source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/451.html CricketArchive
}}
The '''County Cricket Ground''' (usually shortened to the '''County Ground''', also known as the '''Racecourse Ground''') is a [[cricket]] ground in [[Derby]], England. It has been the home of [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club]] since 1871. The ground was first used by South Derbyshire Cricket Club in 1863 and was initially located within [[Derby Racecourse]], although racing ceased after 1939. The ground has staged two [[One-Day International]]s: [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]] against [[Sri Lanka national cricket team|Sri Lanka]] during the [[1983 ICC Cricket World Cup]] and New Zealand against [[Pakistan national cricket team|Pakistan]] during the [[1999 ICC Cricket World Cup]]. It was one of the venues for the [[2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup]], hosting one of the semi-finals.

The ground was also formerly used for [[Association football|football]], and was the home of [[Derby County F.C.]] between 1884 and 1895. It staged the first ever [[FA Cup Final]] match played outside London, a replay of the [[1886 FA Cup Final|1886 Final]], and hosted an international match between [[England national football team|England]] and [[Ireland national football team (1882–1950)|Ireland]] in 1895.

==History==
The ground was first used by South Derbyshire Cricket Club in 1863 and was initially located within [[Derby Racecourse]], although racing ceased after 1939.

It also held the games of [[Derby County FC|Derby County Football Club]] until their move to the [[Baseball Ground]] in 1895. The first [[FA Cup]] Final outside [[London]] was held at the ground in [[1886 FA Cup Final|1886]] when [[Blackburn Rovers FC|Blackburn Rovers]] beat [[West Bromwich Albion FC|West Bromwich Albion]] 2–0 in a replay. [[England national football team|England]] played one [[association football|football]] international here, beating [[Ireland national football team (1882–1950)|Ireland]] 9–0 in the [[1895 British Home Championship|British Home Championship]] on 9 March 1895.

The playing area used to feature pitches laid on an east–west axis. Most first-class grounds feature pitches laid north–south to avoid problems with the light from the setting sun. Derbyshire re-laid the pitch on a north–south axis over the 2009/10 winter at a cost of £100,000, ready for the [[2010 English cricket season|2010 season]]. This involved moving some of the floodlights and the electronic scoreboard to suit the new alignment.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cricinfo.com/derbyshire/content/current/story/424445.html | title = Sun rises on Derbyshire's new square | work = [[Cricinfo]] | date = 2009-09-10 | access-date = 2010-08-26}}</ref>

[[Image:Media_Centre.JPG|thumb|The new media centre - May 2017]]

[[Image:Derbys V Australia 9-7-10.jpg|thumb|Derbyshire v. Australia tour match - July 2010]]In early 2010 a large 1800 seat stand was erected at the Racecourse End of the ground.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.derbyshireccc.com/servlets/template?FILE=news-fullstory&SID=14709224251383490385&news_id=2482&title=New%20stand%20complete.html | title = New stand complete | work = [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club]] | date = 2010-05-17 | access-date = 2010-08-26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724113929/http://www.derbyshireccc.com/servlets/template?FILE=news-fullstory&SID=14709224251383490385&news_id=2482&title=New%20stand%20complete.html | archive-date = 24 July 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref> This stand was taken down in late 2015 in order to make way for a new £2.2 million four-storey media centre, which was completed and officially opened in September 2016. Some 1100 seats were immediately reinstated at the Pavilion End of the ground, with the remaining reinstated next to the new media centre. In February 2017 Derby Civic Society awarded a commendation in the category of Best New Build of 2016 to Derbyshire County Cricket Club for the new media centre.
A new marquee was also built in 2010, which is used for private functions and entertainment during match days.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.derbyshireccc.com/servlets/template?FILE=news-fullstory&SID=13106013292669905908&news_id=2612&title=The%20County%20Ground%E2%80%99s%20new%20marquee:%20the%20newest%20facility%20in%20Derby | title = Work on state of the art new facility nears completion | work = [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club]] | date = 2010-07-05 | access-date = 2010-08-26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724114020/http://www.derbyshireccc.com/servlets/template?FILE=news-fullstory&SID=13106013292669905908&news_id=2612&title=The%20County%20Ground%E2%80%99s%20new%20marquee:%20the%20newest%20facility%20in%20Derby | archive-date = 24 July 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In February 2016, it was announced that the County Ground would be one of the host venues for the [[2017 Women's Cricket World Cup]] in England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/35521829 |title=Women's World Cup: Five venues named for 2017 tournament |date=8 February 2016 |work=BBC Sport|access-date=26 March 2016 }}</ref> Along with Bristol, Derby hosted one of the semi-finals of the tournament.

==Other events==
Music concerts have been staged at the ground by [[Elton John]] and [[Boyzone]], both in 2017,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilcox |first1=Victoria |title=Boyzone star talks selfies and spaceships ahead of Derby gig |url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/boyzone-star-talks-selfies-spaceships-380257 |access-date=26 August 2020 |work=DerbyshireLive |date=25 August 2017}}</ref> and [[Little Mix]] in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Slater |first1=Nigel |title=Traffic warning issued as Little Mix come to town TONIGHT |url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/little-mix-concert-derby-1800727 |access-date=26 August 2020 |work=DerbyshireLive |date=19 July 2018}}</ref>

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

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Derbyshire CCC}}
{{Lightning (women's cricket)}}
{{Derby County F.C.}}
{{Derby}}
{{Cricket in England}}

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[[Category:Cricket grounds in Derbyshire|County Cricket Ground, Derby (Derbyshire CCC)]]
[[Category:Defunct football venues in England]]
[[Category:Derby County F.C. home stadiums]]
[[Category:Derbyshire County Cricket Club]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Derby]]
[[Category:Sports venues completed in 1863]]
[[Category:English Football League venues]]
[[Category:Football venues in Derbyshire]]