Grace Road in Leicester is the 10th smallest cricket stadium in the world. The stadium has a boundary size of 76 meters. It hosts the Leicestershire County Cricket Club. It has a rich history dating back to the 1800s. For a brief time after the war, the stadium was owned by the City Boys Grammar School. Once Leicestershire bought back the ground they spent huge amounts of money on redevelopment of the ground.
Through the 1970s and 80s, Grace Road hosted multiple matches. However, the record attendance at the ground was witnessed during Australia’s tour in 1948. In the 1999 World Cup, the stadium was also awarded two matches.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy is the ninth smallest stadium in the world. It has a boundary size of 75 meters. It is an iconic stadium and holds an important place in Sri Lanka’s history. The stadium hosted its first international match in 2010, but since then has been a regular feature in Sri Lanka’s home calendar.
Even though it is situated nearly at the center of the island nation, the stadium has often seen matches being rained out. The stadium also hosted three matches during the 2011 ODI World Cup where the team batting first won two times.
Warner Park in Basseterre with a boundary size of approximately 70 meters is one of the smallest stadiums in the world. St. Kitts, the island where Warner Park is situated has a population of approximately 40,000. So building a small stadium both in size and seating capacity was a smart decision. The stadium, however, was funded by the Taiwanese government which bore more than 70% of the cost.
The east side of the ground does not have any stands, although a temporary stand can be built for high-ticket matches. After hosting its first international match in 2006, Warner Park was awarded six Group A matches in the ODI World Cup next year.
Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain is the seventh tiniest cricket stadium in the world. The size of the boundary in the stadium is only 70 meters. Like Warner Park, the Queen’s Park Oval also hosts the West Indies cricket team. However, it has a much-established history in comparison to Warner Park. The stadium hosted its first international cricket match in 1930 against the visiting English team.
Queen’s Park Oval still holds an important place in international cricket. While the stadium has not hosted any limited-overs matches since 2022, the West Indies drew a test match against South Africa in 2024. The stadium hosted six matches in the 2007 ODI World Cup.
Holkar Stadium in Indore is the sixth smallest cricket stadium in the world. The boundary size of the stadium is only 68 meters. Holkar Stadium is known for being a batter-friendly ground. Spin bowlers who play a huge role in the sub-continent conditions find it extremely tough to take a grasp of the ball because of dew on the ground. The stadium remained true to its reputation when the first T20I was played in 2017.
India scored 260 runs which was their highest team score at the time in the format. In the second innings, India’s seasoned spin bowlers, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were thwarted to different parts of the ground. They conceded 104 runs in their quota of eight overs.
Eden Gardens in Kolkata is the fifth tiniest cricket stadium in the world. The stadium has a boundary size of only 66 meters. It is a stadium that is certainly an important part of the sport’s history. In India, Eden Garden has been a host to a range of crucial matches. It is the same stadium where the hosts defeated Australia after being asked to follow on in 2001. The stadium is on par with Lord’s and MCG when it comes to the legendary status of stadiums around the world. Cricketers outside India grow up wishing to play a match at Eden Gardens or the Wankhede Stadium.
The Eden Gardens has played host to many great matches. It hosted three games in the 2011 ODI World Cup and five in the 2023 ODI World Cup including a semi-final where South Africa lost to the eventual champions, Australia.
The Daren Sammy International Cricket Stadium is the fourth smallest in the world. The boundary size of the stadium is 65 meters. It is named after the former skipper of the West Indies, Daren Sammy. Sammy won the T20 World Cup twice and it was the first World Cup they won after 1979. It is one of the first few modern stadiums in the world. Also known as the Beausejour Stadium, it has some of the best facilities including a gym, a lounge, a balcony, and a conference room for both teams.
While the Daren Sammy Stadium does not host many tests or ODIs, it is still an important part of the West Indies cricket calendar. The stadium hosted six matches in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Lord’s in London is the third tiniest cricket stadium in the world. The home of cricket as it is called has a boundary size of 65 meters. Lord’s along with the Melbourne Cricket Ground has hosted some of the highest attended matches in the history of cricket. For many cricketers around the world, the pinnacle of their dreams is to play a test match at Lord’s. For a batter, the walk from the dressing room to the crease via the long room can prove to be intimidating.
The ground also features a slight slope. This is an unusual addition to a cricket ground that is not seen anywhere else in the world. It is highly talked about during any match at the stadium. The Lord’s has hosted many great matches in the sport’s history including the final of the 2019 World Cup which saw England become the champions for the first time. They defeated New Zealand in the final via the boundary count rule.
Wanderers in Johannesburg is the second smallest cricket stadium in the world. The boundary size at the Wanderers is only 64 meters. It is known as the Bullring because of the intimidating nature of the stadium. The first international match hosted at Wanderers was way back in 1956 between South Africa and England.
South Africa has a rich history on the ground and has won 20 of the 44 tests they have played here. It hosted five games during the 2003 ODI World Cup. The final between India and Australia was also played at the Wanderers. Australia scored 359 runs in the first innings thanks to the small dimensions of the ground.
Eden Park in Auckland is the smallest cricket stadium in the world. The stadium has a boundary size of 55 meters. Eden Park not only hosts cricket matches but rugby matches are also organized in the ground. It is one of the oldest stadiums in New Zealand. The first international match took place in 1930 at Eden Park.
However, with the limited amount of test cricket New Zealand plays at home, Eden Park has not hosted a match of the longest format since 2018. The stadium hosted four matches in the 2015 ODI World Cup. New Zealand’s semi-final took place at the stadium where they defeated South Africa on the second last ball of the game.
Eden Gardens is the smallest cricket stadium in India. The stadium in Kolkata is one of the most important stadiums in the country. It has a boundary size of 66 meters. Rohit Sharma registered the highest individual score of 264 runs in ODIs at the same stadium. Holkar Stadium follows Eden Gardens on the list. It is the second-smallest stadium in India with a boundary length of 68 meters.
Barsapara Stadium, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, and Arun Jaitley Stadium also have boundary sizes of 68 meters. These are some of the smallest stadiums in India. The Indian batters have made these stadiums a paradise for themselves and created multiple records.
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