Malahide Cricket Club Ground or The Village is a cricket ground in Malahide, Ireland, situated in the Lady Acre field of Malahide Castle grounds. The ground is owned by Malahide Cricket Club.[2] The ground has been developed to a capacity of 11,500, making it Ireland's biggest cricket venue; it officially opened for international cricket in 2013. In November 2017, it was confirmed as the venue for Ireland's first men's Test match, when they played Pakistan in May 2018.[3]
History
Malahide Cricket Club was founded in 1861.[4] The 5th Baron Talbot of Malahide, Richard Wogan Talbot, was fond of cricket and established a cricket ground in the grounds of Malahide Castle.[5] Well over a century later, major cricket was first played at Malahide, when the ground hosted a first-class match between Ireland and Scotland in 1991.[6]
International cricket
In September 2013, International Cricket Council cleared the ground to host international cricket. The ground hosted its first international cricket match when home team Ireland played against England with England winning by six wickets after captain Eoin Morgan hit 124 not out on what had been his home ground in his youth.[7] The capacity was designed to be increased to 11500 using temporary grandstands and hospitality tents making it the biggest in Ireland with a record attendance for the Island of Ireland of over 10,000.[1][8]
The ground became Ireland's third venue for international cricket, the other two being Castle Avenue (Clontarf) in Dublin and the Civil Service Cricket Club Ground at Stormont. Malahide was also confirmed as the stage for two Twenty20 games against the touring South Africa A side in 2013. It was selected as a venue to host matches in the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament.[9]
Records
International centuries
Test centuries
In the very first Test match for Ireland, Kevin O'Brien scored the maiden Test century at the venue.[10]