Cricket
Top 10 World's Smallest Cricket Stadium
Know the names of the top 10 world’s smallest cricket stadiums in terms of seating capacity. Also, learn the five smallest cricket stadiums in terms of boundary length.
The venue that sits atop the list of the top 10 world’s smallest cricket stadiums is Scotland’s Grange Club, situated in the city of Edinburgh. Compared to the other cricket grounds, the Grange Club has the smallest seating capacity of 5,000.
While no cricket stadium in India features on this list, the cricket craze nation boasts of having the world's biggest cricket stadium, which offers a vastly different scale and atmosphere compared to the list of the world’s smallest cricket stadium below. For more information, see our list of international cricket stadiums in India.
Below is the list of the 10 smallest cricket stadiums in the world in terms of capacity.
World's Smallest Cricket Stadium
Top 10 list
| No. | Stadium Name | Country | Seating Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Grange Club, Edinburgh | Scotland | 5,000 |
| 2 | Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast | Ireland | 6,000 |
| 3 | Maple Leaf Cricket Club, Ontario | Canada | 7,000 |
| 4 | Traeger Park, Alice Springs | Australia | 7,200 |
| 5 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | Zimbabwe | 9,000 |
| 6 | Boland Park, Paarl | South Africa | 10,000 |
| 7 | Riverway Stadium, Townsville | Australia | 10,000 |
| 8 | Harare Sports Club, Harare | Zimbabwe | 10,000 |
| 9 | Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua | West Indies | 10,000 |
| 10 | De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley | South Africa | 11,000 |
The Grange Club, Edinburgh
While the venue was founded way back in 1832 in Edinburgh’s Grange district, the venue was shifted to Stockbridge’s Raeburn Place, its current location, in 1872. One of the oldest cricket grounds in the world, let alone Scotland, the Grange Club had even assumed responsibility when the Scotland Cricket Union disbanded in 1884.
The venue has seen multiple generations of cricket legends over the decades like W. G. Grace in 1895, Donald Bradman in 1948, Brian Lara in 1995, Shane Warne, and Andrew Flintoff. When England, Scotland and Ireland had jointly hosted the 1999 Cricket World Cup, the Grange had Scotland’s World Cup clashes with Bangladesh and New Zealand, as well.
Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast
Despite getting established in 1949, the Stormont Cricket Ground saw its first-ever ODI being played in June 2006, when Ireland faced England. Also known as the Civil Service Cricket Club, the Stormont Estate is the home of the Civil Service North of Ireland Cricket Club, the Indian cricket team played a three-match ODI series against South Africa in 2007.
Though matches have come rarely in this venue owing to its small seating capacity of 6000, the Stormont Cricket Ground has hosted the World T20 tournament qualifiers of the 2008 and the 2015 editions.
Maple Leaf Cricket Club, Ontario
Established in 1954, Ontario’s Maple Leaf Cricket Club is a turf wicket and has five cricket grounds, out of which the North-West ground has been actively hosting international matches since 2008.
In 2006, Maple Leaf Cricket Club became only the second ground in Canada to host international cricket matches and it has since hosted matches of tournaments like the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup, the 2008 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series and several games in the ICC Americas Championship tournaments of 2006. The 7000-seat capacity venue also hosted the Global T20 Canada tournament.
Traeger Park, Alice Springs
This multispecialty ground in Alice Springs, Australia’s Northern Territory, is home to cricket, football as well as rugby. The 7200-seater stadium is primarily used for the Central Australian Football League and has also hosted multiple pre-season games of Australian Rules Football, apart from the National Rugby League. Traeger Park has mostly hosted domestic cricket tournaments, mainly the Sheffield Shield tournament.
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Zimbabwe’s Queens Sports Club is one of the oldest cricket venues across the world. Established in 1890, the ground has primarily been used for cricket matches and holds a picturesque countenance as surrounding trees give shade to spectators in one of the old pavilions. This stadium in Bulawayo is Zimbabwe’s second cricket ground after the famous Harare Sports Club. Over the years, the Zimbabwe national team has found success in this venue against cricketing giants like England, West Indies, Pakistan and even Australia.
The smallest cricket ground in India is the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, situated in Rajkot, with a seating capacity of 15,000. The smallest cricket ground in England is North Marine Road Ground in Scarborough, with a capacity of 11,500.
World’s Smallest Cricket Stadium: By Boundary Size
Seating capacity isn’t the only parameter to list down the smallest cricket grounds across the world, as boundary size remains of equal importance in cricket.
As per the ICC Test Match Standard Playing Conditions, which was updated in October 2014, the distance of the straight boundaries at both ends of the pitch must be a minimum of 64m, while the shorter of the two square boundaries should be a minimum of 59.43m. Apart from this, the minimum measurement of the playing area of one boundary to another, the square of the pitch, must be 137.16 meters.
World’s Smallest Cricket Stadium
By Boundary Size
| No. | Stadium Name | Country | Boundary Length |
| 1 | Eden Park, Auckland | New Zealand | 55 meters |
| 2 | The Wanderers, Johannesburg | South Africa | 64 meters |
| 3 | The Lord’s, London | England | 65 meters |
| 4 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | India | 65 meters |
| 5 | Holkar Stadium, Indore | India | 68 meters |
Eden Pak, Auckland
New Zealand’s Eden Park is known to be the smallest cricket ground owing to its small boundaries of 55 meters. Though it doesn’t adhere to the cricketing standards of the ICC, with Auckland’s straight boundaries being as short as 45 meters, the ground had attained its international status before the measurement rule was imposed. Hence, while Eden Park still hosts ODIs and T20Is, it last hosted a Test match in 2018.
The Wanderers, Johannesburg
The boundary of the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, is 65 meters straight and 64 meters square, thereby just abiding by the ICC rules. Since it opened in 1956, the stadium has played host to 106 international games. This venue hosts matches of Highveld Lions, a cricket team that takes part in first-class competitions like the CSA 4-Day Series, CSA T20 Challenge as well as the Momentum 1 Day Cup.
The Lord’s, London
A surprise inclusion on this list is the “Mecca of Cricket”, which is situated in England’s London city. One of the oldest, most iconic cricket stadiums in the world, The Lord’s has the third smallest boundary of 65 meters, which is the shortest square. However, the venue's other lengthy boundaries more than makeup for it. The straight boundary fences range in length from 85 to 95 meters from the centre. The boundaries of the mid-wicket and cover are 91 meters and 88 meters, respectively.
Recommended Articles
An M.A. in English Literature, Subhayan is an experienced journalist and sports writer. Having worked as a journalist at Hindustan Times, Subhayan covered diverse beats including sports, education, and health, showcasing his versatility and in-depth understanding of various subjects.