Cricket is a game of statistics and records. However, what is really interesting about cricket is that it is not only the players who hold records, but even inanimate objects such as cricket grounds and cricket stadiums that are known for holding world records!
The smallest international cricket stadium by boundary is Eden Park in New Zealand due to its shortest straight boundary of about 55 meters. It also has one of the shortest square boundary of about 65 meters making it a stadium with one of the smallest cricket field.
The smallest international cricket stadium by capacity is the Grange Club Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland with a seating capacity of 5000 spectators. It has hosted several high profile international cricket matches and is home to the Scotland’s National Cricket team.
While everyone often talks about the biggest and the largest, in this article we shall take a look at the smallest cricket stadiums in the world!
*IMPORTANT – only those cricket grounds and stadiums have considered that have hosted at least one international cricket match.
Smallest International Cricket Stadium in the World by Boundary
The boundary length of a cricket stadium can vary from one match to another.
As mentioned above, Eden Park in New Zealand is widely considered as the smallest international cricket stadium in the world.
Let’s look at some of the cricket stadium with shortest boundary length.
List of Smallest Cricket Stadiums by Boundary LengthNo Stadium Name Country Boundary Type Size (in meters) 1 Eden Park, Auckland New Zealand Straight 55 2 The Wanderers, Johannesburg South Africa Square 64 3 Lord’s, London England Square 65 4 Eden Gardens, Kolkata India Square 66 5 Eden Park, Auckland New Zealand Square 68
It is important to note that while the above statistics indicate the boundary size in meters, the actual size on the matchday may vary depending on the usage of the pitch and adjustment of the boundary and advertising.
Furthermore, only the most commonly known stadiums have been considered due to a lack of available data in the public domain on the boundary sizes of all cricket stadiums in the world.
Smallest International Cricket Stadium in the World by Capacity
When people talk about the smallest cricket stadium, it is usually measured by the seating capacity of the stadium.
It is interesting to note that there are over 200 International Cricket Stadiums across the globe where cricket matches take place on a regular basis.
While some are known for their large seating capacity, a few others gather attention for their especially small size! So, here’s a list of the smallest cricket stadiums across the world in terms of their seating capacity.
List of Smallest Cricket Stadium by CapacityNo. 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
All these stadiums have had more than a few international cricket matches played at their respective venues.
That said, cricket stadium’s from some of the most well-known cricket playing nations do not feature in the above list. So, let’s take a look at the list of smallest cricket stadium for India, England and Australia respectively.
Smallest Cricket Stadium in India (by Capacity)
India is known as a cricket crazy nation, and it is no surprise that the worlds largest cricket stadium is also in India. However, while you may heard about the Motera Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad for its gigantic capacity, not many are aware about the smallest cricket stadiums in India.
So, let’s take a look at the top 5 smallest cricket stadium in India –
List of Smallest Cricket Stadium in India (by capacity)No. Stadium Name City Capacity 1 Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground Rajkot 15,000 2 Roop Singh Stadium Gwalior 18,000 3 Brabourne Stadium Mumbai 20,000 4 K. D. Singh Babu Stadium Lucknow 22,000 5 HPCA Stadium Dharamsala 23,000
Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur runs in a close 6th with a seating capacity of 23,185 spectators.
Smallest Cricket Stadium in England (by Capacity)
England is known for as the country for origin of Cricket. Known as the home of cricket, it houses some of the world’s oldest and most well-known cricket stadium in the world!
List of Smallest Cricket Stadium in England (by capacity)No. Stadium Name City Capacity 1 North Marine Road Ground Scarborough 11,500 2 County Ground Taunton 12,500 3 County Cricket Ground Bristol 15,000 4 St Lawrence Ground Canterbury 15,000 5 Riverside Ground Chester-le-Street 17,000
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in Nottingham, a famous stadium for several international cricket matches in England, also has a capacity of 17,000 spectators.
Smallest Cricket Stadium in Australia (by Capacity)
The Aussies are known to enjoy watching sports and it is no different for Cricket. Thus, just like India, Australia is also known for massive stadiums not just in capacity but also in the boundary length.
Let’s look at what are some of the smallest cricket stadium in Australia –
List of Smallest Cricket Stadium in Australia (by capacity)No. Stadium Name City Capacity 1 Traeger Park Alice Springs 7,200 2 Riverway Stadium Townsville 10,000 3 Manuka Oval Canberra 12,000 4 Marrara Oval Darwin 12,500 5 Cazaly Stadium Cairns 13,500
While Australia has had a few small sized stadium, it is more known for Melbourne Cricket Ground which is not only one of the biggest stadium in the world, but also famous for its rich cricket history.
What is the Minimum Size of a Cricket Field?
As per the ICC’s standard playing conditions law 20.1.3, no boundary should be shorter than 59.43 meters and no longer than 82.29 meters from the centre of the pitch. The overall diameter of a cricket field can vary between 137 meters and 150 meters.
We covered this topic in great detail in another article on our website. That article not only talks about the size and dimensions of a cricket ground, but also shares some interesting cricket grounds that have had a tree in it! Make sure you give it a read!
Lastly, in case you are wondering that if the minimum boundary size requirement for a stadium is 59.43 meters, how then does ICC allow cricket matches to be held in stadiums like Eden Park?
Well, the minimum boundary rule omits stadiums that were built before October of 2007. It is applicable specifically to stadiums that are being built all over the world as Cricket spreads its wings with the onset of T20 cricket.
Final Thoughts
While most people want to learn more about the biggest and the largest cricket stadium, there are times when we want to know the smallest one too!
I hope this article provided you with adequate information and hopefully made you learn something new!