Twenty20 World Championship 2007
Venues
Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town is a South African cricket ground. It's the home of the Cape Cobras, who play in the SuperSport Series, Standard Bank Cup for ODI's and Pro20 competitions. It is also a venues for Test matches. It is one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world, being overlooked by Table Mountain and Devil's Peak. It is close to Newlands Stadium, which is a rugby and football venue.
The ground hosted its first Test match in March 1889 when England defeated South Africa by an innings and 202 runs. As of June, 2006, there have been 40 Test matches played at the ground of which South Africa has won 13, their opponents 19 and 8 which ended in a draw. The last team besides Australia to beat South Africa there was New Zealand, in 1961.
The first One-day International played at the ground was in December 1992 when South Africa beat India by 6 wickets. As of June, 2006, there have been 28 One-day Internationals played at the ground including five in the Cricket World Cup in 2003. South Africa has won 19 of its games there, and the opposition 3 (the West Indies being the most recent opposition victor in 2002).
Over the past five years numerous changes have been made to the ground. This has slightly taken away from its former splendor. Large portions of the grass embankments have been replaced by pavilions increasing the seating capacity to 25,000.
Newlands is one of the few cricket grounds in South Africa that tends to favour spinners. Most grounds tend to favour pacemen or batsmen, but the Western Cape has had a history of having very good spinners, a recent example being Paul Adams.
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead is a Cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its current stated capacity is 25000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area. The 'End names' are the Umgeni End (north) and the Old Fort Road End (south). It is the home ground of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins.
When a Test series is played in South Africa, this ground usually hosts the Boxing Day Test.
This venue hosted the first Test for the South African cricket team after re-admission into international cricket and also hosted the timeless Test against the English cricket team in 1939. This Test lasted from the third to the thirteenth of March and was called off over fears that the English would miss their ship home.
The first Test match to be played here was between South Africa and England on January 18, 1923, which resulted in a draw.
It has been renowned as a seamers wicket, and there is also a famous myth regarding how the tide affects batting conditions, as the ground is quite close to the beach. Many batting collapses in matches in the past have been blamed on changes in the tide, but nobody has been able to prove this theory.
It is the stadium used every other year for the finish of the Comrades Marathon, an ultramarathon run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Because the run alternates directions each year, it only finishes in Durban in odd-numbered years.
Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Wanderers Stadium is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Test, One Day and First class cricket matches are played here. It is also the home ground for the Highveld Lions, formerly known as Gauteng (Transvaal).
The stadium has a seating capacity of 34,000, and was built in 1956 to replace the Old Wanderers Stadium. It was completely overhauled following South Africa's readmission to international cricket in 1991. In 1996, five new 65 metre high floodlight masts replaced the existing four 30 metre high masts enabling day-night limited-overs cricket. It is nicknamed 'The Bullring' due to its design and intimidating atmosphere.
The Cricket World Cup 2003 final was held at the Wanderers Stadium. On 1 October 2004, the Wanderers Clubhouse was virtually destroyed by fire.
