Kingsmead Cricket Ground, cricket ground

Kingsmead Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Durban with a stated capacity of 25,000, part of it grass terracing. Its two ends are the Umgeni End to the north and the Old Fort Road End to the south, and it is the home ground of the Dolphins.

Kingsmead hosted its first Test from 18 January 1923, when South Africa and England drew over five days. International cricket stopped in 1970 and resumed in 1991, when the ground staged South Africa's first home Test after readmission. The 1939 Test against England ran from 3 to 13 March and was called off because England feared missing their ship home.

Kingsmead's name comes from the Kingsmead estate on which the ground was laid out, not from any viceroy. The ground is home to the Dolphins, and its two ends are named Umgeni End to the north and Old Fort Road End to the south. The venue sits close to Durban's beachfront, and locals have long joked that the tide influences batting collapses.

The ground lies close to Durban's beachfront, with the Umgeni End at the north and the Old Fort Road End at the south. Part of the viewing area is grass terracing rather than seats, so check the weather before choosing a spot. The ground is the home of the Dolphins.

The ground lies close to the beach, and a long-standing myth holds that the tide affects batting conditions; past batting collapses have jokingly been blamed on tidal changes. On 19 September 2007 Yuvraj Singh hit six consecutive sixes off one Stuart Broad over here, the fastest fifty in any form of cricket.