Kensington Oval, Cricket stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados

Kensington Oval is a cricket stadium in Bridgetown with two named ends honoring local legends: the Malcolm Marshall End and the Joel Garner End. The ground holds around 28,000 spectators and provides modern facilities for both players and visitors.

Cricket at the Oval began in 1882, when the Pickwick Cricket Club took formal ownership of the ground. The first international match came in 1895, when a side led by Slade Lucas toured the island. The first Test, a draw between West Indies and England, was played in January 1930; 43 Tests have been staged here since, 21 of them won by West Indies.

Locals call the ground the "Mecca of cricket". Its stands keep the names of former structures, among them the Pickwick, the Kensington and the Three Ws, alongside the Peter Short Media Centre. Off the field it has hosted Barbados football internationals, hockey, inter-school athletics and Miss Barbados pageants, and in 2011 Rihanna played her first concert in her home country here.

Visitors should know that the ground underwent major renovation in 2007 and is now significantly larger than before. The location sits centrally in Bridgetown and is easy to reach by public transport or car.

The outfield was rebuilt in 2004 by the STRI team, who had previously reconstructed the outfield at Lord's. It uses Tifway 419 hybrid Bermuda grass, chosen for disease resistance and quick recovery, laid over a root-zone, blinding and gravel drainage profile above ancient coral reef limestone.