Old Trafford

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Lore & Background

In 1956, Jim Laker became the first person to take all 10 wickets in a Test match innings, achieving figures of 10 for 53 in the fourth Test against Australia. Having also taken 9 for 37 in the first innings, Laker ended the match with record figures of 19 for 90, which remains unmatched to this day. In 1990, a 17 year old Sachin Tendulkar scored 119 not out against England, which was the first of his 100 international centuries. In the 1993 Ashes Test at Old Trafford, leg-spinner Shane Warne bowled Mike Gatting with the 'Ball of the Century'. In 1981 Ian Botham hit 118, including six sixes (the second greatest number in an Ashes innings), which he has called 'one of the three innings I would like to tell my grandchildren about'. In 1995, Dominic Cork took a hat-trick for England against the West Indies. In 2000, both Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart played their hundredth Tests, against the West Indies. In the Third Test of the 2005 Ashes series the match ended in a nailbiting draw, with 10,000 fans shut out of the ground on the final day as tickets were sold out.

In Their Own Story

The ground was first used as a cricket ground in 1857, when the Manchester Cricket Club moved onto the meadows of the de Trafford estate. In 1884, Old Trafford became the second English ground, after The Oval, to stage Test cricket: with the first day being lost to rain, England drew with Australia. In 1902, the Australian Victor Trumper hit a hundred before lunch on the first day; Australia went on to win the Test by 3 runs—the third-closest Test result in history. During the Second World War, Old Trafford was used as a transit camp for troops returning from Dunkirk, and as a supply depot. In December 1940, the ground was hit by bombs, damaging or destroying several stands. The 'Victory Test' between England and Australia of August 1945 proved to be extremely popular, with 76,463 seeing it over three days. On 1 May 1963 the first ever one day cricket match took place at Old Trafford, as the Gillette Cup was launched. In 2020 the ground was used as one of two biosecure venues, alongside the Ageas Bowl, for the tours involving West Indies and Pakistan which were regulated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reader's Guide

The cricket ground is near the Old Trafford football stadium (a five-minute walk away down Warwick Road and Sir Matt Busby Way), in the borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, approximately two miles south west of Manchester city centre. Its capacity is 22,000 for Test matches, for which temporary stands are erected, and 15,000 for other matches. Since 1884, it has hosted 84 Tests, the third-highest number in England, behind Lord's and The Oval. The northern End is the James Anderson End, formerly the Pavilion End. The southern End is the Brian Statham End, named in honour of the former Lancashire and England player. Old Trafford has a reputation for unpredictable weather. Old Trafford is the only ground in England where a Test match has been abandoned without a ball being bowled—and this has happened here twice in 1890 and 1938. The three-tiered Victorian members' pavilion was built in 1895 for £10,000. The Point, Old Trafford's distinctive £12 million conference centre, and at 1,000 seats one of the largest multi-purpose conference facilities in North West England, opened in 2010.

Did You Know?

• Old Trafford is the only ground in England where a Test match has been abandoned without a ball being bowled—and this has happened twice, in 1890 and 1938.
• In 1956 Jim Laker took all 10 wickets in a Test match innings (10 for 53) and ended the match with record figures of 19 for 90, which remains unmatched.
• In the second Test of 1938, groundstaff moved the turf from the practice pitch to the square in a desperate effort to ensure play after heavy rain—a unique attempt.
• Of the ten West Indies cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut, three of them – Alf Valentine, John Shepherd, and Daren Sammy – did so at Old Trafford.
• In 1993, Shane Warne bowled the 'Ball of the Century' to Mike Gatting at the ground.