A huge part of the glory of international cricket is the shapes and sizes of the arenas in which it is played.
Backdrops, walks to the ground and the ambience of a seven-hour day in the sun make up just as much a part of being a spectator as the actual cricket itself, and picking a ground to plonk yourself at is a key consideration.
Any cricket fan has a bucket list of venues they would like to tick off, from the 100,000-seat leviathans to the bucolic parks with a view.
Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth has spent more than two decades watching cricket around the world, and has been picking the 20 grounds you must visit.
Here, counting down from 20 to one, he names his favourite international venues.
20th: The Oval, London, England
The spiritual home of south London cricket, The Oval is both vast and intimate, and a name that echoes down the ages
Kevin Pietersen walks off after his Ashes-winning 158 at the Oval in 2005
The spiritual home of south London cricket, The Oval is both vast and intimate, and a name that echoes down the ages: Jessop’s record hundred, Hutton’s 364, the Ashes regained in 1953 and 2005, D’Oliveira’s cat-among-the-pigeons 158.
The gasholders are being turned into luxury apartments, but the skyline still takes in Big Ben, and the view from the OCS Stand is as sweeping as the playing area.
19th: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India
The Wankhede Stadium forms part of one of world’s cricket hotspots, with the Brabourne Stadium and Bombay Gymkhana all within strolling distance in this beguiling neighbourhood
The statue of Sachin Tendulkar erected during the 2023 World Cup provides a constant reminder of Mumbai’s most cherished son
The Wankhede Stadium forms part of one of the world’s cricket hotspots, with the Brabourne Stadium and Bombay Gymkhana all within strolling distance in this beguiling neighbourhood of India’s greatest city.
Gaps between the stands invite the breeze from the Arabian Sea, while the statue of Sachin Tendulkar erected during the 2023 World Cup provides a constant reminder of Mumbai’s most cherished son.
Few celebrations have been as intense as the Indian fans who flocked along Marine Drive after MS Dhoni clinched the 2011 World Cup here with a huge six over long-on.
18th: MCG, Melbourne, Australia
On Boxing Day, the MCG can feel like the centre of the sporting universe, especially if England or India are in town
You’ll struggle to find a better day in English cricket history than December 26, 2010: Australia 98 all out, England 157-0
For most of the year, the MCG is a giant concrete bowl, imposing but unappealing.
On Boxing Day, it can feel like the centre of the sporting universe, especially if England or India are in town.
A stroll along the Yarra helps walk off the Christmas lunch, and whets the appetite for the cricket to come.
And you’ll struggle to find a better day in English history than December 26, 2010: Australia 98 all out, England 157-0.
17th: Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand
Essentially a field in a park, but with grassy banks providing a view of the beautiful Port Hills, Hagley Oval oozes Kiwi understatement
Hagley Oval stepped in from 2011 as Christchurch’s international ground and has done an idyllic job ever since
A couple of years after Lancaster Park was rendered unusable by the devastating 2011 earthquake, Hagley Oval stepped in, and has done an idyllic job ever since.
Essentially a field in a park, but with grassy banks providing a view of the beautiful Port Hills, the place oozes Kiwi understatement.
England felt so relaxed when they were here last winter that the players arrived on scooters, though a stroll through the Botanic Gardens is slightly more relaxing.
16th: Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia
What the Bellerive Oval lacks in grandeur and history, it makes up for in optics
Once you’re there, the water can still be seen from the press box – like some reminder that you really are watching cricket at the end of the world
Nearly two-and-a-half decades on the international circuit have not thrown up a more uplifting journey to the cricket than the 15-minute ferry across the Derwent River from Hobart’s Constitution Dock to the Bellerive Oval.
Once you’re there, the water can still be seen from the press box – like some reminder that you really are watching cricket at the end of the world.
What the ground lacks in grandeur and history, it makes up for in optics.
15th: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
The Kensington Oval’s modernisation in time for the 2007 World Cup did not come at a cost of its heritage, and it is walkable from the centre of Bridgetown
Time was when the tiny island of Barbados (population: 280,000) could have beaten most Test nations, and the Kensington Oval’s understandable pride in its alumni is reflected in the names of the stands: Hall and Griffith; Greenidge and Haynes; Worrell, Weekes and Walcott.
The ground’s modernisation in time for the 2007 World Cup did not come at a cost of its heritage, and it is walkable from the centre of Bridgetown.
Even during some fallow years for West Indies cricket, the place retains an aura.
14th: Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka
High in Kandy’s hill country, in the centre of Sri Lanka, Pallekele replaced the old Asgiriya Stadium as the region’s international stadium when it was built in 2009
Other than Dambulla – some 45 miles to the north – no other venue in world cricket feels more as if it’s taking place in the middle of the jungle
High in Kandy’s hill country, in the centre of Sri Lanka, Pallekele replaced the old Asgiriya Stadium as the region’s international stadium when it was built in 2009.
Other than Dambulla – some 45 miles to the north – no other venue in world cricket feels more as if it’s taking place in the middle of the jungle.
Buy a roadside coconut en route, and breathe in the altitude.
13th: The Village, Malahide, Ireland
Less than 10 miles north of Dublin, and situated on a stunning marina, the town of Malahide is one of international cricket’s most hidden jewels
Less than 10 miles north of Dublin, and situated on a stunning marina, the town of Malahide is one of international cricket’s most hidden jewels.
The ground staged Ireland’s first Test, against Pakistan in 2018, and will host England’s three-match T20 series in September.
If fans don’t flock across the Irish Sea, both for the cricket and the bars and pubs, they may want their pulse checking.
12th: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand
Bay Oval – situated by the Bay of Plenty on the North Island – is a wonder to behold
Bay Oval represents everything that’s right about Test cricket in New Zealand: boutiquey, grassy, unpretentious
If you ignore the surprisingly big industrial complex next door, Bay Oval – situated by the Bay of Plenty on the North Island – is a wonder to behold.
Its USP is the Mount itself, obligatory in any photo of the ground, and scaleable in half an hour if you don’t stop too often for breath.
The views back down the beach, and across to Tauranga, are magnificent.
Bay Oval represents everything that’s right about Test cricket in New Zealand: boutiquey, grassy, unpretentious.
11th: Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India
Kolkata’s Eden Gardens still packs in 68,000, and can rock like no other venue in India
For the first four days of the 1999 Test there between India and Pakistan, the crowd was estimated at 100,000
The jewel in Kolkata’s sporting crown isn’t quite as vast as it once was: for the first four days of the 1999 Test there between India and Pakistan, the crowd was estimated at 100,000.
But it still packs in 68,000, and can rock like no other venue in India.
The locals even come out for the neutral games: the atmosphere at the 2016 World T20 final between England and West Indies, when Carlos Brathwaite broke Ben Stokes’s heart, was electric.
10th: SCG, Sydney, Australia
As Melbourne will attest, you’ve made it as a cricket ground when you’re known by your initials. And the SCG has earned the privilege
It has an old-school allure, with the Members’ Stand and Lady Members’ Stand – cast-iron balustrades, green roofs – dating back to the late 19th century
As Melbourne will attest, you’ve made it as a cricket ground when you’re known by your initials. And the SCG has earned the privilege.
In a city better known for a bridge and an opera house, it has an old-school allure, with the Members’ Stand and Lady Members’ Stand – cast-iron balustrades, green roofs – dating back to the late 19th century.
Sydney also hosted one of the greatest forgotten Tests: England won there by 10 runs in 1894-95 after following on.
9th: Arnos Vale Stadium, Arnos Vale, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Camera operatives at the Arnos Vale ground have one job on match days: zoom out from the cricket and treat viewers to the sight of the sparkling Caribbean off the island’s south coast
North of the ground, hills dotted with houses add to the holiday feel
Camera operatives at the Arnos Vale ground have one job on match days: zoom out from the cricket and treat viewers to the sight of the sparkling Caribbean off the island’s south coast.
North of the ground, hills dotted with houses add to the holiday feel.
Perhaps seduced by the vibe, England have played four ODIs here – most recently in 1998 – and lost the lot.
8th: Boland Park, Paarl, South Africa
Less than an hour out of Cape Town is glorious Boland Park, nestled among the Helderberg Mountains and near the famous Nederburg wine estate
Less than an hour out of Cape Town is glorious Boland Park, nestled among the Helderberg Mountains and near the famous Nederburg wine estate.
Open a bottle of the Baronne or Edelrood on the ground’s grassy banks and drink in the scenery.
England played a T20 there in late 2020, but a scheduled ODI a few days later was called off on the morning of the game because of a Covid scare: paradise lost.
7th: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Even after its redevelopment just over a decade ago, Adelaide Oval still has a feel unmatched in Australia
England fans will have mixed feelings about a ground where they have slumped to epic lows and enjoyed major highs
Even after its redevelopment just over a decade ago, Adelaide Oval still has a feel unmatched in Australia.
Stroll across the River Torrens (look out for the black swans), pop into St Peter’s Cathedral (where England’s Andy Sandham went to pray shortly before his side lost by 11 runs in 1924-25), and soak up the heritage-listed scoreboard on the grassy bank.
England fans may have mixed feelings: Andrew Flintoff’s team lost here in 2006-07 after starting with 551 for six; four years later, Australia slipped to two for three on the first morning, and never recovered.
6th: Lord’s, London, England
No other ground has the confidence to call itself the Home of Cricket, nor the credentials to pull it off
The walk to the crease is the most iconic in cricket, and the constant redevelopment never damages the history
The red-trouser quotient is high, as the Australians discovered in 2023, but you can’t have everything
We couldn’t leave it off, could we? No other ground has the confidence to call itself the Home of Cricket, nor the credentials to pull it off.
And what other honours boards receive more column inches?
The walk to the crease is the most iconic in cricket, and the constant redevelopment never damages the history.
The red-trouser quotient is high, as the Australians discovered in 2023, but you can’t have everything.
5th: Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand
The area was once a lake, but when an earthquake lifted the ground by six feet in 1855, prisoners from a local jail were brought in to drain what had become a swamp
It’s the windiest venue on the planet, and one of the prettiest, with red-flowered pohutukawa trees standing out beyond the grassy banks
Many of New Zealand’s cricket grounds share facilities with rugby, but not the lovely Basin Reserve.
The area was once a lake, but when an earthquake lifted the ground by six feet in 1855, prisoners from a local jail were brought in to drain what had become a swamp.
Eleven years later, the Reserve began staging cricket. It’s the windiest venue on the planet, and one of the prettiest, with red-flowered pohutukawa trees standing out beyond the grassy banks.
England coach Brendon McCullum hit New Zealand’s only Test triple-century here.
4th: Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England
It has effortlessly blended old and new, both architecturally and historically: not far from the Larwood and Voce Pub & Kitchen is the Stuart Broad End
Broad’s eight for 15 to secure the Ashes in 2015 remains one of English cricket’s highpoints
Not even the tarpaulin draped over the picturesque pavilion during the recent Test against Zimbabwe could deprive Trent Bridge of its easy elegance.
It has effortlessly blended old and new, both architecturally and historically: not far from the Larwood and Voce Pub & Kitchen is the Stuart Broad End.
His eight for 15 to secure the Ashes in 2015 remains one of English cricket’s highpoints.
3rd: Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka
If every Test between now and the end of time had to be played at one venue, Galle might win the vote
The Fort area beyond is full of life, restaurants and bars
If every Test between now and the end of time had to be played at one venue, Galle might win the vote.
The ramparts that overlook the ground – built by the Portuguese in the 15th century, fortified by the Dutch in the 16th – offers perhaps the most historical seat in world cricket, while the Fort area beyond is full of life, restaurants and bars.
Either side is the Indian Ocean, which in 2004 bore the catastrophic tsunami that killed a quarter of a million and left the ground under water.
It reopened in plenty of time to allow Muttiah Muralitharan to retire with 800 Test wickets in 2010.
2nd: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala, India
There are cricketing backdrops – and then there’s Dharamsala, which on a winter’s day can offer the snowcapped Himalayas
The whole place is dreamlike, a mixture of monkeys, monks and moonlit beers
There are cricketing backdrops – and then there’s Dharamsala, which on a winter’s day can offer the snowcapped Himalayas.
Further up the mountains is McLeod-Ganj, where you might bump into the Dalai Lama.
The whole place is dreamlike, a mixture of monkeys, monks and moonlit beers. And it holds a special place in English cricket history: it was here, in March 2024, that Jimmy Anderson became the first seamer to claim 700 Test wickets.
1st: Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa
If the sky is blue, there is no more stunning spot to watch a Test match than Newlands, whose backdrop of Table Mountain is perhaps international cricket’s finest
This is a fitting venue to take top spot on any sporting bucket list
The stadium can just about be seen in the backdrop of the football ground, with Table Mountain framing it all
If the sky is blue, there is no more stunning spot to watch a Test match than Newlands, whose backdrop of Table Mountain – not to mention Devil’s Peak – is perhaps international cricket’s finest.
The ground lost a smidgen of its charm when recent redevelopments took away some of the grass banks, but the railway line that passes between Table Mountain and the cricket, as well as the brewery, add to the sense of a ground, not a stadium.
A fitting top spot on the bucket list.
