The Oval
Cricket
County Championship
London
Score:
46
Overview
A lot will depend on the day you choose to go. For certain matches, the staff at Surrey make an admirable effort to improve the County Championship experience. For example, their Festival of Red Ball Cricket usually involves a beer festival and a wider range of food options than one can expect at a typical four-day game. On an ordinary match-day, moderate your expectations. Nothing accentuates the feeling of the Championship’s decline like the sound of bat striking ball reverberating off thousands of empty seats in a sparsely populated Test ground. That said, there is always a healthy crowd in the pavilion and, if you happen to be friends with a member or are a member of the visiting club, you’ll be able to access this beautiful, imposing Victorian edifice. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to take in the atmospheric Long Room, with its impressive collection of cricketing art and to enjoy the sweeping views of London from the upper levels. It might not set your pace racing, but there are few better venues at which to enjoy the unique rhythms of the four-day game.
Score Summaries
Atmosphere & Experience: 6
The Oval is an iconic venue and even the limited number of spectators to be found at Championship match can’t diminish the impressiveness of its pavilion, the grandeur of the city views from its upper tiers, and the palpable sense of history at the ground (keep an eye out for the many architectural nods to The Oval’s status as the place where the legend of The Ashes was born). That said, not even the intermittent shouts of the Peter May Boys, Surrey’s most faithful supporters, can do much to overcome the sense of flatness created by row-upon-row of empty seats. Coupled with the propensity of the ground staff for producing flat tracks that are the stuff of batters’ wildest dreams and which lead to many, many high-scoring draws, there’s a risk that you won’t be treated to the most entertaining cricket.
Seats: 8
Try to sit in the pavilion or the Peter May stand, where seats are more spacious and comfortable. You’ll also be closer to the catering outlets and bars which are open for Championship matches, Elsewhere, you’ll find very basic foldout plastic chairs that aren’t much fun to spend an entire day in. Views are unobstructed almost everywhere around the ground, with a few minor exceptions in the pavilion and parts of the Peter May, and the lack of fellow spectators means you’re almost guaranteed to find an excellent spot.
Catering: 5
Unless you’re attending the Festival of Red Ball Cricket, you’ll find a limited range of catering and bar facilities available outside of the pavilion. There is, however, a good selection of beers on offer across the various bars. If you’re in the pavilion, your food options are improved, but still not great. The café provides good coffee and cakes, but the lunches served in the restaurants are underwhelming.
Facilities: 9
Plentiful enough that you’ll never have to go too far from your seat and, given the small crowd, you’ll never have to wait. Maintained to a good standard.
Getting There: 9
Given its relatively central location, with multiple Tube stations and bus stops nearby and national rail services available at Vauxhall, it’s very easy to get to the Oval from almost anywhere in town.
Getting Away: 9
The combination of tiny crowd and plethora of transport options means you’ll find it very easy to get home after the close of play.