The Oval

We take a closer look at the venue for the final Test match of the 2013 Ashes, The Oval.

Ashes history

The Oval is the most significant venue in Ashes history. Host to the first Test match on English soil, against Australia in 1880, it was after an 1882 defeat to the Aussies in Kennington that the Sporting Times published English cricket's obituary, suggesting the "body be cremated and the Ashes sent to Australia". So began one of sport's most enduring rivalries, and the old south London arena has witnessed many a memorable Ashes moment down the years: from Len Hutton's record individual score of 364 in 1938 to two Donald Bradman double hundreds. During Australia's period of dominance towards the end of the last century, The Oval became synonymous with the salvaging of home pride at the end of a fraught series, England twice recording meaningless victories with the Ashes already lost. Redemption came in 2005 as Kevin Pietersen's first Test hundred secured a draw which regained the urn for England, and four years later it was debutant Jonathan Trott's somewhat-less-swashbuckling century which laid the foundations for a series-winning victory.