A brief history compiled by Dr. Andrew Hignell (Hon. Statistician and Historian to Glamorgan CCC)
Abergavenny is widely regarded by players, the Press and the
general public as one of the most picturesque grounds on the
first-class circuit. Its intimate atmosphere and rural location,
nestling amongst the tree-topped hills on the Welsh border, a
mile or so to the north of a small and friendly market town, to
say nothing of its quaint pavilion and irregular boundary, all
provide a tranquil atmosphere. The annual fixture at the ground
provides a healthy reminder of what cricket must have been like
in the pre-commercial era, and for those who play, work or watch
at vast, anonymous concrete stadiums, visiting the Avenue Road
ground must be a godsend and a breath of fresh air. The wicket
has been of the highest standard, and a host of batting records
have been established at the pretty ground, most recently in 1995
when Gloucestershire`s Anglo-Australian, hit a world record 20
sixes during the Championship match with Gloucestershire.
The Abergavenny club is amongst one of the oldest in South Wales.
Formed in 1834, the club first played in the lush fields
alongside the Rivers Usk or Gavenny, and during most of the 19th
century their games were held at a variety of locations on these
green meadows against teams of gentlemen or traders from towns in
the neighbouring English counties. In 1884 they acquired a
regular home on land owned by the industrialist Crawshay Bailey,
but over time the wicket became rather poor, and the club lost
fixtures as a result. A solution was found in 1896 when an
approach to the Marquess of Abergavenny, resulted in a move to a
four and a half acre field off Avenue Road, called Pen-y-Pound.
The Marquess was a great supporter of cricket, having been
President of Kent C.C.C. in 1878, and although spending little
time in the market town, he was a kindly benefactor to its
inhabitants.
The club went from strength to strength after the move, so much
so, that the Marquess generously financed an enlarged pavilion.
The new, improved wicket was also widely admired and in 1910
Monmouthshire staged their Minor County fixture game with
Carmarthenshire at Avenue Road. In 1915 the Marquess of
Abergavenny died, and much of his estate was sold for building
land. However, Major J.R.Jacob, the Chairman and former captain
of the club, helped to secure the freehold of the Pen-y-Pound
ground for the cricket club.
Glamorgan`s amalgamation with Monmouthshire in 1935 led to the
Welsh county staging second eleven, plus club and ground,
fixtures at Abergavenny, and some of the club`s players were also
chosen by the Glamorgan selectors. In 1948 the ground hosted the
Minor County fixture with Devon, and with Glamorgan pledging to
stage first-class matches in Monmouthshire, the Abergavenny
officials hoped that their attractive home would be lucky enough
to host a Championship fixture.
The superior facilities and larger pavilion at Ebbw Vale won the
day, but even so, the Abergavenny club didn`t lose heart and
continued to be the host of special Benefit matches, both for
Glamorgan players as well as those from neighbouring
Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. However, by
the mid 1960`s, Glamorgan were starting to cut back on the number
of venues they played at, and for all of its charms, the
likelihood of Avenue Road staging county cricket looked slim, and
the club had to content itself with games in the Gwent Premier
and Severn Counties League.
Disaster appeared to strike in 1977 as a fire severely damaged
the pavilion and completely destroyed the adjoining tea room.
But as it turned out, the fire proved to be a turning point in
the history of the club as a generous grant from the Welsh Sports
Council helped to pay for renovations and much larger facilities.
These extensions happened at a lucky time, as in the 1980`s,
Glamorgan also began to take cricket around the region again.
Abergavenny made a formal request to stage a Sunday League game,
and in 1981 the county committee allocated the match with
Worcestershire to the Gwent ground.
The Glamorgan officials were suitably impressed by the hard work,
both on and of the field by the Abergavenny folk, and in 1982
their efforts were rewarded with the Sunday match with
Northamptonshire. Local businesses also offered generous
sponsorship and in May 1983 Worcestershire visited Abergavenny
once again as the ground staged its inaugural County Championship
fixture.
Worcestershire and Gloucestershire have been regular vistors to
the ground, and their batsmen, as well as the Glamorgan players,
have enjoyed taking advantage of the placid wicket and small
boundaries. One of the best examples was the 1990 fixture with
Worcestershire. After Graeme Hick had recorded a superb 252* ,
Phil Neale set Glamorgan a target of 495 to win on the final day.
They ended on 493-6, and came agonisingly close to setting a new
championship record. However, the most famous game in the
ground`s short Championship history came in August 1995 as Andrew
Symonds hit 254 and smashed the world six hitting record, by
hitting 16 sixes in his double-century, followed by four more in
the second innings. Almost unnoticed Indian all-rounder Javagal
Srinath claimed 13-150 and his supreme efforts, on a ground
regarded as a bowlers graveyard, were in keeping with the almost
unreal atmosphere which is generated by this most idiosyncratic,
and charming, of county cricket venues.
For further information about the history of this, and other
grounds used by Glamorgan, you may be interested in purchasing
"The Cricket Grounds of Glamorgan", written by Andrew Hignell and
published in 1985 by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and
Historians. For further details, please consult the A.C.S.
homepage on CricInfo, send e-mail to acs@cricinfo.com or write to
Peter Wynne-Thomas at 3, Radcliffe Road, Nottingham.