May's Bounty

May's Bounty
May's Bounty
May's Bounty.jpg
Ground information
Location Basingstoke, Hampshire
Establishment 1880
Capacity 2500
End names
Town End
Mulder's End
Domestic team information
Hampshire (1906 – 2000 and 2008 – present)

May's Bounty is a cricket ground in Basingstoke, Hampshire. The ground has a capacity of 4,500 spectators. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1880 which saw Basingstoke play a United South of England Eleven. Hampshire first played a first class match at the Bounty, situated in Basingstoke, in 1906. Since then the ground has hosted 45 first-class matches. The first one-day match to be played at May's Bounty was in the 1967 Gillette Cup where Hampshire played Lincolnshire and has since played host to 31 one-day matches. The wicket has always had conditions favourable for seam bowling, often producing low scoring affairs.

Robin Smith holds the records for the best batting at the Bounty. He scored 977 runs at an average of 69.78 including no fewer than six centuries. He also recorded the county's highest individual score of 179 at the ground, against Northamptonshire in 1996. Other Hampshire batsmen who prospered there were Mark Nicholas and West Indian great Gordon Greenidge. Cardigan Connor took the most wickets at the ground.

At the end of the 2000 County Championship all remaining matches at the Bounty were moved to the Rose Bowl. But for the 2008 County Championship the club reinstated the Bounty on the fixture list and it now plays host to one Championship match a season.[1]

References

  1. ^ "Hampshire v Durham (Scorecard)". www.cricketarchive.com. 17 October 2009. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/132/132381.html. Retrieved 17 September 2009. 

Coordinates: 51°15′34.12″N 1°05′23.70″W / 51.2594778°N 1.089917°W / 51.2594778; -1.089917