A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground

A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground
Map
LocationRoad Town
British Virgin Islands
Coordinates18°25′35″N 64°37′15″W / 18.42639°N 64.62083°W / 18.42639; -64.62083
Capacity1,500[1]
Tenants
British Virgin Islands national football team

The AO Shirley Recreation Ground is a multi-use stadium in Road Town, British Virgin Islands.[2] It is currently used mostly for football matches and usually hosts the British Virgin Islands national football team's games. The stadium holds 1,500 people.

History

The Ground was named in honor of Alexander O. Shirley in June 1990.[3][4] Shirley, a cricketer who also served as the Accountant General of the British Virgin Islands from 1967 to 1987, had requested land to build the ground from the Administrator of the British Virgin Islands.[4] Shirley remains the only British Virgin Islander to have a ground named for him.[4]

Cricket

A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground
Ground information
Coordinates18°25′35″N 64°37′15″W / 18.42639°N 64.62083°W / 18.42639; -64.62083
International information
Source: Cricinfo

The ground has also been used as a venue for cricket matches, with the first recorded cricket match played there in 1988 between a Combined Virgin Islands and Nevis.[5] Three years later, the British Virgin Islands cricket team first played there against Anguilla in the 1991 Leeward Islands Tournament.[5] Just over a decade later, the Leeward Islands played a first-class match there against the Windward Islands in the 2001/02 Busta Cup.[6] This is the only first-class match to be played at the ground. The last recorded cricket match played there was in 2005.[5] The ground's end names are the Police Station End and the Super Value End.[7]

References

  1. ^ "A.O. Shirley Recreation Ground - Soccerway".
  2. ^ Soccerway - A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground Retrieved 10 September 2011
  3. ^ "Former Accountant General A. O. Shirley MBE passes". Virgin Islands News Online. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Greenaway, Dean (7 January 2016). "BVI mourning passing of cricket icon Shirley". Virgin Islands Daily News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Other matches played on A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground, Roadtown". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  6. ^ "First-Class Matches played on A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground, Roadtown". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Ground profile: A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground, Roadtown". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 January 2013.