Pindi Club Ground, also known as the Army Sports Ground,[1] is a multi-use stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is used mostly for cricket matches. The stadium can accommodate 15,000 people and hosted its first and only international Test match in 1965.[2] It also hosted one match as part of the 1987 Cricket World Cup.[3]
It was the only cricket ground in Rawalpindi capable of hosting international matches until the establishment of Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in 1992.[4]
The first foreign side to visit the ground after Pakistan's independence in 1947 was Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), which faced Commander-in-Chief XI in March 1950. Further national team tours followed soon afterwards.[7]
India'sfirst tour of Pakistan in 1955, which was the first Test series to have been played in Pakistan, also involved a tour match against a Combined Services team in February 1955.[7] Further international tours to Pakistan often involved a three-day practice matches against local teams, which were hosted by the Pindi Club Ground.
Test match
Pindi Club Ground has hosted just one Test match,[8] which was against New Zealand in March 1965, which Pakistan won convincingly by a margin of an innings and 64 runs.[9] Interestingly, although Pakistan scored 318 runs in their only innings, there was not a single century scored. Neither was there any five wicket haul, although left arm spinner Pervez Sajjad took four wickets in each innings.[9]Ehsan Mani, former ICC President and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, served as one of the scorers of that match.[7]
One Day Internationals
The ground has hosted two ODIs, against the West Indies and England in 1985 and 1987 respectively.[10][11] The latter match was played as a part of 1987 Cricket World Cup, and was completed on the reserve day after rain had stopped play on the original date.[7] The Pakistan team won both matches. The highest ODI score by any batsman on this ground is the unbeaten 92 by Sir Richie Richardson.[12]
Current use
The ground is now used for cricket matches, especially by local clubs and domestic teams.[1][13]
