County Cricket Ground, Beckenham

The County Ground, Beckenham is a cricket ground in Beckenham, England. The ground is owned by Leander Sports and Leisure and is used as an outground by Kent County Cricket Club for First XI fixtures, as well as for other matches. As of 2016 the Kent Women cricket team play the majority of their matches at the groundThe ground was first used for first-class cricket in 1954. It hosted two games during the 1993 Women's Cricket World Cup and has been used by Kent as a regular outground since 2003. The ground was redeveloped in 2013–14 and facilities include a 2,048-seater stand, an indoor cricket school and 3G football pitches.Cricketing historyThe ground was first used by the Kent first XI in 1954 when it hosted a County Championship match against Gloucestershire. Kent had previously played home matches at Foxgrove Road in Beckenham between 1885 and 1905, and played one John Player League match at the nearby Midland Bank Sports Ground in 1970. The county have had a tradition of playing at outgrounds in what is now south-east London. Until 1965, Beckenham, along with other parts of south-east London, was part of the county of Kent and is treated by the club as being "Metropolitan Kent". Grounds in nearby Blackheath, Catford, Crystal Palace and Dartford have all also been used by the club in the past for a total of more than 150 matches and the first match played by the county club after its initial foundation in 1842 was played at White Hart Field in Bromley.