Inaugural home venues of the 10 Test playing nations

#2 The Oval, London, 1872 (England vs Australia)

The Oval hosted the first Test match in England

Match count: 99

The Oval, in England, hosted the fourth international Test match after the first three which was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Englishmen registered a win, outclassing their rivals from Down Under by 5 wickets, in a match which saw cricket great W.G. Grace score 152 runs in his debut innings.

In 1872, eight years before the Australia-England tie, it hosted the first ever FA Cup final which was won by Wanderers and was witnessed by 2000 people. Apart from football and cricket, the venue has also staged international rugby matches.

The venue traditionally stages the last Test match of the English cricket season and has been host to three consecutive World Cup semi-final matches in 1975, 1979 and 1983. It can hold a maximum capacity of 26,000 and is the second largest cricket stadium (by capacity) in England.