Riverside Ground

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Ground information
Riverside
Chester-le-Street

England
Location	Chester-le-Street, County Durham
Establishment	1995
Seating capacity	5,000 (domestic) 17,000 (internationals)
End names	Lumley End Finchale End
International information
First Test	5 June 2003: England v Zimbabwe
Last Test	15 June 2007: England v West Indies
First ODI	20 May 1999: Pakistan v Scotland
Last ODI	24 June 2006: England v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1995 – present	Durham
As of 16 December 2007 Source: CricketArchive

This article is about the cricket ground. For Middlesbrough F.C.'s stadium, see Riverside Stadium.

The Riverside County Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. It is home to Durham County Cricket Club.

The club's acceptance into first-class cricket was made conditional on the building of a new Test match-standard cricket ground. Work began on the new ground at the Riverside, a spectacular location overlooked by Lumley Castle, in 1990, and development has continued in phases until the present day. Work on the outfield and playing surface began in 1993. In its first three seasons in the County Championship, the Club played in a variety of locations around the county, but the Riverside ground was pronounced ready for cricket in time for the 1995 season, even though many of the buildings were still temporary or unfinished. The ground hosted its first game, Durham v Warwickshire, on May 18, 1995.

Other facilities at the ground continued being built over subsequent years, and the club's Don Robson Pavilion was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996. A Bannatyne's Health Club is located on the boundary next to the Don Robson Pavilion. The full ground capacity, including permanent and temporary seating, is 15,000.

England celebrate victory at the Riverside

The development of the Riverside into a significant cricketing venue was underscored in 1999, when it hosted World Cup matches involving Pakistan, Scotland, Australia and Bangladesh, and then in 2000 when it staged the first One Day International match in the NatWest Triangular Series between England, Zimbabwe and the West Indies. In 2001 a One-day International between Australia and Pakistan was scheduled, but abandoned due to weather conditions.

2003 saw the Riverside Ground raised to Test match status, but has so far only been used for three England Test matches, against Zimbabwe in 2003, Bangladesh in 2005 and West Indies in 2007. The fourth day of the West Indies Test, 18 June 2007, saw Paul Collingwood hitting a century on his home pitch for England against the West Indies, and so becoming the first local Durham player to hit a Test century at the Riverside.