The Dorset County Cricket Club was established in February 1896. Since then, it has played minor counties cricket since 1897 and played List A cricket from 1968 to 2004, using a different number of home grounds during that time. Their first minor counties fixture in 1897 was against Wiltshire at the Recreation Ground, Blandford Forum, while their first List A match came 71 years later against Bedfordshire in the 1968 Gillette Cup at Sherborne School. The club is based at Dean Park, Bournemouth, which also held first-class and List A cricket for Hampshire from 1897 to 1992.
The seventeen grounds that Dorset have used for home matches since 1897 are listed below, with statistics complete through to the end of the 2012 season.
Grounds
List A
Below is a complete list of grounds used by Dorset County Cricket Club when it was permitted to play List A matches. These grounds have also held Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy matches.
| Name | Location | First | Last | Matches | First | Last | Matches | First | Last | Matches | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List A | Minor Counties Championship | MCCA Trophy | |||||||||
Sherborne School | Sherborne | only match: 8 June 1992 v Bedfordshire | 1 | 5 August 1902 v Devon | 25 May 1997 v Herefordshire | 69 | 3 June 1984 v Wiltshire | still in use | 14 | [1][2][3][4] | |
Dean Park | Bournemouth | 29 June 1983 v Essex | 5 May 2004 v Yorkshire | 8 | 13 August 1982 v Devon | still in use | 60 | 2 June 1985 v Cornwall | still in use | 22 | [5][6][7][8][n 1] |
Minor Counties
Below is a complete list of grounds used by the Dorset County Cricket Club in Minor Counties Championship and MCCA Knockout Trophy matches.
| Name | Location | First | Last | Matches | First | Last | Matches | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minor Counties Championship | MCCA Trophy | |||||||
| Recreation Ground | Blandford Forum | 16 August 1897 v Wiltshire | 18 August 1981 v Wiltshire | 38 | – | – | 0 | [9][10] |
| St Mary's Field | Bridport | 21 July 1902 v Wiltshire | 7 August 1939 v Cornwall | 25 | – | – | 0 | [11][12] |
| Weymouth College Ground | Weymouth | 23 August 1902 v Surrey Second XI | 5 August 1935 v Cornwall | 12 | – | – | 0 | [13][14] |
| Poole Park | Poole | 15 July 1903 v Staffordshire | 26 August 1981 v Oxfordshire | 60 | – | – | 0 | [15][16] |
Recreation Ground.jpg) | Dorchester | 1 July 1908 v Surrey Second XI | 30 July 1996 v Cheshire | 59 | 2 May 2010 v Bedfordshire | 5 June 2011 v Hertfordshire | 2 | [17][18][19] |
| Earl of Shaftesbury's Ground | Wimborne St Giles | 18 August 1909 v Wiltshire | 19 August 1914 v Wiltshire | 5 | – | – | 0 | [20][21] |
| Merley Park | Wimborne | 27 July 1934 v Oxfordshire | 21 August 1939 v Wiltshire | 7 | – | – | 0 | [22][23] |
Canford School Ground | Canford Magna | 16 August 1937 v Oxfordshire | 12 June 1994 v Oxfordshire | 14 | – | – | 0 | [24][25] |
| Redlands Sports Ground | Weymouth | 15 August 1951 v Cornwall | 11 June 2000 v Shropshire | 59 | 24 July 1988 v Cambridgeshire | 15 May 2011 v Herefordshire | 4 | [26][27][28] |
| Royal Army Corps Ground | Bovington | only match: 8 June 1992 v Oxfordshire | 1 | – | – | 0 | [29][30] | |
| Terrace Ground | Sherborne | 7 August 1957 v Wiltshire | 22 August 1962 v Oxfordshire | 7 | – | – | 0 | [31][32] |
Hanhams Cricket Ground | Wimborne | 30 August 1957 v Oxfordshire | 24 July 1979 v Berkshire | 11 | – | – | 0 | [33][34] |
| Cockram's Ground | Shaftesbury | 19 August 1960 v Oxfordshire | 13 August 1971 v Devon | 4 | – | – | 0 | [35][36] |
Bournemouth Sports Club | Bournemouth | 1 August 1962 v Cornwall | 10 September 2000 v Cumberland | 9 | – | – | 0 | [37][38] |
| Day's Park | Swanage | 22 August 1969 v Wiltshire | 17 August 1970 v Oxfordshire | 2 | – | – | 0 | [39][40] |