Did you know the first day/night match in the world was played at Willowmoore Park, between South Africa and Australia in 1962?
The stadium is a very memorable place for Benoni, as many events have happened here that not many know about.
Benoni’s Willowmoore Park Cricket Stadium (WPCS) was founded by British coal miners and gets its name from the willow trees and the moor at the south end of the ground.
The stadium is a very memorable place for Benoni, as many events have happened here that not many know about, such as:
• The first international match at this ground was played between a South African invitation team and England in 1913.
• The grandstand was subsequently erected in 1923 and the stadium was officially opened in 1924.
• The floodlights were erected in 1943.
• The first day-night match in the world was played here in 1962 between South Africa and Australia.
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• South African great Denis Lindsay graduated from WPCS. Lindsay played 19 tests for South Africa between 1963 and 1970. His outstanding series was against Australia in 1966-67, when he scored 606 runs in seven innings, including three centuries, took 24 catches as wicketkeeper and conceded only six byes.
• Former England Batsman Dennis Compton scored a record 300 runs in three hours at this ground against a South African XI in 1948.
• The facilities at WPCS were revamped for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council. It was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from February 9 to March 23 in 2003. This edition of the World Cup was the first to be played in Africa.
• The new media centre was voted in the top three in the country by the press during the world cup.
• The stadium boasts seven additional fields with the capabilities of playing seven junior matches on a Saturday and four senior matches on the weekend.
• Willowmoore Park also boasts a second field with grandstand, dining hall and change rooms.
• The Academy buildings can accommodate 24 people and includes a lecture hall, dining room and additional change rooms which serve the ‘B’ field.
• Practice facilities include 18 turf nets for the franchise teams, 12 practice nets for the amateur teams, four astro nets and eight turf nets for other representative teams as well as an indoor facility with four indoor nets.
History of the Eastern Cricket
Eastern Cricket (previously the North Eastern Transvaal Board and Eastern Transvaal Cricket Union) was founded on June 12, 1991 and became an affiliate of the United Cricket Board of South Africa in the same year.
Eastern Cricket moved its headquarters from Pam Brink stadium in Springs to Willowmoore Park in 1996.
In 1997 Willowmoore Park hosted its first ODI on February 9 between Zimbabwe and India which saw a capacity crowd of 12 000 spectators.
To date Willowmoore Park and Eastern Cricket have been part of the successful hosting of the u-19 World Cup this year, the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2003, the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Tournament in 2009.
WPCS and Easterns cricket has been a part of Benoni for a long time, and really is a place to go visit on your weekends instead of being at home.
When the cricket matches start up again, take your family and friends and go spend a day at Willowmoore Park Cricket Stadium and be proud Benoni.
