Riverway Stadium, also known as Townsville Cricket Ground, is an international standard cricket and AFL stadium in Thuringowa Central, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The stadium is a part of the Riverway sporting and cultural complex.
Townsville Cricket Ground | |
 | |
| Former names | Tony Ireland Stadium Pioneer Park |
|---|---|
| Address | Australia |
| Location | 2 Sporting Drive, Thuringowa Central, Townsville, Queensland 4817 |
| Coordinates | 19°19′2″S 146°43′54″E / 19.31722°S 146.73167°E |
| Owner | Townsville City Council |
| Capacity | 10,000 (1013 seated) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Construction cost | A$16.5m[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL club Gold Coast Suns (AFL) (2019) Queensland Bulls | |
| Ground information | |
| Tenants | Queensland Cricket Association |
| International information | |
| First ODI | 8 November 2014: Hong Kong v  Papua New Guinea |
| Last ODI | 3 September 2022: Australia v  Zimbabwe |
| First T20I | 6 February 2016: Ireland v Papua New Guinea |
| Last T20I | 9 February 2016: Ireland v Papua New Guinea |
| As of 3 September 2022 Source: ESPN Cricinfo | |
Facilities edit
The stadium includes the oval, a 1,013-seat grandstand and supporting facilities, a practice oval and cricket practice nets. The design was modeled on Brisbane's Gabba cricket ground specifications and has a six-turf wicket block.[2] Riverway Stadium has a maximum capacity of 10,000+[3] This was achieved on New Year's Eve 2007 when 10,024 spectators attended a Twenty20 cricket match between Queensland and Victoria.[4] The stadium is also home to the Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL club, and the AFL's local regional office.[2] In June 2009, the stadium hosted a 4-day first class match between Pakistan A and the Australia A cricket team.[5] The stadium also hosted some matches of the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup which was held in Australia from 11 August 2012. India emerged as the winner of Under-19 Cricket World Cup after beating Australia in the final at the Riverway Stadium.
In November 2014, the stadium hosted its first international match between debutants Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong. The Stadium became the 10th ODI venue in Australia.
The stadium hosted Townsville's first AFL game for premiership points on 15 June 2019 when the Gold Coast Suns took a home game to Riverway Stadium against St Kilda.[6]
Lighting edit
In 2008, the inadequacy of the current "temporary" lighting was highlighted when a Queensland v Western Australia AFL representative match was rescheduled from dusk to mid afternoon.[7] Costs to install lighting adequate for televised sport have been estimated at five million dollars.[7]
Attendance records edit
Top 5 Sports Attendance Records
| No. | Date | Teams | Sport | Competition | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 December 2007 | Queensland Bulls v. Victoria Bushrangers | Cricket | T20 | 10,024 |
| 2 | 15 June 2019 | Gold Coast Suns v. St Kilda | Australian Rules Football | AFL | 7,243 |
| 3 | 2 March 2013 | Gold Coast Suns v. North Melbourne Kangaroos | Australian Rules Football | AFL (preseason) | 7,216 |
| 4 | 23 February 2014 | Gold Coast Suns v. Brisbane Lions | Australian Rules Football | AFL (preseason) | 6,426 |
| 5 | 1 March 2015 | Gold Coast Suns v. Geelong Cats | Australian Rules Football | AFL (preseason) | 4,431 |
Last updated on 15 June 2019
International cricket edit
In October 2014, Riverway Stadium received ICC-accreditation as an international venue.[8] It hosted a two-match ODI series featuring Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea in November 2014, with the latter making their ODI debut.[9] PNG won the series 2–0.[10]
In February 2016, the stadium hosted a three-match T20I series featuring Ireland and Papua New Guinea, which was won by Ireland (2-1).[11] A 2015-2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup match was also played between the two teams, which Ireland won by 145 runs.[12]
In 2022, the ground served as the venue for Australia's home ODI series against Zimbabwe.[13] The hosts won the first two matches comfortably,[14][15] but were stunned in the final match, which Zimbabwe won by three wickets.[16]
In August 2026, the ground will host its first test match.
One Day Internationals hosted edit
As of September 2022, the stadium has hosted the following ODI matches.
| Team (A) | Team (B) | Winner | Margin | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | Hong Kong | Papua New Guinea | By 4 Wickets | 2014 | Scorecard |
| Papua New Guinea | Hong Kong | Papua New Guinea | By 3 Wickets | 2014 | Scorecard |
| Australia | Zimbabwe | Australia | By 5 Wickets | 2022 | Scorecard |
| Australia | Zimbabwe | Australia | By 8 Wickets | 2022 | Scorecard |
| Australia | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | By 3 Wickets | 2022 | Scorecard |
International centuries edit
One ODI century has been scored at the venue.[17]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 109 | Lega Siaka | Papua New Guinea | 114 | Hong Kong | 9 November 2014 | Won |
International five-wicket hauls edit
Two ODI five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue.[18]
| No. | Figures | Player | Team | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5/33 | Cameron Green | Australia | Zimbabwe | 28 August 2022 | Won |
| 2 | 5/10 | Ryan Burl | Zimbabwe | Australia | 3 September 2022 | Won |
Twenty20 Internationals hosted edit
| Team (A) | Team (B) | Winner | Margin | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Ireland | By 5 Wickets | 2016 | Scorecard |
| Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Ireland | By 7 runs (D/L) | 2016 | Scorecard |
| Papua New Guinea | Ireland | Papua New Guinea | By 11 runs | 2016 | Scorecard |
References edit
- ^ Austadium.com: Tony Ireland Stadium 'first-class'
- ^ a b Tony Ireland Stadium at Riverway[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Riverway • Tony Ireland Stadium". Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
- ^ Austadiums: Tony Ireland Stadium
- ^ The Bulletin: Voges mounts case to selectors
- ^ "AFL: Gold Coast Suns v St Kilda | Austadiums". www.austadiums.com. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- ^ a b Ryan, Lendl (14 June 2008). "Venue not lit for elite sports". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 9 May 2024 – via Newsbank.
- ^ "Papua New Guinea set to make ODI debut". Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "An ODI triumph years in the making for PNG". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Siaka ton helps PNG to another win". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "PNG defend 116 for consolation win". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "O'Brien brothers carry Ireland past PNG". Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Aussies name strong squad to meet Zimbabwe, NZ". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Cameron Green five-for, David Warner fifty take Australia 1-0 up". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Mitchell Starc's spell crushes hapless Zimbabwe as Australia wrap up series". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Ryan Burl the hero in Zimbabwe's historic win over Australia in Australia". Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / One-Day Internationals / Batting records". Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / One-Day Internationals / Bowling records". Retrieved 3 September 2022.
External links edit
- Riverway Stadium at Austadiums