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Riverway Stadium
Townsville Cricket Ground
Map
Former namesTony Ireland Stadium
Pioneer Park
AddressAustralia
Location2 Sporting Drive, Thuringowa Central, Townsville, Queensland 4817
Coordinates19°19′2″S 146°43′54″E / 19.31722°S 146.73167°E / -19.31722; 146.73167
OwnerTownsville City Council
Capacity10,000 (1013 seated)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened2007
Construction costA$16.5m[1]
Tenants
Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL club
Gold Coast Suns (AFL) (2019)
Queensland Bulls
Ground information
TenantsQueensland Cricket Association
International information
First ODI8 November 2014:
 Hong Kong v  Papua New Guinea
Last ODI3 September 2022:
 Australia v  Zimbabwe
First T20I6 February 2016:
 Ireland v  Papua New Guinea
Last T20I9 February 2016:
 Ireland v  Papua New Guinea
As of 3 September 2022
Source: ESPN Cricinfo

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.

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][dead link]

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]

External links[edit]

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