The County Ground,
New Writtle Street,
Chelmsford, Essex,
England. CM2 0PG
(Phone: 01245 252420, Fax: 01245 254030)
Also or formerly known as The Ford County Ground
Capacity 6500
Floodlights Yes
End names River End, Hayes Close End
Home team(s) Essex
Current local time 06:48, Sat May 17, 2008 (UTC +0100)
External links Weather
The County Ground has been the headquarters of Essex since 1967. The ground is notoriously windy but with great drainage following improvements in 1982. It is a compact ground for a county HQ, but nevertheless much use has been made of the space available. The ground has one double-decker seating area, marquees, executive suites and mostly single-tier seating. Its pavilion, built in the 1970s, has recently been extended. It is also one of the only two current grounds with permanent floodlights which were installed in 2002. Graham Gooch has scored most of his 40,000 plus first-class runs here and Essex have had their most successful seasons here, too. Surrey will remember one match for a different reason, though: in 983, they recorded their lowest innings of 14. The playing area, which slopes slightly from south-east to north-west, has been used for more than just cricket in the past: it was used for some time as a standby emergency helicopter landing place for the nearby hospital, until the casualty department was relocated.
Travel
Train Chelmsford train station is half a mile away from the ground.
Car 12 miles away from M25 Jnct 28. An NCP car park is available for public parking (175 spaces). It is heavily used by commuters on weekdays but it is largely available at weekends. Car parking for the public is available at various short- and long-stay car parks in the town centre.
Graham Gooch has scored most of his 40,000 odd first-class runs on
this ground which has been home to Essex through their most
successful seasons.
The ground has one double-decker seating area,
marquees, executive suites and mostly single tier seating.
Its pavillion, built in the 1970s has recently been extended and
contains all sorts of memorabilia.
