City Oval, Pietermaritzburg

The Pietermaritzburg Oval, a small picturesque ground with a touch of old-world, Victorian charm about it, hosted its first one-day internationals during the 2003 World Cup. Chaminda Vaas ensured the first match was a memorable one, capturing four wickets in the very first over of the contest, on his way to figures of 6 for 25, as Sri Lanka crushed Bangladesh by 10 wickets. Bangladesh won't have good memories of the ground. Apart from their 10-wicket thrashing in the World Cup, they also suffered a 10-wicket loss to a South African Invitation Eleven in October 2000. On that occasion Charl Langeveldt knocked over 5 for 7 as the Bangladeshis were bundled out for just 51! The City Oval has also proved a popular venue for matches between the South African A side and touring teams. It was formerly known as the Alexandra Park. The venue has good floodlights facilities and has ends named as Duzi and Hulett Ends. The ground plays host to local team KwaZulu-Natal.