Oman Cricket Academy Ground


Oman Cricket Academy Ground, also known as the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium, is a cricket ground in Al Amarat, south of Muscat, Oman. The ground is owned by the Oman Cricket Board. In January 2021, the International Cricket Council gave accreditation for the Ministry Turf 1 at the stadium to host Test cricket.

History

In July 2008, Oman Cricket Board announced plans to construct an international-standard facility at Al Amarat, about 15 kilometres south-east of the centre of the city of Muscat. The cost of the project was initially estimated at 2 million Omani rials, with the land donated by the Ministry of Sports Affairs and the rest of the funding to be raised through corporate sponsorship. The venue, known as the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium, was inaugurated in October 2012, by Ashraful Haque, the chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council. It held its first match – a club game – two months later. Floodlights were installed at the venue in 2015, and there are plans for an indoor academy to be built, to complement the existing academy at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. Oman Cricket Board later announced the construction of pavilions and an indoor state-of-the-art training facility that also houses the Oman Cricket Board headquarters.
The venue hosted the 2019 ACC Western Region T20, followed by the Oman Quadrangular Series in February 2019. Matches played in both events had Twenty20 International status.
On 21 January 2019, in a match between the Maldives and Bahrain, the Maldivian bowler Ibrahim Hassan took the first T20I five-wicket haul on this ground.
On 23 January 2019, in a match between Kuwait and Bahrain, Kuwait's Ravija Sandaruwan scored the first T20I century on this ground.
In October 2019, a Pentangular T20 Series between ICC associate sides with ODI status, Oman, Ireland, Nepal and the Netherlands in addition to Hong Kong was held at the venue. Home side Oman won all 4 of their matches to win the series including beating Nepal in the final game, having dismissed them for 64 runs, the lowest score ever at the stadium.
In November 2019, first round of Cricket World Cup Challenge League B was scheduled to take place in Hong Kong. However, citing the instability in Hong Kong, all the matches were moved to this venue.
In February 2020, it hosted 2020 ACC Western Region T20.
The stadium hosted the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup along with the UAE due to rising COVID-19 cases in India. Following the qualification to host the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, the Al Amerat Turf 1 underwent major upgrade with the addition of new floodlights and pavilions. It is expected to have a seating capacity of 4000, including VIP and VVIP seating along with dedicated commentary boxes. The scoreboard was also upgraded to a digital scoreboard. Six matches were played at the stadium during the first-round stage of the tournament, including all three of Oman's matches.

International record

Ministry Turf 1

One-Day International centuries

The following table summarizes the centuries scored in ODIs at this venue.
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsInningsOpposing teamDateResult
1129*Craig Williams 9418 January 2020Won
2173*Jaskaran Malhotra 12419 September 2021Won
3100Monank Patel 114113 September 2021
4107Jatinder Singh 62114 September 2021Won
5106Jatinder Singh 9515 February 2022
6115Chirag Suri 12525 February 2022Won

One-Day International five-wicket hauls

The following table summarizes the five-wicket hauls taken in ODIs at this venue.
#FiguresPlayerCountryInningsOpponentDateResult
15/44JJ Smit28 January 2020Won
25/26Ahmed Raza29 January 2020Won
36/11Sandeep Lamichhane210 September 2021Won
45/15Khawar Ali11 October 2021Won
55/28Kabua Morea21 October 2021
65/17Basil Hameed16 February 2022Won

Twenty20 International centuries

Two T20I centuries have been scored at the venue.
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsInningsOpposing teamDateResult
1124Kevin O'Brien 6217 October 2019Won
2112Muhammad Waseem 66224 February 2022Won
3109*Aaron Johnson 69116 November 2022Won

Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls

The following table summarizes the five-wicket hauls taken in T20Is at this venue.
#FiguresPlayerCountryInningsOpponentDateResult
15/24Ibrahim Hassan221 January 2019
25/15Aamir Kaleem 110 October 2019Won
35/29Aamir Kaleem 114 February 2022Won
45/19Ahmed Raza222 February 2022Won

Women's Twenty20 International centuries

Two WT20I centuries has been scored at the venue.
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsInningsOpposing teamDateResult
1104*Shahreen Bahadur 61125 March 2022Won
2113*Aysha 58125 March 2022Won

Women's Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls

The following table summarizes the five-wicket hauls taken in WT20Is at this venue.
#FiguresPlayerCountryInningsOpponentDateResult
15/11Amanda Dcosta224 March 2022Won

Ministry Turf 2

Twenty20 International centuries

Three T20I centuries have been scored at the venue.
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsInningsOpposing teamDateResult
1103Ravija Sandaruwan 59223 January 2019Won
2108*Matthew Spoors 66118 February 2022Won
3104*Kushal Bhurtel 61119 February 2022Won

Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls

One five-wicket haul has been taken in T20Is at this venue.
#FiguresPlayerCountryInningsOpponentDateResult
15/5Junaid Aziz118 February 2022Won

Women's Twenty20 International centuries

Two WT20I centuries have been scored at the venue.
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsInningsOpposing teamDateResult
1161*Deepika Rasangika 66122 March 2022Won
2158*Esha Oza 71126 March 2022Won

Women's Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls

One five-wicket haul has been taken in WT20Is at this venue.
#FiguresPlayerCountryInningsOpponentDateResult
15/6Maria Jasvi120 March 2022Won