Sharjah: UAE’s Sharjah Cricket Stadium is set to cross the milestone of hosting the 300th international match at the hallowed venue, after staging the 250th One-Day International earlier this month.
Sharjah tops the table for most matches at a single venue with 299 and will reach the landmark when the venue hosts the first of the three-match One-Day International series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh on November 6.
Sharjah leads the table, followed by Sydney (291) and Melbourne (291). Dubai International Stadium, which hosted the 100th Twenty20 international during the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday with nine women’s games, completes the top 10 with 163 matches.
Bangladesh will be taking on high-flying Afghanistan, who defeated South Africa 2-1 in the three-match series in September, after the completion of the current tour of India.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed that it will host Bangladesh for a series of three One Day International from November 6-11. The second and third ODIs will be played on November 9 and 11.
291 — Sydney Cricket Ground (112, 161, 18)
286 — Melbourne Cricket Ground (116, 151, 19)
267 — Harare Sports Club (39, 182, 46)
227 — Lord’s, London (147, 70, 10)
210 — Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka (27, 120, 63)
207 — R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (9, 151, 47)
200 — Kennington Oval, London (107, 76, 17)
181 — Adelaide Oval (82, 86, 13)
163 — Dubai International Cricket Stadium (13, 58, 92).
Crucial ODI leg
These three ODIs, along with three T20Is and two Tests, were originally part of Afghanistan’s Future Tour Program (FTP) and scheduled for July-August this year. However, the series was postponed due to extreme heat in the UAE and India, where ACB usually hosts its home events.
Following extensive discussions, both boards have agreed to proceed with just the ODI leg, which will be crucial in both teams’ preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is set to take place in Pakistan in February next year.
Afghanistan recently secured a historic 2-1 series victory over South Africa and are set to tour Zimbabwe in December for an all-format series against the home side.
