Riverway Stadium, also known as Townsville Cricket Ground, is an international-standard cricket and Australian rules football stadium in Thuringowa Central, Townsville, Queensland. The stadium is a part of the Riverway sporting and cultural complex.
Facilities 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.Tony Ireland Stadium at Riverway Riverway Stadium has a maximum capacity of 10,000+ This was achieved on New Year's Eve 2007 when 10,024 spectators attended a Twenty20 cricket match between Queensland and Victoria.Austadiums: Tony Ireland Stadium The stadium is also home to the University Hawks and Thuringowa Bulldogs AFL clubs, and the AFL's local regional office. In June 2009, the stadium hosted a 4-day first class match between Pakistan A and the Australia A cricket team.The Bulletin: Voges mounts case to selectors 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.
Lighting
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. Costs to install lighting adequate for televised sport have been estimated at five million dollars.
Attendance records
Top 5 Sports Attendance Records
No.DateTeamsSportCompetitionCrowd1 31 December 2007 Queensland Bulls v. Victoria Bushrangers Cricket T20 10,0242 15 June 2019 Gold Coast Suns v. St Kilda Australian Rules Football AFL 7,2433 2 March 2013 Gold Coast Suns v. North Melbourne Kangaroos Australian Rules Football AFL (preseason) 7,2164 23 February 2014 Gold Coast Suns v. Brisbane Lions Australian Rules Football AFL (preseason) 6,4265 1 March 2015 Gold Coast Suns v. Geelong Cats Australian Rules Football AFL (preseason) 4,431 Last updated on 15 June 2019
International cricket In October 2014, Riverway Stadium received ICC-accreditation as an international venue. It hosted a two-match ODI series featuring Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea in November 2014, with the latter making their ODI debut. PNG won the series 2–0.
In February 2016, the stadium hosted a three-match T20I series featuring Ireland and Papua New Guinea, which was won by Ireland (2-1). A 2015-2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup match was also played between the two teams, which Ireland won by 145 runs.
In 2022, the ground served as the venue for Australia's home ODI series against Zimbabwe. The hosts won the first two matches comfortably, but were stunned in the final match, which Zimbabwe won by three wickets.
One Day Internationals hosted As of September 2022, the stadium has hosted the following ODI matches. Team (A) Team (B) Winner Margin Year Note By 4 Wickets 2014 Scorecard By 3 Wickets 2014 Scorecard By 5 Wickets 2022 Scorecard By 8 Wickets 2022 Scorecard By 3 Wickets 2022 Scorecard
International centuries One ODI century has been scored at the venue.
No. Score Player Team Balls Opposing team Date Result 1 109 Lega Siaka 114 Won
International five-wicket hauls Two ODI five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue.
No. Figures Player Team Opposing team Date Result 1 5/33 Cameron Green Won 2 5/10 Ryan Burl Won
Twenty20 Internationals hosted
Team (A) Team (B) Winner Margin Year Note By 5 Wickets 2016 Scorecard By 7 runs (D/L) 2016 Scorecard By 11 runs 2016 Scorecard
References
External links