Cricket: On cricketing safari through southern Africa

Many of the venues for the World Cup have a rich and colourful past.

The Wanderers, Johannesburg


Venue for the final on March 23 with a capacity of 30,000. For many years called the New Wanderers after it replaced the Old Wanderers when it hosted its first match in 1956. The stadium was overhauled after South Africa's readmission to international cricket in 1991.

Newlands, Cape Town


One of the most beautiful venues in cricket, sitting in the shadow of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak, Newlands will host the tournament's opening ceremony tomorrow night and the opening game between South Africa and the West Indies.

St George's Park, Port Elizabeth


A surprise choice to stage a semifinal, St George's Park is the oldest test ground in the country. It was the venue for South Africa's first home test, an eight-wicket defeat by England in 1889. Two years later it also staged the first rugby test in South Africa, Britain beating South Africa 4-0.

Kingsmead, Durban


A semifinal venue with a capacity of 25,000, Kingsmead was the venue of the famous "Timeless Test" between South Africa and England in 1939. Also where South Africa scored their highest test total - 622 for nine declared against Australia in 1969-70.

Centurion


Centurion was opened in 1986 and is a sleek, modern stadium. It staged its first test match in 1995. The outfield is smooth and fast, and the pitch is generally hard and true, creating ideal conditions for limited-overs cricket.

Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein


Became home to the Free State Cricket Union in 1989, but had to wait a decade for its first test.

Buffalo Park, East London


The provincial home of the Border Cricket Union, Buffalo Park hosted its first test in October last year, the first in a two-test series against Bangladesh.

Renovations to the friendly, intimate seaside ground before the cup were hampered by weeks of flooding last year. Buffalo Park has also largely cast off its reputation for slow, low pitches and a damp outfield.

Boland Park, Paarl


Boland is one of the smallest and least glamorous unions in South Africa, but its ground, nestled among the imposing Drankenstein mountains in the Cape winelands, is one of most picturesque.

The union was without a permanent home for three years after it was granted first-class status in 1993, before enough money was raised to buy its present home.

Pitches have in the past come in for severe criticism, but in recent seasons Boland has successfully hosted a number of one-dayers.

Pietermaritzburg


The City Oval has undergone a major overhaul for the cup, with the Jubilee stand, built to commemorate Queen Victoriat's diamond Jubilee in 1899, receiving most attention.

The ground has a strongly English feel and, like Kent's St Lawrence ground in Canterbury, has a large tree inside the boundary ropes.

Willowmore Park, Benoni


Willowmore Park retains the atmosphere of the country ground it was when it opened in 1924.

Like many of South Africa's smaller grounds it has undergone a much-needed facelift for the tournament.

Situated on the eastern perimeter of Johannesburg, it is home to the ambitious Easterns union, which surprised favourites Western Province to be crowned South Africa's current first-class champions.

North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom


The North West Cricket Stadium is the most recent ground in South Africa to have attained test status after it hosted the second test against Bangladesh last October.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe


The Queens Sports Club ground is still largely undeveloped, with grass banks sufficing for grandstands around much of the perimeter. Matches in Bulawayo are unlikely to be high-scoring because Queens has a well-earned reputation for slow and low pitches on which runs come at a premium.

Harare, Zimbabwe


The Harare Sports Club hosted the country's first test match, a draw against India in October 1992.

With a flat pitch and a fast outfield, the ground is a perfect ODI venue, and on the rare occasions that it is packed to its capacity of 10,000, the atmosphere is loud, and occasionally raucous.

Nairobi, Kenya


The Nairobi Gymkhana Ground had its one-day international baptism in September 1996 when Kenya played Sri Lanka to mark the Kenya Cricket Association's centenary.

Its status as an international venue was rubber-stamped in 2000 when it successfully staged the ICC Knockout won by New Zealand.