In the third issue of the Pinch Hitter, Richard Spiller talks about a photograph from a Test match at The Oval in 1988, and a banner within it that prompts attention.

Was it really under threat? The simple answer is yes. There was a real fear that the final Test of the 1988 summer against the West Indies would signal the beginning of the end for a ground which hosted the inaugural Test in the country, against Australia in 1880, as well as the first FA Cup.

Surrey had been forced to sound the alarm earlier that season when faced with one of the biggest crises in their history. Ever since a fire at Bradford City FC’s Valley Parade ground in 1985 killed 56 fans and injured many more, the old wooden stands which were a feature of many British sports grounds had been under scrutiny.

Once the money was in the bank it still wasn’t plain sailing. Construction was held up by problems with methane gas, which meant a whole corner of the ground was out of action for the Ashes Test of 1989.

But it was finally ready in 1990, even if the electric scoreboard was prone to blanking out now and again, and the royal seal of approval was given by the Queen, who officially opened the Ken Barrington Cricket Centre, and the Bedser Stand named after Surrey’s illustrious twins, in 1991.

The Oval had been saved and it’s never looked back since.

Richard Spiller is a freelance journalist who has covered Surrey CCC for much of his professional life and writes about them for the Wisden Almanack.

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