THE OVAL: HOME TO OVAL AND ROUND BALL AS WELL AS CRICKET AND........

Like much Common land in England, local sports were commonly played on them and in Kennington that is what happened on the land that eventually became the Oval. An early "official" cricket match between London and Dartford was played there in June 1724. Today the test match between England and South Africa is the 100th test match to be hosted by the Kennington Oval.

Once an area of market gardening, eventually the ground was leased to play cricket and Surrey CC started there in 1845. In 1868 an England XI played An Aboriginal Touring side, the first touring side to play there. Indeed this was the World's second "foreign" or test match played after the first ever at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

With "the father of football" CW Alcock secretary of SCCC, it was no wonder that football was played at The Oval and so it was that the first FA Cup Final was played there between the Wanderers and the Royal Engineers on March 16th 1872.
I attended a 140th anniversary match between the two clubs in 2012 and the match was played on the hallowed outfield in front of the main stand.

A "Gymnastic Society" played regular football at the ground, probably being the first ever football club and between 1950-63 the famous amateurs, the Corinthian Casuals treated the Oval as their home ground.

The first football international between England and Scotland was played there in March 1870 and the FA Cup Final continued using the ground until 1892. England played rugby v Scotland there in February 1872, the second ever international match (the first held at Raeburn Place) and in 1877 the ground hosted the first Varsity Rugby Match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
In the picture-football or rugby?

The Oval and Bramall Lane were the only grounds to host both England football and cricket internationals and FA Cup Finals.

In 1882 the famous Australian victory over England's cricket team led to the formation of the Ashes (ironically public executions took place there with public hangings occuring around 1844).

In 1889 the ground became the first illuminated sports' ground, lit by gas lamps.

In 1972 Aussie Rules match between Carlton and an All Stars XI was played at the ground and there has been hocket when the game was played on grass, before the astro era.