Cricket Ground
For more details on this topic, see Mote Park (cricket ground).Mote Park Cricket Ground is owned by The Mote Cricket Club and is also used by Maidstone RFC. Up until 2005, it was also occasionally used by Kent County Cricket Club as one of their outgrounds. After 140 consecutive years of play, Mote Park was taken off the list of county grounds used by Kent when an over-watered 'green' wicket in a County Championship match against Gloucestershire led to a low scoring game that ended in under 2 days, incurring a subsequent 8 point point deduction for Kent. The facilities had only months before been approved for redevelopment as part of a larger scheme to increase the profile of cricket in the county town.
Since that time, The Mote Cricket Club have relaid a number of wickets at a cost of £14,000 with the help of grants and technical assistance from the county cricket club and Maidstone Borough Council, and it is hoped this will allow the return of county cricket in the near future.
During its tenure as a county venue the ground saw a number of notable performances including Kent County Cricket Club's highest partnership for any wicket in first-class cricket during the 1995 season with Aravinda de Silva and Graham Cowdrey scoring 368 and in 1995 Mark Ealham making the fastest century in the history of the 40-over game. In 44 balls, Ealham scored a hundred, with 9 sixes and 9 fours.
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