Tasmania Cricket Team - Home Grounds

Home Grounds

Tasmania have traditionally played cricket both in the state capital Hobart, and Launceston which is the largest city in the north of the state. Cricket was first played on open ground in Hobart, but soon dedicated fields began to be laid out. One such field was the TCA Ground on the Queens Domain. Although it wasn't officially opened until 1880, cricket had been played on the site prior to this. From the 1880s however, it became home to both the Tasmanian Cricket Association and the state's first-class side. To ensure equal access to the population in the north, Tasmania would often also play home matches at the NTCA Ground in Launceston, which had also hosted the first-ever first-class match in Australia, between Tasmania and Victoria in 1851.

When Tasmania was admitted to the Gillette Cup for the 1969–70 season, they began to spread the matches to a third venue, Devonport Oval in Devonport. The TCA Ground had remained the Tasmanian team's official home ground though.

During the re-branding process of the early 1990s, the TCA was faced with a dilemma about their ground. The TCA Ground had a reputation for poor soil and windy conditions, and games were often played in blustery condition with chilly winds blowing off nearby Mount Wellington. The decision was made to move both the offices of the Tasmanian Cricket Association, and the official home ground to Bellerive Oval in Clarence. The decision was a wise one, as it saw test cricket introduced to the state for the first time, and coincided with an improvement in results for the Tasmanian side.