Utilita Bowl

Capacity

25,000

Established

2001

City

Southampton, England

Surface

Grass

About this Ground

Host of the inaugural World Test Championship Final in 2021. Hampshire's home ground on the edge of the South Downs.

History & Significance

The Utilita Bowl in Southampton — known through various naming rights partnerships as the Rose Bowl, Ageas Bowl, and now Utilita Bowl — opened in 2001 as Hampshire Cricket's purpose-built home ground, replacing the old County Ground in Northlands Road. The ground sits in the south of Hampshire amid rolling countryside, and its hotel, conferencing, and events facilities have made it one of the most financially sustainable county venues in England. Its most significant cricketing moment came in June 2021, when it hosted the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final between New Zealand and India. The match, played across six days with a scheduled reserve day, was New Zealand's finest collective moment: they bowled India out twice and reached their victory target with 8 wickets to spare, with Ross Taylor and Devon Conway at the crease for the winning runs. Kane Williamson was named Player of the Match. The Ground had previously hosted several England home Tests and was a key venue for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Its outfield, hotel views, and relative intimacy — unlike the overwhelming scale of Old Trafford or Edgbaston — gave the WTC Final an appropriately personal atmosphere for a historic day in Test cricket.