Brocton Oval, Vancouver

Jon Harris

The Brockton Oval, situated on the water at Stanley Park in Vancouver, was described by no less an authority than Donald Bradman as “the most beautiful setting for cricket in the world”.

In 1892, a cricket field and pavilion was established at Brockton Point, referred to by Sir Donald Bradman as the "most scenic ground in the world". The first fixture was a match between Vancouver and the Californians, Bradman wrote in 'Farewell to Cricket', (pages 51-59). "I had no less than 51 innings, scoring 3,779 runs at an average of 102. In the same period Stan McCabe made 2,361 runs and took 189 wickets".(1932 Tour of Canada and New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Hollywood)

Photograph taken from the pavillion balcony in June 2002, facing north with snow covered Grouse Mountain on the horizon. © Jon Harris