CAPE TOWN, Feb 5: Brief outlines of the 15 venues to be used at the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya:

The Wanderers, Johannesburg — Venue for the final on March 23 with a capacity of 30,000.

For many years called the ‘New Wanderers’ after it replaced the ‘Old Wanderers’ when it hosted its first match in 1956. First Test was South Africa against England the same year, England winning by 131 runs.

The stadium was completely overhauled following South Africa’s readmission to international cricket in 1991.

Also hosted the 1980 rugby union Test between South Africa and New Zealand, South Africa winning 24-9.

Newlands, Cape Town — One of the most dramatically beautiful venues in cricket, sitting in the shadow of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak, Newlands will host the tournament’s opening ceremony on Saturday and the opening game when South Africa play West Indies the following day.

Newlands staged its first Test match in 1889 when South Africa played England. Like the Wanderers, the ground was extensively rebuilt following South Africa’s readmission in 1991.

Current South African opener Herschelle Gibbs holds the record for the highest Test score on the ground, making 228 in the second Test against Pakistan in Jan 2003.

Kingsmead, Durban — One of the semifinal venues with a capacity of 25,000, Kingsmead was the venue of the famous ‘Timeless Test’ between South Africa and England in 1939. The match was eventually declared a draw after 10 days when England had to depart by train for Cape Town to catch their boat home.

Also the ground where South Africa scored their highest ever Test total — 622 for nine declared against Australia in 1969-70. It included 274 from Graeme Pollock which stood as South Africa’s highest Test score until Daryll Cullinan and Gary Kirsten both passed it by just one run, Kirsten doing so on the same ground.

Kingsmead staged South Africa’s first home Test after international isolation, against India in 1992-93. It was also the inaugural Test between the two countries.

St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth — A surprise choice to stage a World Cup semifinal, St George’s Park is the oldest Test ground in the country, the venue for South Africa’s first ever home Test, an eight-wicket defeat by England in 1889.

Two years later it also staged the first rugby Test in South Africa, Britain beating South Africa 4-0 thanks to two tries.

St George’s Park was the venue for South Africa’s last Test before isolation when they thrashed Australia by 323 runs in 1970, completing a 4-0 series sweep.

The stadium has undergone a major facelift for the World Cup, including the construction of new media facilities.

Centurion — Centurion was opened in 1986 and is a sleek, modern stadium. It staged its first Test match, a rain-affected draw against England, in 1995.

The outfield is smooth and fast and the pitch is generally hard and true, creating ideal conditions for limited-overs cricket.

The venue has been at the centre of attention for non-cricketing reasons in recent seasons, particularly after the fifth Test against England in 1999-2000, which subsequently came under scrutiny for underhand dealings between former captain Hansie Cronje and bookmaker Marlon Aronstam.

Then in the 2001-2002 season the final match between South Africa and India at Centurion was stripped of its Test status by the ICC when the South African board removed match referee Mike Denness. Denness caused a furore during the second Test in Port Elizabeth when he disciplined five Indian players, including Sachin Tendulkar for ball-tampering.

Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein — Goodyear Park became home to the Free State Cricket Union in 1989 but had to wait 10 years for its first Test, South Africa’s innings and 13 run win over Zimbabwe in 1999.

It was also the ground at which fast bowler Allan Donald, playing in front of his home crowd, became the first South African to take 300 Test wickets during the five-wicket victory over New Zealand in 2000.

Buffalo Park, East London — The provincial home of the Border Cricket Union, Buffalo Park hosted its first Test match in October 2002, the first in a two-Test series against Bangladesh.

Renovations to the friendly, intimate seaside ground before the World Cup were hampered by weeks of flooding last year but it is now ready for the event.

Buffalo Park has also largely cast off its reputation for slow, low pitches and a damp outfield.

Boland Park, Paarl — Boland is one of the smallest and least glamorous unions in South Africa but their ground nestled among the imposing Drankenstein mountains in the Cape winelands is one of most picturesque.

The union was without a permanent home for three years after they were granted first-class status in 1993, before enough money was raised to buy their current home.

Pitches at the ground have in the past come in for severe criticism but in recent seasons Boland has successfully hosted a number of One-day Internationals.

Pietermaritzburg — The City Oval has undergone a major overhaul for the World Cup with the Jubilee stand, built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond Jubilee in 1899, receiving most attention.

The ground has a strongly English feel and, like Kent’s St Lawrence ground in Canterbury, has a large tree inside the boundary ropes.

The ground also staged a rugby match between Natal and the All Blacks in 1928.

Willowmore Park, Benoni — Willowmore Park retains the atmosphere of the country ground it was when it opened in 1924, although like many of South Africa’s smaller grounds it has undergone a much-needed facelift for the World Cup.

Situated on the eastern perimeter of Johannesburg, the venue is home to the ambitious Easterns union, who surprised favourites Western Province to be crowned South Africa’s current first-class champions.

North West Cricket Stadium, Potchefstroom — The North West Cricket Stadium is the most recent ground in South Africa to have attained Test status after it hosted the second Test against Bangladesh in October last year, a game South Africa won by an innings and 160 runs.

The unpretentious stadium is part of the well developed sports infrastructure of the town of Potchefstroom, a favourite training base for several world-class athletes because of its high-altitude location.

De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley — A picturesque ground, rich in history and tradition, De Beers Oval was upgraded for the World Cup. Formerly known as De Beers Country Club, this ground first hosted a One-day International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1998. With a capacity of around 11,000, the Oval, home of Griqualand West, plays host to Pakistan’s game against minnows Namibia on Feb 16, the New Zealand v Bangladesh tie on Feb 26 and West Indies-Kenya encounter on March 4.

Harare, Zimbabwe — The Harare Sports Club hosted the country’s first ever Test match, a drawn one-off game against India in October 1992.

With a flat pitch and a fast outfield, the ground is a perfect venue for one-day cricket and on the rare occasions that it is packed to its 10,000 capacity the atmosphere is loud and even occasionally raucous.

The centrepiece of the ground is the Harare Sports Club building itself with its classical colonial gabling but that is now overshadowed by a modern media centre, built in preparation for hosting three matches at the 2003 World Cup.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe — The Queens Sports Club is neither Bulawayo’s only nor its first Test venue, after Zimbabwe played their second ever Test match against New Zealand a few blocks away at the Bulawayo Athletic Club in November 1992.

However, all subsequent Test matches in Zimbabwe’s second city (and One-day Internationals, bar one against the New Zealanders on that same tour) have been played at Queens.

Much of the ground is still largely undeveloped, with grass banks sufficing for grandstand seating around much of the boundary edge.

Matches in Bulawayo are unlikely to be high-scoring as Queens has a well-earned reputation for slow and low pitches on which runs come at a premium.

Nairobi, Kenya — The Nairobi Gymkhana Ground received its One-day International baptism in September 1996 when Kenya played Sri Lanka in a match organised a part of the Kenya Cricket Association’s centenary celebrations.

Its status as an international venue was rubber-stamped in 2000 when it successfully staged the ICC Knockout (now the Champions Trophy) won by New Zealand.

It was in that tournament that Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi struck the fastest one-day hundred in history against the Sri Lankans, hitting 11 sixes as he reached three figures in just 37 balls.—Reuters