Cricket: The best sport for scenery lovers

Despite only having a small (but growing) fan base in the United States, cricket is the world’s second most popular speculator sport after soccer. The 2019 World Cup will draw more than a billion viewers. Cricket still features four and five-day matches, but shorter variations have brought a new generation of fans and made the game easier to understand for first-time viewers.

Cricket is most popular in the Commonwealth, so countries like Australia, India, South Africa, and England have the largest stadiums, some of which saw their first action more than a century ago. The most iconic of these structures are known throughout the cricketing world.

Some venues, however, are as famous for the scenery outside their boundaries as they are for their grandstands and what has taken place on the playing surface over the years. Fans visiting these grounds can see mountains, ancient forts or castles, forests, oceans and temples.

Here are 10 of the most beautiful cricket venues in the world.