Sophia Gardens T20 records contains statistics and pitch reports on all T20 international matches played in Cardiff as well as a list of previous T20 results at this ground and record high and low T20 scores as well as best performances by a batsman and bowler at Sophia Gardens.
You can find records for T20 domestic cricket at Sophia Gardens on our T20 Blast pages
Sophia Gardens also known as the Swalec Stadium for sponsorship reasons is located in Cardiff, capital of Wales and regularly plays host to international T20 and 50 over cricket as well as occasional Test Matches.
The stadium has a capacity of 16000 and is built along the banks of the River Taft – it is not unusual during T20 matches to see the ball disappear into the river particularly on account of the fact that the straight boundaries at Sophia Gardens are relatively short.
How long are the boundaries at Sophia Gardens?
Sophia Gardens is rectangular in shape making boundaries at either end of the ground very short in particular at the River Taft end which is no more than 60 metres. Conversely, the boundaries square of the pitch are significantly longer. As a result of this, it is not uncommon for teams to opt against playing spinners at this venue with sides historically favouring hit the pitch style fast bowlers who bowl a shorter length and make batsmen hit to the longer boundaries and pockets behind square which are usually in excess of 80 metres from the bat.
Previous T20 results at Sophia Gardens
To date England have hosted T20 matches against India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka at Sophia Gardens where they are unbeaten in the 11 years T20 cricket has been hosted at this stadium.
| Team | Games Played | Wins | Ties or N/R | Losses |
| England | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Last 5 matches at Sophia Gardens
| Teams | Year | Toss | 1st innings | 2nd innings | Result |
| ENG v SL | 2021 | SL bat | SL 111/7 | ENG 108/5 | ENG 5 wkts DLS |
| ENG v SL | 2021 | SL bat | SL 129/7 | ENG 130/2 | ENG 8 wkts 17 balls |
| ENG v PAK | 2019 | PAK bat | PAK 173/6 | ENG 175/3 | ENG 7 wkts 4 balls |
| ENG v IND | 2018 | ENG field | IND 148/5 | ENG 149/5 | ENG 5 wkts 2 balls |
| ENG v RSA | 2017 | RSA field | ENG 181/8 | RSA 162/7 | ENG 19 runs |
| ENG v AUS | 2015 | AUS field | ENG 182/5 | AUS 177/8 | ENG 5 runs |
Average first innings score and winning score at Sophia Gardens
Average first innings score: 142.4
Average first innings winning score: 181.5
It’s worth noting that teams from the sub-continent and in particular Sri Lanka and Pakistan have really struggled to come to terms with the Sophia Gardens wicket. The average first innings score in T20s at Sophia Gardens for teams from the sub-continent is currently 129.3
No side has successfully defended a score of under 180 at Sophia Gardens in a T20i. England’s victories against Australia in 2015 and South Africa in 2017 saw them defend scores of 182 and 181 respectively and to date these are the only 2 instances where the side batting first has won in a T20 match in Cardiff suggesting that teams batting first will need to score at a rate of at least an 9 over to post a defendable target here.
You can use our what’s a winning score predictor below that takes into account all T20 matches played at Sophia Gardens including domestic fixtures.
Highest score in a T20 match at Sophia Gardens
England’s total of 182 vs Australia in 2015 is the highest T20 score at Sophia Gardens.
Having won the toss, Australia opted to put England into bat and were immediately rewarded with the 2 quick wickets of openers Roy and Hales both falling to Pat Cummins. With the score at 27 for 2 at the completion of the powerplay, a record score didn’t look on the cards but Moeen Ali promoted to bat at 3 and captain Eoin Morgan began to change the momentum of the innings in a partnership that was worth 135.
While Australia’s 3 primary seamers of Starc, Cummins and Coulter-Nile all returned impressive figures it was the support bowling that struggled to contain the England middle order with the remaining 5 bowlers used by Australia bowling a combined 8 overs for the cost of 98 runs and no wickets with their lack of control playing a significant role in England recording the highest T20 score at Sophia Gardens.
Watch highlights of the record highest score at Sophia Gardens here
Lowest Score in a T20 match at Sophia Gardens
Pakistan’s total of 89 all out vs England is the record lowest total at Sophia Gardens
Having won the toss and elected to bat under heavy cloud cover Pakistan were bowled out by England for a record low total of just 89 in the 2nd of this 2 match series in 2010 which saw both fixtures played at Sophia Gardens. England’s seamers ran through the Pakistan top order with Tim Bresnan finishing with 3 wickets and Broad, Sidebottom and Swann all getting 2 a piece.
It’s worth noting the background to this match which includes the fact that England were reigning T20 World Cup champions having won the title in the Caribbean just 4 months earlier while the Pakistan team was in disarray following the spot-fixing allegations that had been levelled at several of their squad in the Test series that proceeded the T20s.
Watch highlights of the record low score in a T20 at Sophia Gardens below
Top Score by a batsman in a T20 at Sophia Gardens
Dawid Malan’s score of 78 vs South Africa in 2018 is the best by a batsmen in a T20 at Sophia Gardens.
Malan who was making his England debut in a match against the country of his birth came to the crease 13 for 1 following the dismissal of Jason Roy and went onto dominate a partnership of 105 with Alex Hales for the 2nd wicket.
Malan brought up his half century from just 31 balls and was ultimately out having top scored with 78 from 44 balls including 12 x 4s and 2 x 6s.
Watch highlights of the top score by a batsmen in a T20 at Sophia Gardens below
Best bowling figures at Sophia Gardens in a T20
Dane Paterson’s figures of 4 for 32 are the best by a bowler in a T20 at Sophia Gardens.
Paterson and his South African team in general came back strongly in this match following a big partnership between Malan and Hales (see record score by a batsmen above) to ultimately limit England to just 21 runs from the final 3 overs despite the solid base that they had established.
For his part, Paterson bowled 2 overs at the death taking 2 wickets in each over including the dangerous hitters of Livingstone, Billings, Buttler and Willey. Having conceeded 24 from his first 2 overs, Paterson went for just 8 from his final 12 balls to record to the best figures at this ground.
Highlights of Paterson’s bowling can be viewed in the same video as the record for top score above