The Queen's Park Oval Cricket Club leased the Queen's Park Oval in 1896, moving there from its first home at the Queen's Park Savannah, where it had existed since its founding in 1891.
The natural soil at the ground prevented turf wickets from being laid down, due to the damage caused by the mole crickets that inhabited it, so when the club moved to its new ground the groundsmen laid a pitch of clay with a wicket made of matting prepared on top.
A popular venue due to its capacity (7,000 when first constructed, the highest in the Caribbean) the ground was very profitable for the owning cricket club.
The first match recorded by CricketArchive, CricInfo and Wisden took place on 29 January 1897, between Lord Hawke's touring party and a team put out by the Queen's Park Oval Club.
The match, which was a draw but saw the ground's first century—119 by Plum Warner—was not counted as first-class.
Only a few days later on February 1 the ground's maiden first-class fixture took place between Trinidad and the same Lord Hawke's XI.
The home team won by 137 runs.
The two teams met at the Oval again on 5 February, when Trinidad were victorious once more.
Arthur Priestley's touring eleven then played a Queen's Park XI on February 12, with the game drawn.

During the first decades of the 20th century, the private Queen's Park Oval was a very exclusive cricket ground and club.
C. L. R. James records that "they were for the most part white and often wealthy" and that "a black man in the Queen's Park was rare and usually anonymous."
The Queens Park club was "the big shot" of the local cricket on the island, and touring matches were the mainstay of cricket at the ground for the first few years.
They also contributed to the growth of cricket on the island, for trial matches were held on weekends while a tour was in progress, and local talent was invited to play.
In April 1899, Trinidad played a Barbados-based XI led by Arthur St. Hill, an early domestic West Indian fixture.
By 1900, Inter-Colonial Tournament matches were taking place, with the final between Barbados and British Guiana taking place at the Queen's Park Oval.
These became more and more frequent in the first decade of the 20th century, along with more tour games against the invitational XIs of Richard Bennett and Lord Brackley.
The ground hosted the finals of the 1906 and 1910 Inter-Colonial Tournaments.

In 1911 and in 1913 the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) toured the West Indies, with four matches played in total between the MCC and Trinidad at the Queen's Park Oval across both tours.
Then, on 20 February 1913, the MCC played a combined West Indies cricket team, who was playing one of its earliest matches as a representative eleven, and only its fourth against an MCC side.
Harry Ince scored 167 in the West Indian first innings, Richard Ollivierre took a five-wicket haul and Joseph Rogers took a six-for as the MCC slid to a heavy defeat.
The match was the first between the West Indies and the MCC to have taken place at the Queen's Park Oval.
Though cricket was largely interrupted by World War I, normal practice resumed with the ground hosting the Inter-Colonial Tournament finals in 1921, 1925 and 1929.
The Queen's Park Oval Cricket Club leased the Queen's Park Oval in 1896, moving there from its first home at the Queen's Park Savannah, where it had existed since its founding in 1891. The natural soil at the ground prevented turf wickets from being laid down, due to the damage caused by the mole crickets that inhabited it, so when the club moved to its new ground the groundsmen laid a pitch of clay with a wicket made of matting prepared on top. A popular venue due to its capacity (7,000 when first constructed, the highest in the Caribbean) the ground was very profitable for the owning cricket club. The first match recorded by CricketArchive, CricInfo and Wisden took place on 29 January 1897, between Lord Hawke's touring party and a team put out by the Queen's Park Oval Club. The match, which was a draw but saw the ground's first century—119 by Plum Warner—was not counted as first-class. Only a few days later on February 1 the ground's maiden first-class fixture took place between Trinidad and the same Lord Hawke's XI. The home team won by 137 runs. The two teams met at the Oval again on 5 February, when Trinidad were victorious once more. Arthur Priestley's touring eleven then played a Queen's Park XI on February 12, with the game drawn.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the private Queen's Park Oval was a very exclusive cricket ground and club. C. L. R. James records that "they were for the most part white and often wealthy" and that "a black man in the Queen's Park was rare and usually anonymous." The Queens Park club was "the big shot" of the local cricket on the island, and touring matches were the mainstay of cricket at the ground for the first few years. They also contributed to the growth of cricket on the island, for trial matches were held on weekends while a tour was in progress, and local talent was invited to play. In April 1899, Trinidad played a Barbados-based XI led by Arthur St. Hill, an early domestic West Indian fixture. By 1900, Inter-Colonial Tournament matches were taking place, with the final between Barbados and British Guiana taking place at the Queen's Park Oval. These became more and more frequent in the first decade of the 20th century, along with more tour games against the invitational XIs of Richard Bennett and Lord Brackley. The ground hosted the finals of the 1906 and 1910 Inter-Colonial Tournaments.
In 1911 and in 1913 the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) toured the West Indies, with four matches played in total between the MCC and Trinidad at the Queen's Park Oval across both tours. Then, on 20 February 1913, the MCC played a combined West Indies cricket team, who was playing one of its earliest matches as a representative eleven, and only its fourth against an MCC side. Harry Ince scored 167 in the West Indian first innings, Richard Ollivierre took a five-wicket haul and Joseph Rogers took a six-for as the MCC slid to a heavy defeat. The match was the first between the West Indies and the MCC to have taken place at the Queen's Park Oval. Though cricket was largely interrupted by World War I, normal practice resumed with the ground hosting the Inter-Colonial Tournament finals in 1921, 1925 and 1929.
Queen's Park Oval