Central Reserve

{{Short description|Sports ground in the suburb of Glen Waverley, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

{{Infobox venue

| stadium_name = Central Reserve

| nickname =

| image = Central_Reserve_Waverley.jpg

| image_size = 300px

| location = Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia

| coordinates = {{Coord|37|53|31.08|S|145|09|43.70|E|display=it}}

| broke_ground =

| opened =

| closed =

| demolished =

| owner = City of Monash

| operator =

| surface = Grass

| construction_cost =

| dimensions = 165m × 145m

| architect =

| former_names =

| tenants = Richmond Cricket Club (2010/11–pres)
Waverley Cricket Club (1974/75–1987/88)
Hawthorn-Waverley Cricket Club (1988/98–2002/03)
Waverley Football Club (1961–1987)

Glen Waverley Hawks Football Club (2013 to present)

| seating_capacity = Grandstand 500

}}

Central Reserve is a cricket and Australian rules football ground in the suburb of Glen Waverley, in the south-east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located at the intersection between Waverley Rd and Springvale Rd. It is the current home of the Richmond Cricket Club in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition and it is also the current home of Mazenod Old Collegians Football Club, who currently play in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).

Since the 1970s, the ground has been used by three separate Victorian District/Premier Cricket clubs. In the 1974/75 season, the Waverley Cricket Club was elevated from sub-district cricket to district cricket, and it played at Central Reserve until the 1989/90 season, when it merged with the sub-district Dandenong Cricket Club and moved to Shepley Oval, Dandenong.{{cite web|url=http://dandenong.vic.cricket.com.au/content.aspx?file=204%7C32803e|title=Club History|publisher=Dandenong Cricket Club|accessdate=7 April 2014}} The same year, the Hawthorn-East Melbourne Cricket Club moved to Central Reserve from its home ground at Glenferrie Oval, where the Hawthorn Football Club sought year-round use of the venue, and became known as Hawthorn-Waverley; the club played there until 2003-04, when it merged with the sub-district Monash University Cricket Club, became known as Hawthorn-Monash University, and moved to the oval at the university's Clayton campus.{{cite web|url=http://premiercricket.sitesuite.cn/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=25124;group_name=|title=Home Ground|author=Ben Huf|publisher=Victorian Premier Cricket|accessdate=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000012/http://premiercricket.sitesuite.cn/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=25124;group_name=|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} Finally, in late 2010, the Richmond Cricket Club moved its home base from its traditional home at Punt Road Oval, Richmond, to Central Reserve, after a decade-long impasse with the Richmond Football Club over the use of the field during summer;{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|author=Caroline Wilson|accessdate=7 April 2014|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cricketers-get-the-boot-from-punt-road-oval-20101026-172cd.html|title=Cricketers get the boot from Punt Road Oval|date=27 October 2010}} the club changed its trading name to Monash Tigers in 2013-14, then changed it back to Richmond in 2020-21.{{cite news|newspaper=Waverley Leader|page=43|title=The roar of the Monash Tigers|date=10 September 2013|publication-place=Waverley, VIC}}

The ground has hosted one top level match: a List A tour match between Victoria and the touring Sri Lankans in the 2005/06 season.{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/2/111_a.html|title=List A Matches played on Central Reserve, Melbourne|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=21 October 2011}} Victoria won the game by 7 wickets, thanks to five wickets from Allan Wise during the Sri Lankans innings of 120 all out. Michael Klinger then scored 51 not out alongside Andrew McDonald who scored 45 not out, with Victoria reaching 3/121.{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/86/86150.html|title=Victoria v Sri Lankans, 2005/06|publisher=CricketArchive|accessdate=21 October 2011}}

The ground was also prominent as the home ground of the Waverley Football Club, which played in the Victorian Football Association from 1961 until 1987, and before that as the Glen Waverley Football Club in the Caulfield-Oakleigh District League.{{cite news|newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial|publication-place=Melbourne, VIC|page=31|author=Scot Palmer|date=22 December 1960|title=VFA to play a full senior round on Anzac Day}} The oval and pavilion were upgraded in 1962 to bring it up to VFA standards, forcing the club to play its home games on the northern half of the wider Central Reserve for that season; a covered standing shelter was constructed in the mid-1960s, and the main grandstand was opened in 1969.{{citation|author1=Santo Caruso|author2=Marc Fiddian|author3=Jim Main|title=Football Grounds of Melbourne|publisher=Pennon Publishing|year=2002|publication-place=Essendon North, VIC|page=36}}

The wider Central Reserve area contains two football/cricket ovals, a skate park, a playground, and various other facilities. The main oval, used for premier cricket, is the northern oval.