Attleborough, Catford Bridge, Finedon and Hawkhurst Moor all have something in common.

So do Pagham, Norbury, Wrotham and Wirksworth.

No, it's not a list of the backdrops from Midsomer Murders. Nor obscure golf clubs where I've been drummed out for leaving too many divots.

Give up? They have all staged county cricket at some time or other.

None do so now, which puts them in

the same bracket as Bradford Park Avenue.

The famous old ground in the city has been consigned to the game's history books after Bradford-Leeds Universities' Centre of Excellence announced they were pulling out.

But Park Avenue was a bit grander than the others. Forget the odd match at an obscure out-ground to keep the natives happy, Bradford was a major Yorkshire venue.

We're talking 314 first-class games in 124 years of history. The county used Park Avenue regularly until 1985 - and all the greats have graced the turf.

The list of past matches reads like a who's who of domestic and international superstars.

Australia played at Bradford countless times, so did Pakistan, West Indies, India and New Zealand.

Even England in 1950, when the ground hosted a Test trial match. Jim Laker took 8-2 in the first innings - six years before he got all ten against the Aussies at Old Trafford.

A colleague on the desk even claims to have seen Geoff Boycott score a century at Park Avenue BEFORE lunch. And he insists the opener was not already on 80 overnight.

As an offcomed'un, I may not be best qualified to talk about a ground I've never set foot on. But I can relate to the sense of frustration being felt by so many people as this week's news hits home.

Following Hampshire cricket over the years, I've seen four grounds annexed and abandoned by the county's move to a new out-of-town home.

It was seen as progress, of course, and they now boast a stage good enough for international cricket.

But there is still a pang every time I pass Dean Park in Bournemouth or Portsmouth's United Services ground.

They finished in Pompey in 2000 against Kent, bringing the curtain down with a battle of wits between two of the sport's great talents.

Watching Rahul Dravid and his wristy batting skills seeing off Shane Warne and a gaggle of close fielders, it was hard to swallow the fact that this was it for top-notch cricket in the city.

Former Hampshire captain Mark Nicholas, on a day off from his commentary-box duties, had popped down for the final time to pay his respects. Of all the grounds around the world, he said, this had been Malcolm Marshall's favourite and now it was no more.

Similar sentiments were echoed this week by Brian Close at the news that Park Avenue was disappearing off the map.

"All first-class cricketers enjoyed playing on it," he said. "We got good crowds at Park Avenue and the Bradford fans were among the most knowledgeable in the country. It was like playing in a lion's den."

It is a long time since the Bradford crowd last roared. Yorkshire stopped playing there regularly in 1985 and the last first-class game was nine years

ago.

I was staggered to discover that 347 grounds have staged first-class cricket in Britain. From Aberdeen to St Leonards-on-Sea, it seems that counties have played just about everywhere over the last century and a half.

Most of those venues are now defunct, covered by DIY superstores, council blocks or just left to rot.

They are no more than statistics in history and sadly Bradford has joined the club. Inevitable, maybe, but none the easier to take.