The Oval, referred to as the Kia Oval due to a commercial sponsorship deal, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval. In past years it was officially named as the 'Fosters Oval', 'AMP Oval', 'Brit Insurance Oval', due to previous commercial sponsorship deals.

The Oval is the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club, and also traditionally hosts the final Test match of each English summer season in late August or early September. The Oval was the first ground in the United Kingdom and second in the world (after the Melbourne Cricket Ground) to host Test cricket.

The nearest Tube station is Oval, but Vauxhall is only half a mile away.

In 1844, Kennington Oval was a market garden. The Oval was then (and still is) owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. Surrey County Cricket Club was set up in 1845. The Duchy was willing to grant a lease of the land for the purpose of a cricket ground, and, on 10 March 1845, the club signed a lease with the Otter Trustees, who held the land from the Duchy of Cornwall, 'to convert it into a subscription cricket ground', for 31 years at a rent of £120 per annum plus taxes (£20 more). The original contract for turfing the Oval cost £300; 10,000 grass turfs came from Tooting Common.

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; he was orphaned young when his mother died shortly after his father abandoned the family. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. He attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. After enlisting in the Army and later failing as an officer's cadet at West Point, Poe parted ways with the Allans. His publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".

Hashim Mahomed Amla (born 31 March 1983) is a South African cricketer. A right-handed upper order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler, Amla bats at number 3 for South Africa in Test matches and has opened in limited overs contests. He is currently ranked by the International Cricket Council as the world's top batsman in One Day Internationals (ODIs).

Upon graduating from Durban High School and impressing in the youth circuit, Amla made his debut for his provincial team, the KwaZulu Natal Dolphins, soon captaining South Africa at the 2002 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, leading his team to the final. During his formative years, former Western Province captain and coach Hylton Ackerman had been influential in Amla's development, first spotting his talent and honing his skills during his coaching career. His promise led him to being appointed captain of Kwazulu-Natal at the young age of 21. Amla is a devout practicing Muslim Amla has been cited as a future captain of South Africa ever since his first class years.

Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE (born 27 June 1980) is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England, Surrey and the Delhi Daredevils. He was captain of the England Test and One Day International teams from 4 August 2008 to 7 January 2009 but resigned after just three Tests and nine One Day Internationals, following a dispute with England coach Peter Moores, who was sacked the same day. On 31 May 2012, Pietersen retired from all forms of international limited-overs cricket.

Pietersen was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province, South Africa. He made his first-class debut for Natal in 1997 before moving to England after voicing his displeasure at the racial quota system in place in South Africa. His English mother gave Pietersen eligibility to play for England, and after serving a qualifying period of four years playing at county level, he was called up almost immediately into the national side. He made his international debut in the One Day International match against Zimbabwe in 2004, and his Test match debut in the 2005 Ashes series against Australia the following year. The England team's subsequent reliance on Pietersen since his debut resulted in only a single first-class appearance for Hampshire between 2005 and 2010. On 17 June 2010, Pietersen announced his wish to leave Hampshire . He subsequently joined Surrey on loan for the remainder of the 2010 English county cricket season after being dropped by England due to a poor run of form, before joining the club permanently from the 2011 season onwards.