Therefore, the second match of the 1881 season between Oxford University and the Gentlemen of England was moved to the Christ Church Ground, which being private land meant an admission could be charged.

[8] The Australians were the first touring team to play at the ground, doing so on a cloudy May day in 1882;[6][10] it was recorded that the attendance was poor for this match.

[11] Two years later, Oxford University recorded their first and only victory against the Australians at the Christ Church Ground,[9] thanks in part to contributions from Tim O'Brien (92), Hugh Whitby (8 for 82), and E. W. Bastard (5 for 44).

[19] Between the turn of the century and the First World War, gated first-class matches at the ground continued unabated and included the first visit of the Indian tourists to Oxford, as part of their inaugural tour of England in 1911.

[6] Although first-class cricket was suspended during the First World War, the ground remained in use for inter-college matches and additionally saw various armed forces representative sides play there.

First-class cricket returned to the ground in 1921, with a visit from the touring Australians, which was played in front of a large crowd who witnessed Douglas Jardine and R. L. Holdsworth save the match for Oxford.

During the war, it did host exhibition matches: the university played a British Empire XI in 1940,[23] and the Australian Services in 1945.

Oxfordshire had played their previous one-day matches at the Morris Motors Sports Ground in Cowley, but in the 1981 NatWest Trophy they played their first round fixture against Glamorgan at the Christ Church Ground;[27] their first-class opponents won the match by 8 wickets, with Malcolm Nash taking figures of 5 for 31.

In total Oxfordshire played 81 Minor Counties Championship and 16 MCCA Knockout Trophy matches there.