The swanky new dressing rooms in which Surrey’s players prepare for action are the latest chapter in the 21st century regeneration of the ground.

Through the close-season, there was much banging and crashing around the Kia Oval, which staged England’s first Test in 1880. Some of that was from just over the wall, where what was once the giant gasholder is rapidly being transformed into a new block of luxury apartments.

Surrey’s determination that their own headquarters stays among the best in the land saw an even busier winter than usual, hard hats being de rigueur. New floodlights, replacing the old retractables erected in 2009, and in the shape of the Prince of Wales feathers – Surrey’s crest – have already shown how much brighter they are in the early matches. They will shortly be joined by a giant scoreboard and replay screen on the eastern side of the ground.

But it’s the dressing rooms which are most important to those who provide the entertainment and have seen perhaps the greatest changes.

In the days of amateurs and professionals, most grounds provided separate accommodation and in some cases they even entered the field of play through separate gates. The distinction between gentlemen and players ended in the winter of 1962-63.

But cricket’s sense of hierarchy was deeply ingrained. Many counties, Surrey among them, kept apart capped and uncapped players, the award of a county cap signifying not only that a player had become established on the staff but bringing with it a sizeable pay increase.

A place in the capped players dressing room was among the targets for a youngster. At The Oval, the old dressing rooms in the pavilion maintained that distinction – uncapped players were required to knock on the door before entering – and even when they moved to the Bedser Stand in 1990, separation remained.

It was David Gilbert, when taking over as cricket manager in 1996, who ended that outdated distinction, frequently defended by those who had grown up with it. Being shown around the ground on his arrival, the Australian asked why there were two home dressing rooms but only one for the visitors.

Hearing the answer, he insisted that the wall between the two home rooms should come down or he would be heading back down under immediately. If a team did not even change together, how on earth would it play together? The improvement in team spirit was immediate.

Gilbert would doubtless be impressed by the new facilities. The rise of women’s cricket has been a major cause and now the Surrey men and women will have their own dressing rooms, opposition teams occupying whichever room is not occupied. And for double-headers, increasingly common in T20 and the Hundred, new – albeit smaller – rooms in the lower reaches of the Bedser Stand will accommodate the visiting teams.

What started as the Bedser Bar in the 1990s and became the Montpelier Suite has been swallowed up, as have a few rows of seats. Expanded changing areas, storage and updated showers are complemented by a lounge overlooking the pitch, dining room, nutrition station, physio area and changing block for the coaching and support staff. It weighs in at 740 square metres and without outlining the cost, chief executive Steve Elworthy described it as a “significant investment”.

By Richard Spiller