 Cricket match on Mitcham Cricket Green | |
| Location | Mitcham, Merton (previously Surrey) |
|---|---|
| Home club | Mitcham Cricket Club |
| County club | Surrey CCC Second XI |
| Establishment | 1685 |
Mitcham Cricket Green is a cricket ground in Mitcham, south London (historically in Surrey). It is the home of Mitcham Cricket Club and is reportedly the oldest cricket ground still in use, having been used for cricket since 1685. [1]
In the 19th century, the Australian cricket team would stay at The Cricketers pub which formerly overlooked the green and practise on the green whilst on tour. The pub was used as the "pavilion" for the matches on the Cricket Green up until the current pavilion was built in at the beginning of the 20th Century, the scorer having a position on the balcony of the inn. The Cricketers pub was destroyed by an incendiary bomb in WW2 (which fell between the pub and the adjacent Vestry Hall - which still stands). A replacement pub was built post-war, but has since been demolished and there is a block of flats on the site. The present pavilion was built in 1904 and is rare in being one of only a few cricket pavilions to be separated from the ground by a road, (the A239). [2]
Surrey County Cricket Club first used the ground in 1949 for a match in the Minor Counties Championship. [3] Surrey continued to use the ground for 2nd XI matches until 1973. Its first usage in the Second XI Championship was for a match in 1959. [4] Surrey has never used Mitcham for a first-class match.
In September 1919 the Green hosted a Mitcham v Australian Imperial Forces XI match (the final game of the AIF XI tour of England), the Australian team on the day included 3 players who subsequently played Test cricket for Australia. In 2019 Mitcham CC hosted a team from the Australian Embassy to commemorate the centenary of this match. The match on the Green which is reputed to have drawn the biggest crowd was a women's game Surrey v Australia in 1937 where press reports suggest that a crowd in excess of 10,000 was present. This was the last game of the Australia tour. Women's cricket has been played regularly on the Green, including a warm up game for the 1973 World Cup (Surrey v Jamaica). The most notable match of recent times was the Golden Jubilee Challenge Match, a match held between Mitcham and Hambledon Club, two of the oldest clubs in the country, in honour of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Ian Botham made a guest appearance with the Queen's Jubilee Baton. The match was a two innings affair. [1]
The Cricket Green also lends its name to the nearby area, and is a Conservation area and council ward. [5]
Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in Southwest London, England. It is centred 7.2 miles (11.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It has been a settlement throughout recorded history.
The London Borough of Merton is a London borough in London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey.
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the ICC Europe and, until August 2005, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Lord's is widely referred to as the Home of Cricket and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.
The Sydney Riot of 1879 was an instance of civil disorder that occurred at an early international cricket match. It took place on 8 February 1879 at what is now the Sydney Cricket Ground, during a match between New South Wales, captained by Dave Gregory, and a touring English team, captained by Lord Harris.
Broadhalfpenny Down is a historic cricket ground in Hambledon, Hampshire. It is known as the "Cradle of Cricket" because it was the home venue in the 18th century of the Hambledon Club, but cricket predated the club and ground by at least two centuries. The club is in the parish of Hambledon close to the neighbouring parish of Clanfield. The club took the name of the neighbouring rural village of Hambledon, about 2.7 miles away by road.
In the years from 1726 to 1750, cricket became an established sport in London and the south-eastern counties of England. In 1726, it was already a thriving sport in the south east and, though limited by the constraints of travel at the time, it was slowly gaining adherents elsewhere with references being found in other southern counties. Having been essentially a rural pastime for well over a century, cricket became a focus for wealthy patrons and gamblers whose interests funded its growth throughout the 18th century.
When the First World War ended in November 1918, thousands of Australian servicemen were in Europe as members of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and many remained until the spring of 1919. In England, a new first-class cricket season was planned, the first since 1914, and an idea that came to fruition was the formation of an Australian touring side made up of servicemen. Agreement was reached with the Australian Corps HQ in London, commanded by Field Marshal William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, and the Australian Imperial Force Touring XI was formed, initially under the captaincy of pre-war Test player Charlie Kelleway. Kelleway departed after only six matches following a dispute about the fixtures list. A players' meeting elected future Test player Herbie Collins as team captain for the remainder of the tour, despite the fact that Collins' military rank was lance corporal and there were seven officers in the party. The bulk of the team remained intact for nearly nine months from May 1919, playing 33 matches in Great Britain, ten in South Africa on their way home and then another three in Australia itself before disbanding in February 1920. Of the 46 matches, 39 are adjudged first-class and the team had only four defeats, all of these in England. The players lived on their army pay and all profits from gate money went to an AIF Sports Control Board.
John Crossland was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1878 and 1887. Crossland was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in county cricket, but critics generally believed that he threw, rather than bowled the ball, a practice illegal in cricket. Contemporaries suggest that, but for the suspicions over his bowling action, Crossland would have played Test cricket for England.
Mitcham Cricket Club is reported by The Independent to be the oldest cricket club in existence, with the club having played cricket on Mitcham Cricket Green since 1685. The club was reportedly watched by Lord Nelson during his time in the area.
Leyton Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Leyton, London. The ground was the headquarters and main home match venue of Essex County Cricket Club from 1886 until 1933, and was also used by the club for matches between 1957 and 1977. It currently hosts club and community cricket matches and has a listed pavilion.
Queen's Park is a county cricket ground located in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England and lies within a park in the centre of the town established for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. It has a small pavilion and is surrounded by mature trees.
An English cricket team toured Australia in 1861–62. This was the first-ever tour of Australia by any overseas team and the second tour abroad by an English team, following the one to North America in 1859. The team is sometimes referred to as H. H. Stephenson's XI.
Kew Cricket Club hosts matches on Kew Green in Kew, which is now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Honor Oak Cricket Club Ground is a cricket ground in Dulwich, London. In 1921 the club was described as one of the oldest and best cricket clubs in Surrey, having supplied several players to the county club. In that year Honor Oak played Guy's Hospital in a charity game in aid of blinded soldiers and sailors. The club side eleven included England player, EG Hayes. and George Abel, son of R Abel. The first archived scorecard for a match on the ground was in 1929. In 1943, the Buccaneers played Northamptonshire in a wartime charity match. In 1967, the ground hosted a single Second XI Championship match between the Surrey Second XI and the Glamorgan Second XI.
Private Banks Sports Ground is a 20 acres (8.1 ha) cricket and multi-use sports ground in Catford Bridge in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ground, which was in the historic county of Kent until 1889, was used as a first-class cricket venue by Kent County Cricket Club between 1875 and 1921. In 2012, the ground was sold to the Educational Foundation of nearby independent school St Dunstan's College and renamed the Jubilee Ground.
Hesketh Park is a cricket ground in Dartford in Kent. The ground is the home of Dartford Cricket Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs in the United Kingdom. The ground was established at the beginning of the 20th century and has been used as a first-class cricket venue by Kent County Cricket Club.
Vivian Frank Shergold Crawford was an English cricketer who played as a right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm fast bowler in first-class cricket for Surrey and Leicestershire between 1896 and 1910. He also played for many amateur teams. He was born in Leicester and died at Merton, Surrey. He was the brother of the England Test cricketer Jack Crawford and of the Leicestershire first-class cricketer Reginald Crawford.
Richmond Green cricket ground, on The Green at Richmond, London, has been a venue for cricket matches since the 17th century. The earliest reference dates from May 1666 and some top-class matches were played there in the first half of the 18th century. A match in 1731, which culminated in a riot, is the earliest in cricket history of which team scores are known. The result of a match in July 1741 is the sport's earliest known tie.
Burnett Wedlake "Burn" Bullock was an English first-class cricketer who played for Surrey in a few matches between 1922 and 1924. He was born in Redhill, Surrey and died in Balham, London.
The Burn Bullock is former public house in Mitcham, in the London Borough of Merton, England. Parts of the building are thought to date to the 16th century. It was badly damaged by fire in April 2024.
Mitcham Green has been in continual use as a cricket venue for 317 yearsNote: the roads alongside are the A217 and the A239.
