Chislehurst Cricket Club

Chislehurst Cricket Club was based in Chislehurst, Kent, and played several major cricket matches in the 18th century. Its home venue was at Chislehurst Common.

Major cricket

Chislehurst is first recorded as a major cricket team in July 1738 when it played London in a game that "turned several times" until finally being won by London.^[1][2] A rematch was quickly arranged and took place at the Artillery Ground a week later. Chislehurst won this game by 5 wickets and so a decider took place in September. This was at the Artillery Ground and was won by London.

Chislehurst played London each season from 1738 to 1741.^[3] In 1743, a combined Chislehurst and Bromley XI played London in two matches^[4] and, in 1746, a combined Chislehurst and London team played Addington.^[5]

Today

Cricket is still played on Chislehurst Common as the Chislehurst and West Kent Cricket Club has its ground there on the appropriately named Cricket Ground Road.^[6] The club is an amalgamation of two 19th century clubs. The West Kent CC was originally based in Bromley but lost its ground in 1821 due to the enclosure of Bromley Common. The club was rescued by an offer from the Chislehurst authorities to let them establish a new ground on Chislehurst Common. In 1876, three small local clubs amalgamated and called themselves the Chislehurst Cricket Club and agreement was reached so that the two clubs shared Cricket Ground Road for the next 100 years. West Kent CC was dissolved in 1980 and the Chislehurst club, now known as the Chislehurst and West Kent Cricket Club, has sole use of the ground.^[7]

References

1. ^ H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), p.20.
2. ^ From Lad's to Lord's. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
3. ^ H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, p.15-16.
4. ^ F S Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742-1751
5. ^ H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, p.17.
6. ^ CWKCC website. Retrieved on 28 June 2009.
7. ^ CWKCC website. Retrieved on 28 June 2009.

External links

• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787
• Classification of cricket matches from 1697 to 1825

Further reading

• F S Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742-1751, Cricket Magazine, 1900
• F S Ashley-Cooper, Kent Cricket Matches 1719-1880, Gibbs & Sons, 1929
• G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
• H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
• H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906
• David Underdown, Start of Play, Allen Lane, 2000