AG- part 17

AG-17  – HONG KONG CRICKET  CLUB

In a city of Skyscrapers, where land is sold at a premium, some children play cricket on the rooftop of a high rise building. This is Hongkong and cricket has been played on this island since 1841.  Hong Kong Cricket club was established in 1851 and is the oldest club in Asia. 

Present Address :

Hongkong Cricket Club,

137, Wong nai Chung gap road ,

Tai Tam, HONG KONG

Photo courtesy : living.hongkonghomes.com

This club played inter-port matches against Shanghai in 1866 and in Srilanka ( Ceylon) in 1890. In 1892 the ship SS Bokhara carrying Hong Kong Cricket players was capsized by a tycoon and only two of the 13 Cricketers survived in that tragedy.

The club moved from its Charter Road premises to a ground in Victoria business district overlooking Happy Valley Race course in the mid-1970s.  The present ground at Wong Nai Chung Gap is in the middle of the Island.  The Club has a Long Room resembling Lord’s cricket ground, London.

MCC teams touring Australia and New Zealand frequently played a match in Hong Kong against ex-pats living on the island.

The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes organised by Hong Kong Cricket League in 1961 has become a regular feature for professional cricketers.

In the 1990s Dermot Reeve, an England Cricketer, who was born in Hong Kong captained a successful Cricket Sixes team.  The game was shown in SKY SPORTS TV series.

In 1983 a team from Hong Kong played a 3- match series in Beijing, the first of such a visit to the Communist China.

Hong Kong  Cricket team became an Associate member of ICC in 1969.  In the T20 WC tournament in 2014, Hong Kong team  stunned the Bangladesh Team when they beat them by 2 wickets.

Hong Kong CC also showed interest in social activities.  In partnership with Zubin Foundation it has distributed 5,000 second hand books and 10,000 masks to 800 families in and around  Hong Kong.

Besides Cricket, rugby, tennis, squash, Lawn Bowls, Pool, Gym, Dance Classes ( from Balley to Scottish Country) and other sports facilities are also played here.

Hong Kong CC is a prestigious club as the Entrance Fees itself costs $ 2,88,00 with a monthly fee of $ 1,660 and the waiting period is 7 years and those who win a place in main sports like Cricket, Lawn Bowls, Squash, Tennis will get accelerated sporting membership. 

At present this club has 2,300 members.

The club aso conducts Umpiring Course  by arrangement with ICC.  This year it will be conducted in March & April.

Hong  Kong CC ‘s Fair Break event, a T-20 tournament, attracts international women cricketers around the world.

The Club’s Mission statement goes like this : “ We will engage, educate, and inspire through programmes and initiatives that reflect our diverse, vibrant community, also providing professional structures and pathways to support the identification and development of talented cricketers to ensure Hong Kong is represented by champion teams “.10

Cricket features in the Asian Games for the first time and Hong Kong’s men’s and women’s teams participate in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in November 2010. The women’s team has a poor tournament and fails to win a match however the men score victories over Nepal and Maldives1

Hong Kong hosts the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 featuring teams from Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Oman, Papua New Guinea and USA. Hong Kong lost its first two matches of the tournament but won its last three games to qualify for the final.014

In January 2014, the Hong Kong team travels to New Zealand to contest the ten-team ICC Cricket World Qualifier 2014. In group matches, Hong Kong beats ODI ranked teams Scotland and Canada and thrashes Nepal by 10 wkts to qualify for the Super Sixes phase of the tournament. A narrow loss by D/L to Kenya in the opening game of the Super Sixes proves costly as despite impressive victories over Namibia and PNG in their remaining Super Sixes matches, Hong Kong cannot improve on their third place and so narrowly miss out on qualifiying for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. However by finishing third, Hong Kong gains ODI status in 2014.

AG- PART -16

AG-16 – THE GRANGE, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Photo courtesy:  Wikipedia.org

Photo courtesy :  Grange cricket club.

Address :  Portgower Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, EH4 1 HQ, Scotland.

Capacity : 5000

End Names: City End, Park End

Other sports :  Tennis, Squash, Hockey

Formerly known as Raeburn Place; The Citylets Grange.

Founded in 1832, the Grange Cricket Club is one of Scotland’s leading cricket clubs.  The picturesque ground is located in the Stockbridge area of central Edinburgh and regularly hosts Scotland’s international matches.

Cricket had been played in Scotland since at least from 1785, brought to the country by British soldiers.  The Club’s first game was a gift of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, father of a team member who allowed them to use a field near his home, Grange House.  The new club was the First in Scotland to have its own ground. 

In 1872 it moved to its current location at Raeburn Place in the Stockbridge district and has hosted out of its pavilion since 1894. The pavilion cost £1,400 and was officially opened on 29 June 1895 by Lord Moncrieff. And W.G. Grace brought his Gloucestershire team to Grange to grace the occasion.

The pavilion was restored in 1998 at a cost of £450,000.

After the Scottish Cricket Union disbanded in 1884 The Grange Club assumed responsibility as the governing body of cricket in Scotland for a time and still holds considerable national influence.

The decorative scheme to the interior of the Pavilion is designed to complement the exterior. The Long Room is modeled on the MCC ‘s  “Long Room” at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London. 

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The first game took place in 1872, a grand match between Edinburgh and Glasgow and the pitch was well appreciated by the visiting team, Glasgow.

In 1882, the  Scotland team stunned the visiting Australians, (a side which included Charles Bannerman, Giffen, Mudroch) when they beat them with a considerable margin of 7 wickets.

The Grange has hosted numerous high profile international matches over the years featuring teams such as Australia,, Pakistan and England. Some of the world’s finest cricketers have played at The Grange, from W.G. Grace in 1895 and Don Bradman in 1948 to Brian Lara in 1995, Shane Warne and Andrew Flintoff. The ground has hosted Scotland’s home matches in ECB domestic cricket competitions.

The club has three-weekend league sides.  The 1st XI play in the Cricket Scotland League Eastern Premiership. The 2nd XI play in the Championship Division and the 3rd XI in Division 3 of the East of Scotland League.

Over the years the club had its own ups and downs on the playing fields, though recently it had been highly successful.

In the 1990s the ground was recognised as Scotland’s premier cricket venue and many international matches were hosted here.

In 2003, Rahul Dravid of India playing for Scotland hit his second century of the season, carving an unbeaten 129 in 128 balls against Nottinghamshire in the National Cricket league – but Scotland still lost. 

In 2005, Scotland signed a five-figure sponsorship deal with Citylets, an Edinburgh property-advertising firm, for the naming rights to The Grange ground in Edinburgh. It is an important year for Scottish cricket, as they try to qualify for the 2007 World Cup in West Indies through the ICC Trophy in Ireland during July.

The Grange hosted Scotland’s first official ODI outside of Cricket world cup on 27th June in 2006.  A capacity crowd saw Scotland lose by five wickets to Pakistan. It was selected as a venue to host matches in the 2015 ICC World cup T20 Qualifier tournament.

This ground also hosted two One-day WORLD CUP matches in 1999 involving the Home team, Scotland, when they were beaten in both matches.

So far this ground hosted 21 ODI matches and out of this Scotland won 6 matches including an upset win against England in 2018 and it also hosted 13 T20Is and Scotland won 1 match.

And this year (2022) the club is going to celebrate its 150th year of its existence here at Portgower Place.

AG- Part 15

AG- 15- FITZ PARK, KESWICK, CUMBRIA, ENGLAND

Photo courtesy : BBC sport

Photo courtesy : Keswick CC

Fitz Park is a public park in Keswick, Cumbria, England.  Landscaped in the Victorian period, the Park is covered with Shrubberies and specimen trees and provides open space for recreation.  At the foot of Latrigg & Skiddaw in the heart of the Lake District National Park, overlooked by impressive fells including Walla Crag, Cat Bells lies one of the loveliest grounds in the United Kingdom. 

 Flanked by the River Greta on the town side, Fitz Park is home to Keswick Cricket Club.  This club plays in the premier division of North Lancashire and Cumbria Cricket League.  The club’s second and third XIs play in the Eden Valley Cricket League.

Address :

THE CLUB HOUSE

Lower Fitz Park

Keswick

Cumbria

CA12 4EJ

Landscaped in the Victorian period, the park contains shrubberies and specimen trees, and provides open space for recreation. There are sports grounds for tennis and bowls, and the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery is situated there. 

Keswick Museum and Art Gallery.  Photo :  Hyperleap.com

The first recorded match on the ground was in 1955, when Cumberland played the Lancashire Second XI in the Minor Counties Championship. Cumberland used the ground from 1955 to 1966 and 2000 to 2008; during this time the ground hosted 10 Minor Counties Championship matches, with the final match held at the ground in that competition being between Cumberland and Northumberland in 2008. During that time the ground has also hosted 2 MCCA Knockout Trophy matches, the last of which came in 2001, when Cumberland played Northumberland.

The ground has also hosted a single match between Cumberland and the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board in the 1st round of the 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy.

Founded in the mid-1880s, cricket is played at Fitz Park.  The Park came into prominence in 2001 when “Wisden” monthly voted this as “the Loveliest cricket Ground” in the country and the Pavilion bears a plaque to commemorate the event.  The fantastic play area in the lower Park includes equipment for children.

Children play area in Fitz Park.  Photo courtesy:  The Hikinghousehold.com

The first recorded match on the ground was in 1955 when Cumberland played the Lancashire Second XI in the Minor County League championship.

Fitz Park is owned by a Board of Trustees nominated by the Kenwick Town Council.

The Club is not charged any rent but is responsible for the maintenance of the ground and the Pavilion.

International cricketers like Darren Gough, Hansie Cronje and David Boon appeared in Benefit matches at the ground to raise funds for a new pavilion.

Over the years the Club has employed a number of overseas professionals and recently Geeth Kumara, a Srilankan all-rounder who apart from playing for the First XI, also coaches junior players and teams.

A devastating Storm Desmond caused havoc in 2015 when the River Greta overflowed and flooded the ground for the first time in its history.  The pavilion built in the year 1995 was severely damaged and needed renovation.  The members of the club rose to the occasion of restoring the Park to its original glory and ECB grants helped the ground to retain its prominence   

In 2016, Keswick CC won the Burton Cup in 1996, their first trophy and followed it with a win in the Cumbria Cricket League next year.  And most recently in 2013, the Club won the County Cup.

AG- 14- CROOKLETS , ENGLAND

AG-14 – CROOKLETS CRICKET GROUND, CORNWALL, ENGLAND 

This Crooklets cricket ground is situated in Bude, North Cornwall.

Address :-

THE CLUB HOUSE

Crooklets Cricket Ground

Bude North Cornwall

Summerleaze Downs, Bude

Cornwall

EX238ND

 Photo courtesy : FB page of the club

Cricket has been played in this beautiful Clifftop setting overlooking the Atlantic ocean since 1959.  Originally called Bude-Stratton CC, the club dates back to 1870, changed its name in1958 but reverted back to as Bude North Cornwall.

With strong south-Westerlies blowing, it’s not an easy task to organise cricket here.  From January onwards the Club Chairman Tony Greaves and John Blackburn spent a lot of time preparing the ground.  John Blackburn’s rich experience as a groundsman comes in handy to prepare wicket here. Incidentally, Blackburn is a former professional groundsman who worked at Old Trafford ground.

The wicket is full of runs but the real problem is the wind as once a bowler bowled 18 wides in an over. And on another occasion the covers put on the field had disappeared overnight and found in the Car parking area.

Since 2014, the club has a new pavilion to be proud of.  The first pavilion erected in 1883 was replaced in the 1930s. And again due to wear and tear it was replaced thanks to a grant from SPORT ENGLAND, which also helped finance for pitches, coaching equipment, covers and sight screens.  

The results were palpable as the Club performed well in the 2015 season.

The beautiful location of the ground is well known to everyone and every visiting team to England prefers friendlies here.

Late Brian Alexander Johnson, CBE, a British Commentator, author and TV presenter used to visit Bude for holidaying and to attend matches.

And the state-of-the art Pavilion entices people to visit the place,  Wired fencing covers the boundary lines.  On the other side of the fence jaywalkers enjoy a stroll along the cliff top between Crooklets Beach and Summerleaze Beach.

Bude CC played only friendlies until late 1970s, entertaining local and touring sides through the summer.  Since joining the Cornwall Cricket League , the Club has held various league honours and still continues to host touring teams from around the  world.

With the ageing pavilion demolished in 2013 and a new pavilion constructed along with a new Club House, the ground is having a stunning look and playing is a pleasure.

FACILITIES AVAILABLE

Covers

Pavilion

Changing room facilities on-site

Rollers

An Artificial match play wickets

Car Parking ( including for disabled)

Grass Pitches

This club, before entering Cornwall Cricket Leagues in the 1980s, played almost 50 friendlies a year against visiting teams.  In the 1990s it also joined the North Devon League on Sundays.  But now it no longer plays in this League and preferred hosting the touring teams.    

AMAZING GROUNDS- PART 13

AMAZING GROUND- CONISTON CRICKET GROUND, Cumbria, England

 Photos courtesy : FB page of CCC

Coniston cricket ground is set in Lake District National Park, with a stunning view of Yewdale Crag mountain. 

The locale is full of impressive features such as the Old Man of Coniston, which rises dramatically behind the houses and dominates the village and it’s Walkers and Climbers’ favourite spot and has attracted tourists since the introduction of Railways in the Victorian era.

The area is associated with famous personalities like John Ruskin, the art critic, philanthropist and social thinker who lived here and Beatrix Potter, best-known children’s books owner of an Estate in a nearby area and Donald Campbell, the water speed record holder.

Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria in Northwest England is the largest lake in the Lake District by volume and by area.  It’s 5 miles long and half a mile wide and a depth of 184 feet.  The lake has an elevation of  143 ft. above sea level.

The Coniston Cricket club has been desperate for some time to replace its small, ageing pavilion.  It was founded in 1890 and the club plays in Divisions 1 & 4 of the Westmorland Cricket League and had its successes over the years.  Now It has three sides viz., first and second teams and junior boys.  

The club’s former base was a small wooden structure with very limited facilities, with parts dating back over 100 years, to when the club began in 1910. In contrast, the new pavilion, built by Cumbrian firm Hesket Timber Buildings and Joinery, is complete with a kitchen and bar in the centre with an indoor seating area, two changing rooms, two toilets and an outdoor decking. The interior work and final additions were done voluntarily by players from the cricket team.

Donations came in from local businesses, charities, trusts, and the public. The Rawdon Smith Trust was one of the charities who contributed significantly towards the new pavilion. Before cutting the ribbon in front of the crowds of people that had gathered at the ground to witness the opening, Vera Grant said: “The Trust has great pleasure in opening this pavilion. We’re very keen on community activity and Coniston is remarkably fortunate in having wonderful facilities and lots of community groups who are prepared to make things work.”

Coniston Cricket Club have been raising the £35,000 from 2015,  needed to repair a rotten and falling down pavilion.

Coniston Cricket Club’s brand-new pavilion was officially opened in 2019 by Rawdon Smith Trust Trustee Vera Grant.

FUNDRAISING PROGRAMMES

A fundraising campaign involving the All Stars programme for 5-8 year old kids and over 25 kids signed up and they enjoyed a fun, interactive programme; the parents and other family members came to watch and enjoy the new Pavilion.  Ladies enjoyed taking part in women’s soft ball sessions.  

The club runs All Stars and the new 8-11 years kids viz., Dynamos regularly from 2020 along with the soft ball for Mums, Aunts, Nans , sisters etc and also organizing a women’s softball festivals.

CONISTON CRICKET CLUB (CCC)

The club also conducts rudiments of the game, like Scorers training, and also First Aid training etc.

The club plays senior cricket on most Saturdays from April- October.

There’s physical access to the site and access to the sports on offer in general and can be accessed from Yewdale Road through a wooden gate that is permanently open.  Parking is on the road.

The club welcomes public interest in their sports and they allow people to visit the site and use it when no game is played.  The pitches can be hired and there are ideas to offer lessons and introductions for visitors.

Plenty of benches are now available to view the games from all angles.  The club also welcomes new members and more guests to the game.

More people are turning up to watch the games and has given a great space to run activities in the village.  People enjoyed BBQ, home made cakes, a bar and a raffle , all of which were organised by people in the community.

The All Stars programme for 5-8 years is an initiative of England & Wales Cricket Board and around 30 children both boys and girls turn up in cricket based games.  This programme is run by club volunteers and takes place every Friday evening from 5.30 p.m.