Horsham Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Horsham Cricket Club is one of the oldest cricket
clubs in the world and represents the Sussex
market town of Horsham
.
Although cricket was played in Horsham before 1768, the first recorded game of a town side was on 8 August 1771, and Horsham Cricket Club was created soon after 1806. The club has played various locations over the years, before settling at their present ground in 1851.
Spirit of Cricket U/13 Regional Finals and the Portman Cup U/15 Regional Finals. The two ends are called the Town End and the Railway End. Pictured is Horsham's second ground, named after former President Dr. John Dew.
title a record eight times and the Cyril Snell trophy a record 11 times (including six times in seven years between 2001–2006); most recently in August 2010 where Horsham overcame Stirlands CC to win a tight match by four runs, with two balls remaining. However, the club's crowning achievement came in 2005 when they won the Cockspur Cup
for the first time in their history. They were captained to victory by Luke Marshall in a tight thriller against Barnt Green of Birmingham, in which Marshall bowled Horsham to victory by three runs off the final ball and where Christopher Nash won the Man of the Match
award.
, being one of three official Sussex outgrounds. A first-class match and a domestic limited overs match is usually part of the week, known as the Horsham Cricket Festival.
caps who have represented Horsham are:
Will Beer Shaun Humphries Andrew Hodd
Carl Hopkinson
Will House David Hussey
Robin Martin-Jenkins
Christopher Nash Michael Thornely
Shane Jurgensen
Mark Sanders Jan-Berrie Burger
In a busy life during which nothing seemed to disturb his energy or good cheer, Dew was also a popular family doctor, Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex and for 50 years a faithful member of the choir at St Mary’s, the parish church beside the cricket ground. He was also a co-founder of the West Sussex Philharmonic Choir and governor of what is now Collyer’s College, the former grammar school.
The inspiration of young cricketers in the town and a pioneer of organised junior cricket in the county, he was captain of Horsham Cricket Club for ten years and its president for 47. His organisation of the colts teams was his lasting legacy. Five members of the current professional staff of Sussex, the recent county champions, are former Horsham cricketers, three of them having played for the club from the age of 7.
Having kept wicket for Tonbridge and captained the rugby team he qualified as a GP at the London Hospital after reading medicine at Cambridge. As a player he would keep up a constant jovial banter behind the stumps, not always an aid to the batsman’s concentration but the product of his natural enthusiasm. A warm and generous personality but also a natural leader, he had a distinctive, throaty voice and a hearty laugh.
He started the junior section in 1959 and ever since the sight of young cricketers playing either informal or formal fixtures on the ground on summer afternoons and evenings, not to mention weekend mornings, has been a feature of the club. He encouraged and respected all of them, girls as well as boys, whatever their ability, age, creed or colour. He not only remembered all their names but those of their parents and siblings too. He not only inspired the young himself but by his energy and persuasive powers got hundreds of adult helpers involved. If children were not lucky enough to enjoy organised cricket at school they could be sure of a welcome at Horsham. The example spread to many other clubs in Sussex.
He was appointed MBE for services to the community.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
clubs in the world and represents the Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
market town of Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
.
Although cricket was played in Horsham before 1768, the first recorded game of a town side was on 8 August 1771, and Horsham Cricket Club was created soon after 1806. The club has played various locations over the years, before settling at their present ground in 1851.
Cricketfield Road
Horsham is situated on the appropriately named 'Cricketfield Road' and the Ground is known officially as the Cricketfield Road Ground. This picturesque ground is one of the most beautiful in the country and is the only ground to host both the MCCMarylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
Spirit of Cricket U/13 Regional Finals and the Portman Cup U/15 Regional Finals. The two ends are called the Town End and the Railway End. Pictured is Horsham's second ground, named after former President Dr. John Dew.
First XI
Horsham is a very successful club which has played home to many first class cricketers. It runs four Saturday teams and one Sunday team. Arguably one of the strongest clubs sides in the south, Horsham have won the Sussex LeagueSussex Cricket League
The Sussex Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Sussex, England, and since 1999 the Premier Division has been a designated ECB Premier League. The league has nine divisions, four for 1st XI sides, four for 2nd XI sides and one for 3rd XI sides.-1st XI...
title a record eight times and the Cyril Snell trophy a record 11 times (including six times in seven years between 2001–2006); most recently in August 2010 where Horsham overcame Stirlands CC to win a tight match by four runs, with two balls remaining. However, the club's crowning achievement came in 2005 when they won the Cockspur Cup
ECB National Club Cricket Championship
The ECB National Club Cricket Championship is a knockout club cricket competition in England. The most successful clubs have been Scarborough Cricket Club from Yorkshire, with five titles and Old Hill Cricket Club from the Metropolitan county of West Midlands , with four.-Winners:ECB National Club...
for the first time in their history. They were captained to victory by Luke Marshall in a tight thriller against Barnt Green of Birmingham, in which Marshall bowled Horsham to victory by three runs off the final ball and where Christopher Nash won the Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award.
Sussex CCC
Horsham CC annually hosts a week of cricket for Sussex County Cricket ClubSussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, being one of three official Sussex outgrounds. A first-class match and a domestic limited overs match is usually part of the week, known as the Horsham Cricket Festival.
Notable Horsham cricketers
Players with first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
caps who have represented Horsham are:
Will Beer Shaun Humphries Andrew Hodd
Andrew Hodd
Andrew Hodd is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper who currently plays for Sussex. He was born in Chichester....
Carl Hopkinson
Carl Hopkinson
Carl Hopkinson is a former English cricketer and current coach. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He was also a talented fielder.Born in Sussex, he attended Brighton College...
Will House David Hussey
David Hussey
David John Hussey is an Australian cricketer. Hussey is a right-handed batsman and can also bowl right-arm offbreaks. He is the younger brother of Australian Test cricketer Michael Hussey.-Australian domestic career:...
Robin Martin-Jenkins
Robin Martin-Jenkins
Robin Simon Christopher Martin-Jenkins is an English cricketer who has played for the cricket teams of Sussex CCC and British Universities. He is six feet 5 inches tall. He is the son of Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the cricket writer and commentator...
Christopher Nash Michael Thornely
Michael Thornely
Michael Thornely is an English Cricketer who used to play for Sussex County Cricket Club. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right arm medium pace bowler. He was born on October 19, 1987 Camden, London and signed a two year deal with Sussex at the end of the 2007 season after scoring 800...
Shane Jurgensen
Shane Jurgensen
Shane John Jurgensen is an Australian cricketr, who has played for Queensland, but has also played for Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Sussex Cricket Board in English county cricket....
Mark Sanders Jan-Berrie Burger
Jan-Berrie Burger
Andries Johannes Burger, more often known as Jan-Berry Burger , is a Namibian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler, who occasionally takes up the position of wicket-keeper.He represented Namibia in the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
- In the 1980s, Australian cricketer Tim MayTim MayTimothy Brian Alexander May is a former cricketer for South Australia and Australia, who is currently a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations...
spent a season honing his offspin as a 19 year old. - In the 1970s Sussex and England cricketer, Paul ParkerPaul Parker (cricketer)Paul Parker MA is an English schoolmaster and former cricketer, who played in one Test in 1981.-Life and career:...
, lived and went to school in the town after his family arrived in the UK from Rhodesia.
Dr J. A. Dew
Dr John Dew, MBE (12 May 1920 – 7 September 2008) became the best known and certainly best loved character in Horsham, West Sussex, where he was born, lived for most of his life and served the community in a manner that is increasingly rare, if not almost extinct in today’s peripatetic society. Beyond his home town he was renowned as a cricketer, especially as a sparkling wicketkeeper who won a wartime Blue for Cambridge and played twice in county championship matches for Sussex in 1947. In his history of Sussex cricket, Home Gordon said of him that “he only needed opportunity to be ranked among the very best and his keenness added to the satisfaction he afforded”.In a busy life during which nothing seemed to disturb his energy or good cheer, Dew was also a popular family doctor, Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex and for 50 years a faithful member of the choir at St Mary’s, the parish church beside the cricket ground. He was also a co-founder of the West Sussex Philharmonic Choir and governor of what is now Collyer’s College, the former grammar school.
The inspiration of young cricketers in the town and a pioneer of organised junior cricket in the county, he was captain of Horsham Cricket Club for ten years and its president for 47. His organisation of the colts teams was his lasting legacy. Five members of the current professional staff of Sussex, the recent county champions, are former Horsham cricketers, three of them having played for the club from the age of 7.
Having kept wicket for Tonbridge and captained the rugby team he qualified as a GP at the London Hospital after reading medicine at Cambridge. As a player he would keep up a constant jovial banter behind the stumps, not always an aid to the batsman’s concentration but the product of his natural enthusiasm. A warm and generous personality but also a natural leader, he had a distinctive, throaty voice and a hearty laugh.
He started the junior section in 1959 and ever since the sight of young cricketers playing either informal or formal fixtures on the ground on summer afternoons and evenings, not to mention weekend mornings, has been a feature of the club. He encouraged and respected all of them, girls as well as boys, whatever their ability, age, creed or colour. He not only remembered all their names but those of their parents and siblings too. He not only inspired the young himself but by his energy and persuasive powers got hundreds of adult helpers involved. If children were not lucky enough to enjoy organised cricket at school they could be sure of a welcome at Horsham. The example spread to many other clubs in Sussex.
He was appointed MBE for services to the community.