Goodwood Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Goodwood Cricket Club is a Sunday village cricket team that play during the summer in the grounds of Goodwood Park, near Chichester
. The ground overlooks Goodwood House
and is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
It is thought to be one of the oldest cricket
clubs in the world. It had strong links with Lord's, as the 4th Duke
was one of the original backers of Thomas Lord
.
Today, the club and ground is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon but run by a group of volunteers
that make up the Goodwood Cricket Club Team.
, given to the players, records Goodwood's earliest known game in 1702.
In 1727 in Goodwood Park, a game was played between the 2nd Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peper Harow Park, near Godalming (cricket is still played there today). As was common in those days there was a wager on the match and a set of rules was drawn up. These rules are the oldest set of cricket rules in the world. The originals are kept in Goodwood House, with a copy in the club pavilion and at Lord’s.
The club has a strong link with Lord’s. the 4th Duke was one of the original backers of Thomas Lord when he brought ‘the rough piece of land’ in St John’s Wood and the 5th Duke was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The present Duke is Patron of Sussex Country Cricket Club.
Another link with Lord’s are the club colours. These colours are the racing colours of the Dukes of Richmond, circa 1801. Sometime after their use by the Dukes and the cricket club they also became the colours of the MCC circa 1888.
tree overlooks the club; it was planted in 1752 as a seed and planted out on the ground in 1756.
The team recently got voted 'Team of the Week' by a local paper on arrival to one of their away fixtures.
Every year, an all day game is played in which the London
-New Zealand
Cricket Team visit. It is a tradition which has been ongoing for many years with a special lunch, tea and pizza buffet in between and after games.
During the Winter, some members of the club form a football team to play against local organisations, using one of the local schools
in the near-by town of Chichester
. The team, named Goodwood Cricket Club Football Club, is usually abbreviated to GCCFC and appears on players shirts.
for the annual Goodwood Cricket Tour. The tour usually comprises four days over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The team often play two away games and spend the rest of the time socialising in various bars and restaurants.
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. The ground overlooks Goodwood House
Goodwood House
Goodwood House is a country house in West Sussex in southern England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Richmond. Several architects have contributed to the design of the house, including James Wyatt. It was the intention to build the house to a unique octagonal layout, but only three of the eight...
and is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
It is thought to be one of the oldest cricket
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. It had strong links with Lord's, as the 4th Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
was one of the original backers of Thomas Lord
Thomas Lord
Thomas Lord was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1787 to 1802. He made a brief comeback, playing in one further match in 1815. Overall, Lord made 90 known appearances in first-class cricket...
.
Today, the club and ground is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon but run by a group of volunteers
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
that make up the Goodwood Cricket Club Team.
History
A receipt for brandyBrandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
, given to the players, records Goodwood's earliest known game in 1702.
In 1727 in Goodwood Park, a game was played between the 2nd Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peper Harow Park, near Godalming (cricket is still played there today). As was common in those days there was a wager on the match and a set of rules was drawn up. These rules are the oldest set of cricket rules in the world. The originals are kept in Goodwood House, with a copy in the club pavilion and at Lord’s.
The club has a strong link with Lord’s. the 4th Duke was one of the original backers of Thomas Lord when he brought ‘the rough piece of land’ in St John’s Wood and the 5th Duke was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The present Duke is Patron of Sussex Country Cricket Club.
Another link with Lord’s are the club colours. These colours are the racing colours of the Dukes of Richmond, circa 1801. Sometime after their use by the Dukes and the cricket club they also became the colours of the MCC circa 1888.
Related people
The club has played host to a variety of players, including:- James LillywhiteJames LillywhiteJames Lillywhite was a first-class and Test cricketer and umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining 2 Tests against Australia in 1876-77, losing the first, but winning the second.Lillywhite was born in Westhampnett in Sussex, the son of a...
, Captain of England (employee of the Duke) - Sir Colin Cowdrey
- Ted DexterTed DexterEdward Ralph Dexter CBE is a former English cricketer...
- Jim ParksJim ParksJames Parks was a freed slave who is prominently buried in Arlington National Cemetery.James Parks may also refer to:* James Parks , American actorJim Parks may refer to one of two Sussex and England cricketers:...
- John SnowJohn Snow (cricketer)John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
- Roy CastleRoy CastleRoy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
- Allan WellsAllan WellsAllan Wipper Wells MBE is a former Scottish athlete, who became Olympic Champion in the 100 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.-Biography:...
- Ian SalisburyIan SalisburyIan David Kenneth Salisbury is an English former cricketer, one of the few leg-spinners to play Test cricket for England in recent years. Salisbury played in fifteen Tests and four One Day Internationals betwwen 1992 and 2000...
- Graham GoochGraham GoochGraham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
- Nasser HussainNasser HussainNasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
Club developments
An enormous Lebanon CedarLebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
tree overlooks the club; it was planted in 1752 as a seed and planted out on the ground in 1756.
Grounds
Recent developments have seen the arrival of electric and a bar in 1989, showers in 1991, sightscreens and an enlarged social area in 1996, a new artificial net in 1997, a new scoreboard in 1998, a 3-ton roller in 1999 and new roll-on roll-off covers in 2000. The square and pavilion are all maintained by voluntary help.Technologies
Goodwood Cricket Club, since 2008, now has a website administrator that manages the club's website. Since then, a number of different technical solutions have been developed with the overall aim of trying to get information out to club members and prospective members and teams. Developments include:- Major updates to the existing website.
- A photo gallery of previous matches, using a photo-sharing website, Photo BucketPhotobucketPhotobucket is an image hosting, video hosting, slideshow creation and photo sharing website. It was founded in 2003 by Alex Welch and Darren Crystal and received funding from Trinity Ventures. It was acquired by Fox Interactive Media in 2007....
. - A TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page, providing members with quick news updates/club news. - A FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page, was set up in 2010 to try to keep members and fans updated with news via a new social media platform.
Recent activity
The 'Goodwood Play-Cricket' website is now being updated with a member of the club volunteering to update the site every week.The team recently got voted 'Team of the Week' by a local paper on arrival to one of their away fixtures.
Special games & events
This season, a series of Twenty-Twenty Cricket games will be played on selected Friday nights, which will end with a final with the winners being presented by with the ‘Goodwood Cup’.Every year, an all day game is played in which the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Cricket Team visit. It is a tradition which has been ongoing for many years with a special lunch, tea and pizza buffet in between and after games.
During the Winter, some members of the club form a football team to play against local organisations, using one of the local schools
Chichester High School For Boys
Chichester High School for Boys, often referred to as CHSB, is a community school, with specialist status of Business and Enterprise College, for boys aged 11 to 18 located in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England...
in the near-by town of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. The team, named Goodwood Cricket Club Football Club, is usually abbreviated to GCCFC and appears on players shirts.
Annual Bournemouth tour
Every year, members of the club visit the city of BournemouthBournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
for the annual Goodwood Cricket Tour. The tour usually comprises four days over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The team often play two away games and spend the rest of the time socialising in various bars and restaurants.