Suffolk County Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Suffolk County Cricket Club is one of the county
clubs which make up the Minor Counties
in the English
domestic cricket
structure, representing the historic county of Suffolk
.
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class
game. At present, Suffolk competes in the Eastern Division of the Minor Counties Championship and in the MCCA Knockout Trophy
.
The first county match was Norfolk v Suffolk at Bury St Edmunds Race Course on Thursday 23 August 1764, which was won by Norfolk. This was reported in the Gazetteer & London Daily Advertiser on Tuesday 28 August. More games against Norfolk followed.
The Bury Club of Suffolk became prominent in the 1820s, especially after Fuller Pilch
joined it in 1824. The club played a number of matches against decent opposition and eventually was able to take on MCC
. Some of these games were "borderline" but in 1830 a Bury side with given men (one of them Jem Broadbridge
) played MCC in two matches that are rated first-class.
After this, the Bury Club declined but then staged a revival in the 1840s and was again able to challenge MCC. Two matches in 1847, in which Suffolk had given men, are rated first-class.
Suffolk has won the Minor Counties Championship four times, one of them shared. It won outright in 1946, 1977 and 1979. Its most recent success was a shared title with Cheshire
in 2005.
SCCC played their first game at Lord's on (bank holiday) Monday, 27 August 2007 in the Minor Counties Knock-out Final, winning the trophy for the first time.
game:
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
clubs which make up the Minor Counties
Minor counties of English cricket
The Minor Counties are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that are not afforded first-class status. The game is administered by the Minor Counties Cricket Association which comes under the England and Wales Cricket Board...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
domestic 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...
structure, representing the historic county of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class
First-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...
game. At present, Suffolk competes in the Eastern Division of the Minor Counties Championship and in the MCCA Knockout Trophy
MCCA Knockout Trophy
The Minor Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the Minor Counties in English cricket...
.
Home grounds
- Old London Road, CopdockCopdockCopdock is a small settlement in Suffolk, England. It is southwest of Ipswich.It is located on the former A12 road which was blocked off at White's Corner after the construction of the Copdock Interchange and the A14 road Ipswich bypass....
- The Park, ExningExningExning is a village in Suffolk, England.It lies just off the A14 trunk road, roughly east-northeast of Cambridge, and south-south-east of Ely...
- Ransomes and Reavell Sports Club GroundRansomes and Reavell Sports Club GroundRansomes and Reavell Sports Club Ground is a cricket ground in Ipswich, Suffolk. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1972, when Suffolk played Hertfordshire in the grounds first Minor Counties Championship match...
, IpswichIpswichIpswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell... - Victory GroundVictory Ground, Bury St EdmundsThe Victory Ground is a cricket ground in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The ground was established in 1935, when Suffolk played the Surrey Second XI in the grounds first Minor Counties Championship match. From 1935 to the present day, it has hosted 50 Minor Counties matches.The first List-A match...
, Bury St Edmunds - Wamil WayWamil WayWamil Way is a cricket ground in Mildenhall, Suffolk. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1976, when Suffolk played Huntingdonshire. The ground hosted its first Minor Counties Championship match in the same year when Suffolk played Norfolk...
, MildenhallMildenhall, SuffolkMildenhall is a small market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is run by Forest Heath District Council and has a population of 9,906 people. The town is near the A11 and is located north-west of county town, Ipswich. The large Royal Air Force base, RAF Mildenhall as well as RAF... - Woodbridge SchoolWoodbridge SchoolWoodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Scheme.Woodbridge School has been co-educational since 1975.-History:...
, WoodbridgeWoodbridge, SuffolkWoodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
Honours
- Minor Counties Championship (3) - 1946, 1977, 1979; shared (1) - 2005
- MCCA Knockout Trophy (1) - 2007
Earliest cricket
Cricket had probably reached Suffolk by the end of the 17th century. The earliest known reference to cricket in Suffolk was in 1743.The first county match was Norfolk v Suffolk at Bury St Edmunds Race Course on Thursday 23 August 1764, which was won by Norfolk. This was reported in the Gazetteer & London Daily Advertiser on Tuesday 28 August. More games against Norfolk followed.
Origin of club
A county organisation was formed on 27 July 1864 and a county side took part in the Minor Counties Championship from 1904 to 1914, with no great success. The present Suffolk CCC was founded in August 1932 and rejoined the Minor Counties Championship in 1934.Club history
Suffolk is rated first-class in four 19th century matches.The Bury Club of Suffolk became prominent in the 1820s, especially after Fuller Pilch
Fuller Pilch
Fuller Pilch was an English cricketer. Described as "the greatest batsman ever known until the appearance of W. G. Grace", the right-hand batting Pilch played 229 first class cricket matches between 1820 and 1854 for an assortment of counties, including Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Surrey, as well...
joined it in 1824. The club played a number of matches against decent opposition and eventually was able to take on MCC
Marylebone 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...
. Some of these games were "borderline" but in 1830 a Bury side with given men (one of them Jem Broadbridge
Jem Broadbridge
James "Jem" Broadbridge was an English professional cricketer who is widely accounted the outstanding all-rounder in England during the 1820s. He is best remembered for his part in the introduction of roundarm bowling...
) played MCC in two matches that are rated first-class.
After this, the Bury Club declined but then staged a revival in the 1840s and was again able to challenge MCC. Two matches in 1847, in which Suffolk had given men, are rated first-class.
Suffolk has won the Minor Counties Championship four times, one of them shared. It won outright in 1946, 1977 and 1979. Its most recent success was a shared title with Cheshire
Cheshire County Cricket Club
Cheshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Cheshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
in 2005.
SCCC played their first game at Lord's on (bank holiday) Monday, 27 August 2007 in the Minor Counties Knock-out Final, winning the trophy for the first time.
Famous players
The following Suffolk cricketers also made an impact on the 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...
game:
- Phil MeadPhil MeadCharles Phillip Mead was a left-handed batsman for Hampshire and England between 1905 and 1936. He was born at 10 Ashton Buildings , second eldest of seven children...
- Robin HobbsRobin HobbsRobin Nicholas Stuart Hobbs is a former English cricketer, who played in seven Tests for England from 1967 to 1971. He played first-class cricket for both Essex and Glamorgan....
- Derek RandallDerek RandallDerek William Randall is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire, and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s....
- Devon MalcolmDevon MalcolmDevon Malcolm is a former English cricketer.Malcolm was one of England's few genuinely fast bowlers of the 1990s. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he settled in England, making his first-class debut for Derbyshire in 1984, and qualifying to play for England in 1987...
- Cyril PerkinsCyril PerkinsGeorge Cyril Perkins is a former English cricketer. Perkins was a right-handed batsman who bowled both slow left-arm orthodox and left-arm medium pace. He was born in Wollaston, Northamptonshire. On 4 June 2011, he became the 12th former first-class player to reach 100 years of age, and the 4th...
External sources
Further reading
- Rowland BowenRowland BowenMajor Rowland Francis Bowen was a cricket researcher, historian and writer....
, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970 - G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- Arthur HaygarthArthur HaygarthArthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians....
, Scores & Biographies, Volume 2 (1827-1840), Lillywhite, 1862 - Arthur HaygarthArthur HaygarthArthur Haygarth was a noted amateur cricketer who became one of cricket's most significant historians....
, Scores & Biographies, Volume 3 (1841-1848), Lillywhite, 1862
- Playfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket AnnualPlayfair Cricket Annual is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. Its main purposes are to review the previous English season and to provide detailed career records and potted biographies of current...
– various editions - Wisden Cricketers Almanack – various editions