The Saffrons
Encyclopedia
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. The ground is home to Eastbourne Cricket Club, Eastbourne Hockey Club and Eastbourne Town
Eastbourne Town F.C.
Eastbourne Town F.C. are an English football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The club was founded in 1881 as Devonshire Park FC and they claim to be the oldest senior football club in Sussex. Eastbourne Town FC play at The Saffrons in central Eastbourne, considered to be one of the most...
Football Club. There is also an astroturf pitch.
The sports ground is located on the edge of Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
town centre, next to the Town Hall and is in easy reach of local transport links. The ground was first used in 1884. Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex 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...
played some of their matches there between 1896 and 2000.
Football
The Saffrons is home to Eastbourne Town F.C.Eastbourne Town F.C.
Eastbourne Town F.C. are an English football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The club was founded in 1881 as Devonshire Park FC and they claim to be the oldest senior football club in Sussex. Eastbourne Town FC play at The Saffrons in central Eastbourne, considered to be one of the most...
, who play in the Isthmian League Division One South who have played football here since 1886, when the then Devonshire Park Football Club moved grounds from their former namesake (now the venue for the International Women's Open Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
). Devonshire Park Football Club changed their name to Eastbourne in 1889 and adding town in 1971.
The ground has seen many improvements over the years with the stand behind the far goal being rebuild in 1994, now known as the Taffy Jones/Sid Myall stand. The original was a wooden structure and was destroyed by a fire in 1969. The stand was rebuilt but lost its roof in the 1987 hurricane.
Also since the late 1990s, floodlights have been installed at the ground along with a clubhouse, new dressing rooms and a tea bar have been built behind the stand. At the near end of the ground is a small terrace area for spectators with a movable fence to enclose the cricket ground opposite.
There is another covered area next to the main turnsite which currently has wooden benches. The main turnsite was originally built in 1914 and was destroyed by a fire in February 2004 but restored before the new season started.
The ground plays host to many county cup finals at youth and intermediate level. The capacity of the football ground is 3,000, with seating for 200 spectators.
Cricket
The Cricket ground is home to Eastbourne Cricket Club, who play in the Sussex Cricket 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...
. The venue saw its first game of cricket played in 1884 and has a capacity of 4,500.
The Saffrons hosted 226 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...
matches between 1896 and 2000. Most of these involved Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex 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...
, but (especially in earlier years) a number of tour and invitational sides played here too.
The inaugural first-class match at the Saffrons was played in May 1896, when South of England
South of England cricket team
The South of England appeared in first-class cricket between 1836 and 1961, most often in the showcase North v. South matches against the North of England although there were also games against touring teams, MCC and others....
drew with the touring Australians.
The ground hosted 32 List A matches between 1970 and 2000,
and one match each of Youth and Women's One-Day Internationals, as well as Sussex Second XI games.
First-class
- Highest team total: 676/8 declaredDeclaration and forfeitureIn the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
by HarlequinsHarlequins cricket teamThe Harlequins Cricket Club is a wandering cricket club formed in 1852 by fellows of Merton College, Oxford. The club is made up exclusively of current and former Oxford University first-class cricketers and according to the rules of the club only a maximum of twenty members can be resident at the...
v West Indians, 1928 - Lowest team total: 38 by SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
v HampshireHampshire County Cricket ClubHampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
, 1950- Charles KnottCharles KnottCharles James Knott was an English cricketer. Knott was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off-break and right-arm medium pace.-Early life:...
returned figures of 7-4-5-5Bowling analysisIn the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
in this innings
- Charles Knott
- Highest individual innings: 310 by Harold GimblettHarold GimblettHarold Gimblett was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. He was known for his fast scoring as an opening batsman and for the much-repeated story of his debut...
for SomersetSomerset County Cricket ClubSomerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
v SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
, 1948- The first triple century for Somerset
- Best bowling in an innings: 9-62 by Tony NicholsonTony NicholsonAnthony George "Tony" Nicholson was an English cricketer: a medium-pace bowler who played county cricket for Yorkshire between 1962 and 1975...
for YorkshireYorkshire County Cricket ClubYorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
v SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
, 1967 - Best bowling in a match: 14-84 by Hugh TrumbleHugh TrumbleHugh Trumble was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of...
for Australians v England XI, 1902
List A
- Highest team total: 262 (48.3 overs) by SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
v NottinghamshireNottinghamshire County Cricket ClubNottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
, 1993 - Lowest team total: 63 (37.4 overs) by Minor Counties East v SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
, 1978 - Highest individual innings: 109 by Roger KnightRoger KnightRoger David Verdon Knight OBE, MA, BA, DipEd is an English administrator, cricketer and schoolmaster. He was awarded the OBE in 2007...
for SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
v LeicestershireLeicestershire County Cricket ClubLeicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, 1976 - Best bowling in an innings: 5-19 by Michael Buss for SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex 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...
v Minor Counties East, 1978