Bedfordshire County Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Bedfordshire 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 Bedfordshire
and competing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy
.
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class
game. At present, Bedfordshire competes in the Eastern Division of the Minor Counties Championship.
The earliest reference to cricket in the county is a match on Monday 10 August 1741 at Woburn Park
between a Bedfordshire XI and a combined Northants and Huntingdonshire XI . Woburn Cricket Club under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford
was on the point of becoming a well known club. Incidentally this reference is also the earliest found about cricket in Northamptonshire
.
The Woburn Club became prominent in the 1740s and took part in a number of great matches against opponents such as the famous London Cricket Club
.
Bedfordshire has won the Minor Counties Championship three times, one of them shared. It won outright in 1970 and 1972. Its most recent success was a shared title with Devon
in 2004.
Bedfordshire has won the MCCA Knockout Trophy
once since its inception in 1983. It won in 1999.
The following Bedfordshire cricketers also made an impact on the first-class
game:
Rex Alston
, who captained the side in 1932, subsequently became famous as a BBC radio
commentator on cricket and other sports.
The club have no fixed home, but most of their matches are played in Wardown Park
, Luton
. Other recently used grounds include:
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 Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
and competing in the Minor Counties Championship and 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...
.
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, Bedfordshire competes in the Eastern Division of the Minor Counties Championship.
Honours
- Minor Counties Championship (2) - 1970, 1972; shared (1) - 2004
- MCCA Knockout Trophy (1) - 1999
Earliest cricket
Cricket had probably reached Bedfordshire by the end of the 17th century.The earliest reference to cricket in the county is a match on Monday 10 August 1741 at Woburn Park
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...
between a Bedfordshire XI and a combined Northants and Huntingdonshire XI . Woburn Cricket Club under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford
Duke of Bedford
thumb|right|240px|William Russell, 1st Duke of BedfordDuke of Bedford is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time...
was on the point of becoming a well known club. Incidentally this reference is also the earliest found about cricket in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
.
The Woburn Club became prominent in the 1740s and took part in a number of great matches against opponents such as the famous London Cricket Club
London Cricket Club
The original London Cricket Club was formed by 1722 and was one of the foremost clubs in English cricket over the next four decades. It is closely associated with the Artillery Ground, where it played most of its home matches.-Early history of London cricket:...
.
Origin of club
A county organisation has been traced back to May 1847. The present Bedfordshire CCC was founded on 3 November 1899.Club history
A Bedfordshire team competed in the very first Minor Counties Championship in 1895, with six other teams: it finished fourth. The county then missed the next four seasons before the present club rejoined the competition in 1900. It has not missed any seasons since.Bedfordshire has won the Minor Counties Championship three times, one of them shared. It won outright in 1970 and 1972. Its most recent success was a shared title with Devon
Devon County Cricket Club
Devon 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 Devon and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy....
in 2004.
Bedfordshire has won 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...
once since its inception in 1983. It won in 1999.
Famous players
- See List of Bedfordshire CCC List A players and :Category:Bedfordshire cricketers
The following Bedfordshire cricketers also made an impact on 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:
- Louis BookmanLouis BookmanLouis Bookman , also known as Louis Buckhalter or Louis Buchalter, was a Lithuanian Jewish footballer and cricketer who represented his adopted country, Ireland, at both sports...
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- Wayne LarkinsWayne LarkinsWayne Larkins is a former English cricketer, who represented Northamptonshire, Durham and Bedfordshire as an opening batsman throughout his career...
- Geoff MillmanGeoff MillmanGeoffrey Millman was an English cricketer, who played in six Tests for England from 1961 to 1962.The cricket correspondent, Colin Bateman, remarked, "a neat, unobtrusive wicketkeeper and gritty batsman, Geoff Millman was a reliable county performer called up by his country as No.2 to John Murray...
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Rex Alston
Rex Alston
Arthur Rex Alston was a leading sports commentator for BBC radio on cricket, rugby union, athletics and tennis from the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s....
, who captained the side in 1932, subsequently became famous as a BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
commentator on cricket and other sports.
Grounds
- See also: List of cricket grounds in England and Wales: Bedfordshire
The club have no fixed home, but most of their matches are played in Wardown Park
Wardown Park
Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has various sporting facilities, is home to the Luton Museum & Art Gallery and contains formal gardens. The park is located between Old Bedford Road and the A6, New Bedford Road and is within walking distance of the town centre.At the...
, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
. Other recently used grounds include:
- Ampthill Park, AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
- The Vale, FlitwickFlitwickFlitwick, pronounced , is a small town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. The nearby River Flit runs through Flitwick Moor, a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.-Location:...
- Goldington BuryGoldington BuryGoldington Bury is a cricket ground in Bedford, Bedfordshire. The first recorded match on the gound was in 1941, when Bedford Town played London Counties. The ground hosted its first Minor Counties Championship match when Bedfordshire played Hertfordshire in 1967...
, BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town... - Lancot ParkLancot ParkLancot Park is a cricket ground in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The first recorded match on the gound was in 1892, when Bedfordshire played Marylebone Cricket Club. The ground hosted its first Minor Counties Championship match 102 years later, when Bedfordshire played Northumberland in 1994...
, DunstableDunstableDunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In... - Southill Park Cricket Club, SouthillSouthill, BedfordshireSouthill is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, about from Biggleswade.The principal residence, Southill Park, was formerly the home of the Viscounts Torrington, but was bought at the end of the 18th century by Samuel Whitbread....
- Bedford Modern SchoolBedford Modern SchoolBedford Modern School is a British co-educational independent school in the Harpur area of Bedford, in the county of Bedfordshire, in England.Bedford Modern comprises a junior school and a senior school...
, BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town... - Bedford School, BedfordBedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
External sources
- Bedfordshire CCC
- Minor Counties Cricket Association Official Site
- Bedfordshire Cricket: Bedfordshire Cricket News from the Beds On Sunday
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 - H T WaghornH T WaghornHenry Thomas Waghorn , was a cricket statistician and historian. He is best known for his two classic researches into cricket's early history: The Dawn of Cricket and Cricket Scores: 1730 - 1773....
, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
- 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