Manor Sports Ground
Encyclopedia
The Manor Sports Ground, is a cricket
venue in Worthing
, West Sussex
, England
. It is home to Worthing Cricket Club
.
. A special local appeal was held and it led to a substantial increase in the number of Worthing members.
The sports ground is named after Broadwater Manor, the manor house
of the former manor of Broadwater
, which lies some 50 yards to the north.
The Manor Ground hosted 43 first-class matches between 1935 and 1964, all of which involved Sussex County Cricket Club. It is hoped that first class cricket may soon return, as since 1999 minor Sussex matches have been played here.
The Manor Sports Ground has also hosted the internationally famous Worthing Hockey Festival since 1939.
In the 1960s crowds of people attended the Police sports and tattoo
event which was held at the ground.
into the Weald. The track seems to have been the basis of Worthing's grid system during the Romano-British
period. The ground's entrance is in Georgia Avenue, a residential road to the south of the ground.
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...
venue in Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
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...
. It is home to Worthing Cricket Club
Worthing Cricket Club
Worthing Cricket Club is a cricket club in the coastal town of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Founded in 1855, the club's first XI plays in the Premier League of the Sussex Cricket League which is the accredited ECB Premier League for Sussex and is the highest level for recreational club...
.
History
One of the earliest recorded cricket matches at the Manor Sports Ground was on 17 July 1902 when Sussex Second XI took on Essex Second XI. Since 1924 it has been owned by Worthing Borough Council (formerly Worthing Corporation) and the ground was laid out in consultation with 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...
. A special local appeal was held and it led to a substantial increase in the number of Worthing members.
The sports ground is named after Broadwater Manor, the manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
of the former manor of Broadwater
Broadwater, West Sussex
Broadwater is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Situated between the South Downs and the English Channel, Broadwater was once a parish in its own right and included Worthing when the latter was a small fishing hamlet. Before its incorporation into the Borough of...
, which lies some 50 yards to the north.
The Manor Ground hosted 43 first-class matches between 1935 and 1964, all of which involved Sussex County Cricket Club. It is hoped that first class cricket may soon return, as since 1999 minor Sussex matches have been played here.
The Manor Sports Ground has also hosted the internationally famous Worthing Hockey Festival since 1939.
In the 1960s crowds of people attended the Police sports and tattoo
Military tattoo
The original meaning of military tattoo is a military drum performance, but nowadays it sometimes means army displays more generally.It dates from the 17th century when the British Army was fighting in the Low Countries...
event which was held at the ground.
Location
The large expanse of land is enclosed on three sides by housing and the other by a traditional flint wall. The ground lies between two significant north-south routes. The A24 Broadwater Road (the Worthing to London road) runs along the west side of the ground. Along the east side of the ground lies the Quashetts footpath, an ancient track which was originally used as a droveway over the South DownsSouth Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
into the Weald. The track seems to have been the basis of Worthing's grid system during the Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
period. The ground's entrance is in Georgia Avenue, a residential road to the south of the ground.
First-class
- Lowest team total: 23 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 WarwickshireWarwickshire County Cricket ClubWarwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
, 1964 - Highest individual innings: 241 by John LangridgeJohn LangridgeJohn George Langridge was a cricketer who played for Sussex. His obituary in Wisden called him "one of the best English cricketers of the 20th century never to play a Test match"....
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 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...
, 1950
- Most wickets in a match: 15-75 by Ian Thomson 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 WarwickshireWarwickshire County Cricket ClubWarwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
v , 1964