History
Fletching Cricket Club is one of the premier clubs in the East Sussex League. Boasting two Saturday senior teams, one Sunday team, and some very promising Junior teams.
Situated in the pretty village of Fletching right in the heart of Mid-Sussex between Haywards Heath and Uckfield, Fletching is a great place to play cricket, no matter what your standard is.
Fletching Cricket Club also has links with other clubs in the area - The Griffin, Dotties, Sussex Farmers, Gentlemen of Sussex, if there is any news from these clubs then we will be pleased to publish that on this site.
by Brian Horscroft
In September 1990 a match was played between teams representing England and Australia at Fletching Cricket Club to commemorate the contribution by the 3rd Earl of Sheffield to cricket between Australia and England 1884-1896. Brian Horscroft wrote the article that follows for the match programme.
The Fletching Cricket Club
For most of us thoughts of English Cricket conjure two mental pictures, great games at Lords, the oval and other noted venues and, at the other end of the spectrum, week-end games played on often idyllic village greens and small club and school grounds. If it is true, as we believe, the lifeblood of the former depends on the health of the latter, the personal recollections below by Brian Horscroft, of one of Fletching’s staunchest cricketing families, give us grounds for optimism.
The Club was formed in the late eighteenth century and the present ground was given to the parish by the Maryon-Wilson family. For many years farmers retained the grazing rights and although the cows were turned out for games they left behind interesting fielding hazards. At one match a bull appeared on the scene. Players fled except the lone figure of Boxer Packham who stood his ground with bat in hand until the bull was rescued by a farmhand.
Many changes have taken place in my time. The biggest is in the playing conditions . In my early days the wicket was cut in the middle of meadow grass. It was easy to lose the ball in the outfield allowing batsmen to continue running. It also encouraged the big hitters. The Sussex barn, at the North end, has been regularly cleared and my father told me that he had seen the red barn, at the opposite end, cleared (what a hit!). I can recall Bert Grover, who was one of our biggest hitters, almost equalling Sir Gary Sober’s record of 6 sixes in an over. Bert’s record was 5 sixes and a four in the first over of a game against Jarvis Brook. We still continue the big hit tradition but runs are now easier to obtain on the faster, mown outfield.
I am very proud of the Club’s more recent achievements. In the 70’s we joined the Cuckmere Valley League in which we were runners-up in our first year and champions in the following four seasons. League cricket, which I think is here to stay, gave us a much needed boost when the T.V. and the motor car were giving youngsters other interests. Having been so successful in this league, we entered the Errys East Sussex League which is going from strength to strength and is the top league in Sussex apart from the County League. We started in Division 3 in 1980 and gained promotion to the First Division in 1982. Since then we have remained in the top flight. For a very small village this is a point of great pride in the Club.
The National Village (forty over) Knockout Cup matches with no bowler allowed more than nine overs, have probably given me my most enjoyable cricket. We reached the last sixteen in 1983, beating Beneden, the Kent finalists. I think this is my proudest memory. We have been the Sussex finalists on four occasions.
We have been successful in other Knockout competitions, including the Maresfield and Barcombe 20 over match competition and the Strongbow 6-a-side National Competition in which we reached the area finals. What a day that was!