A History Of Warminster Cricket Club
by
Andrew J. Pinnell
(first published in 1988)
The Early Years: 1838 ~ 1900
The earliest known reference to Warminster Cricket Club dates back to 1838 and can be found in A History Of Wiltshire, Vol. IV on page 378. The same source also notes that a cricket match took place in the town as early as 1800 when eleven of the town’s gentlemen played a team of the same from Salisbury. This match took place on Cockerall’s new ground and was played for a purse of 500 guineas. Since these pioneering days cricket has, of course, changed a great deal but Warminster was always at the forefront of cricketing activities in the locality.
It is virtually impossible to trace any reports of the first matches played by Warminster but they were certainly low-scoring affairs because of poor pitches and the long grass which was such a feature of the outfield. It is also worth remembering that matches consisted of two innings per side and were completed inside a day. Individual batting scores over twenty were exceptional while bowlers often took fifteen or more wickets in a match.
Warminster initially played its cricket on a field in Boreham, probably moving to Sambourne Road in the 1850s. At its new home the club grew steadily and by the next decade boasted a comparitively full fixture card playing the likes of Selwood Foresters (Frome), Warminster Mission College, Heytesbury and Codford, Lansdown, Horningsham and Lord Weymouth’s Grammar School.
Exceptional talents tended to be few and far between so the better players in the area would often play for a variety of sides. It is no coincidence, therefore, that they tended to come from the upper classes or had an ecclesiastical background (only such people could afford to spend countless days on the field of play during the summer months). Indeed, three particularly proficient scorers for early Warminster sides were the Rev. H.C. De St Croix, T. Waters and F.J. Williams.
Little changed at Warminster Cricket Club until the 1880s for three reasons: the lack of members, the difficulty in securing new fixtures and the problem of travel to away matches. However, in 1881, Warminster became one of the founder members of the Wiltshire Cricket Association and two years later the club captain, Robert Blake, became the first player from the club to represent the county. He played against Surrey Club and Ground and had the misfortune to score a “duck”.
An extraordinary match also took place at Sambourne Road in 1881 between seven members of the Coates family, B.W. Coates and his six sons, and seven of the Deverill club. The family side won by an innings and 89 runs as all were reasonable cricketers. The event was revealed in a letter to the Daily Mail and was printed in August 1936.
Warminster cricket continued to prosper with Blake, B.W. Coates and W. Powell being the mainstay of the club’s batting. These three often scored half-centuries which was a considerable feat over a century ago. In 1883 W.J. Rushton took a hat-trick whilst playing against Shaftesbury. This is the first recorded feat of its kind that I have found and in recognition of his achievement Rushton was presented with a cap from his fellow players.
By 1884 the Club had many new fixtures playing, among others, Bruton School, Westbury, Trowbridge and Stourhead Park. Steps were taken to improve facilities at the ground and a new pavilion was built which replaced the “wooden tent” that had stood since 1868. In view of the amount spent on the latest pavilion it should be noted that the total cost of the one erected in 1884 was £104!
At the 1855 AGM the ever-expanding club decided to engage the services of a professional named Mr E. Syson – the proposal was later rejected on the advice of Blake. No doubt he was aware of his “star” status in the town and saw the arrival of a ‘pro’ as a threat to his own position. As if to underline Blake’s influence over club affairs he was appointed treasurer, secretary and club captain in 1887.
In the same year the team scored over 200 for the first time, making 265 against Frome. Blake scored 69 and went on to score 70 against Wilton later in the year. Not surprisingly it was Blake who scored the first individual century making 117 against Trowbridge before leaving both the club and the town. Despite this loss the club continued to thrive and in 1890 A.H. Coates registered another century, making 141 against Codford.
In 1883 Coates again batted well along with C.F. Gerrish who made 104 in a match played between two teams selected from the club’s ranks. In 1894 Blake had returned to the town and chaired that year’s AGM at the Athenaeum. The meeting discussed proposals to build a cinder cycling track around the ground’s perimeter and contemplated sharing Sambourne Road with the football club. Both ideas were later dismissed, the former as “pure folly”. The club did, however, finally employ a “pro”, Mr F. Butler, justifying his fee of £2 per week by taking 120 wickets in the season at an average of 6.83.
In 1895 the club was sufficiently strong to field a second eleven which was captained in its inaugural season by W.J. Lee. Blake was again selected to play for the County against the Colts, A.H. Coates being chosen to play for the latter. Blake was the most powerful figure at the club and this was illustrated when he married Miss Ripley from Windsor. A wedding breakfast was held in the pavilion which was followed by a tennis tournament. The town band was present and games of football and cricket were arranged to entertain the assembled multitudes.
Towards the end of the century Warminster’s batting was strengthened still further by the arrival of G.H. Aitken who made 110 against Trowbridge in 1898. A year after he made probably the highest score of a Warminster batsmen by hitting 169 against Westbury. The team scored 265 in a little over 70 minutes and the report in the Wiltshire Times read: “The cheering of the spectators and the excitement was immense, as on average three or four balls from every over were hit to the boundary”.
The club could look forward to the Edwardian era with optimism; the standard of play was high and the team could field two strong sides and had an improving youth policy. Off the field the ground was in good condition and the new pavilion had already been paid for. Prospects were good as the club entered the twentieth century.
