MCC to visit Warnham for bicentennial celebration

The first record of a game of cricket involving Warnham CC took place in the 1780s, almost inevitably, against the men of Horsham.
The MCC will take on a Warnham Chairman's XI to mark the club's 200th anniversayThe MCC will take on a Warnham Chairman's XI to mark the club's 200th anniversay
The MCC will take on a Warnham Chairman's XI to mark the club's 200th anniversay

According to the eyewitness account, it was not a great spectacle, so much so that the result was not mentioned.

Despite games continuing on a regular basis, it took until 1820 for a cricket club to be formally established in Warnham playing in such diverse locations as Warnham Place, Ends Place and the village green, before settling in its current home on Hollands Way in the 1890s.

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Two hundred years later the club is now celebrating its bicentenary. The club would have celebrated last year but the pandemic scuppered those plans.

The centrepiece of the celebrations is an all-day game between a Warnham Chairman’s XI and a MCC XI on Sunday, July 25.

At the time of going to press, no names have been confirmed, but when the MCC came to commemorate the opening of Warnham’s pavilion in 1982, the team was captained by the redoubtable Colin Cowdray.

The Chairman’s XI will comprise of Warnham players past and present, so it should be an exciting and competitive day’s cricket.

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The cricket will start at 11am and finish at around 7pm. Running all day, there will be a beer tent selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments, a barbecue, and tea, coffee and cakes will be available from the pavilion.

Admission is free and spectators are more than welcome.

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