please empty your brain below
Interesting historical information there. I’ve really forsaken cricket but years ago I spent some summer afternoons in Valentines Park and at Gidea Park when I lived in the area.

Dave B | 09.10.21 - 7:30 a.m. | #

The territorial bellringing associations are also aligned to the pre-1965 counties. The Surrey Association extends all the way up to Southwark Cathedral and the Thames.

AndrewR | 09.10.21 - 7:36 a.m. | #

Lords was in the County of London until 1965.

Malcolm of Kent | 09.10.21 - 7:44 a.m. | #

In recent years, Kent CCC has been playing more games at Beckenham, but the absence of floodlights is a limitation on what can be played there. The ground attracts a lot of supporters for whom a regular trek across the county to Canterbury isn't practical.

Waterhouse | 09.10.21 - 8:30 a.m. | #

Outstanding piece of trivia. Looks a beautiful pavilion and used to be able to hold quite a crowd. Supposedly the capacity was 8,000; was there any evidence of other stands?

The ground once held the record for the highest opening stand; 555-0!

David | 09.10.21 - 8:44 a.m. | #

Another typical DG final sentence. Over!

Petras409 | 09.10.21 - 8:49 a.m. | #

Leyton County Cricket Ground was also a prominent venue in the development of football in London. It is a former home venue of Arsenal in 1895 while they were temporarily banned by the EFL from playing in Woolwich due to crowd trouble there. Similarly, the professiomals of Sheffield Wednesday played their first ever game in London in an FA Cup tie against a Leyton side that was then effectively a London Representative XI, due to the capital then being without a pro side.

Philip Brown | 09.10.21 - 8:51 a.m. | #

Leyton cricket ground rang bells with me, then I remembered: Holmes and Sutcliffe put on a then world record 555 for the first wicket for Yorkshire against Essex there in 1932.Thought: was Leyton a small playing area thus facilitating high scores?

J. | 09.10.21 - 9:15 a.m. | #

Another of the Leyton ground's claims to fame is that in 1927 it hosted the BBC's first ever radio broadcast of a cricket match. The game was Essex versus the New Zealand touring team.

Cricket geek | 09.10.21 - 9:16 a.m. | #

Middlesex played one game, 3 July 1982
v Cheshire, on the ground outside my front window (Enfield Cricket Club). Mike Gatting lives in a house overlooking the ground.

Steve | 09.10.21 - 9:40 a.m. | #

I've convinced myself that Pavillion is a correct though archaic spelling of Pavilion, but what's the blanked-out word on the blue plaque?

Andrew S | 09.10.21 - 9:40 a.m. | #

Living in near-by Chingford and having been an Essex CCC member for about 50 years I know the Leyton ground well. As always, an interesting article. I would however add one further ground to the list which is the Thames Board Mills sports ground at Purfleet where 4 John Player League matches were played. I also believe that Essex have played at more grounds than any other first class cricket county.

Barry Coppock | 09.10.21 - 9:55 a.m. | #

Cricket counties and grounds very much reflect former boundaries, as indeed do their players with many of the most famous Essex players for example growing up in the London end of the old county (e.g. Gooch, Hussain, Bopara)

It's perhaps surprising that Essex haven't started playing a few games at Leytonstone again, as there's a big catchment area they're missing out on, especially with the large Asian communities in East London. There was talk of them playing T20 matches at the Olympic stadium, but nothing has come to fruition.

Mikey C | 09.10.21 - 10:06 a.m. | #

The archaic use of Surrey and Middlesex for south and north London is still used to name the banks of the Thames in the Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race.

Charles | Homepage | 09.10.21 - 10:13 a.m. | #

This is what makes cricket a much more fascinating game than football. The variety of grounds that the various counties have played at and the endless recording of matches means cricket is a better guide to life than football will ever be. Include the recently published book on nature's growth through cricket grounds and you have everything for the finer things in life. Plants, birds and animals all thrive at a cricket ground.

Tones | 09.10.21 - 10:15 a.m. | #

As a member of both Surrey & Middlesex my father loved going to the non Oval / Lord's home matches. Middlesex counting Uxbridge, Southgate and even Merchant Taylors School in Northwood as official county grounds.

ap | 09.10.21 - 10:44 a.m. | #

I didn't know about the parts of Newham that were in Woolwich in the days of the County of London.

tops | 09.10.21 - 11:21 a.m. | #

Andrew S, I would guess the blanked out word on the plaque is'locally'. Maybe it was only locally listed at one time, but it has been statutorily listed at Grade II since 1999.

Jeremy B | 09.10.21 - 11:56 a.m. | #

Interesting non-standard double-L spelling of 'Pavilion. A mistake I'd imagine. And yes.. what is that blanked word?

Frank F | 09.10.21 - 11:57 a.m. | #

Reading this post makes me wonder how true the cricketing boundaries trivia I'm most familiar with is.

It relates to where I live in Sheffield. Abbeydale Park cricket ground in the city is (I believe) the only one that has been a home ground for two different county sides. Originally part of Derbyshire (who played occasional matches there) the area was then transferred to Yorkshire who used it fairly regularly until matches were consolidated in Headingley in the 90s.

Anders | 09.10.21 - 12:24 p.m. | #

Howzzat for a cracker of a post!

Cornish Cockney | 09.10.21 - 2:09 p.m. | #

By my reckoning only 8 of the 18 first class county cricket teams are actually based in an administrative area they share a name with!

Durham
Essex
Hampshire
Kent
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Somerset
Worcestershire

David | 09.10.21 - 3:14 p.m. | #

In my long-ago youth I watched Essex play at both Leyton and Valentines Park, Ilford. As I recall, the people running the beer tents weren't very assiduous about verifying one's age!

James Webber | 09.10.21 - 7:03 p.m. | #

Surrey have also played games at Whitgift School. Kent had a series of outgrounds including, I believe, Blackheath, the Private Banks ground at Catford and a separate ground, also in Catford. Crininfo is your bible here.

Essex certainly played at Ilford and Romford when those places had become part of Greater London.

Robert Butlin | 09.10.21 - 7:28 p.m. | #

Readers who aren't sure which grounds London's county sides have played at will find some extremely informative Wikipedia links in today's post.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 09.10.21 - 7:32 p.m. | #

The map showing the historic counties to which each London borough (or part) belonged does not indicate the parts of Barnet that were in Hertfordshire. Is this because Herts is a minor county in cricketing terms?

Richard Thomas | 09.10.21 - 8:47 p.m. | #

Then you get the odd Middlesex match in Richmond.

Sprout Eater | 09.10.21 - 9:52 p.m. | #

Re David's post, there is no Northamptonshire admin. It's now two unitaries, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. Of course, Nottinghamshire CC is only in Nottinghamshire because Trent Bridge isn't in Nottingham.

Michael | 10.10.21 - 6:12 a.m. | #

There were noises recently about bringing back a game each year as part of a 'festival' and as it does jump out as an obvious money spinner for everyone involved - I went to a Middlesex Sunday League game as part of the Southgate festival years ago and it was a very enjoyable day, very busy, no need for much beyond some deckchairs plus standing room, and some beer tents.

I was unaware of Valentine's Park's usage through. Will have to look it up.

Phil J | Homepage | 10.10.21 - 8:29 a.m. | #

What's the covered over bit on the blue plaque?

Silent Hunter | Homepage | 17.10.21 - 9:35 p.m. | #











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