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Barrow Gurney Cricket Club – Club History

Barrow Gurney Cricket club was founded in 1874 in the North Somerset village, by a group of local people. Copies of the founding documents are displayed in our pavilion.

Initially cricket was played in a field just off the main road in Barrow Gurney village but in the 1930s the club arrived at its current ground in Hobbs Lane, leasing the land from the local landowners, the Gibbs family.

Continue reading “Barrow Gurney Cricket Club – Club History”
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Somerset Cricket Quiz 2023 – No. 3

2023-41 What was Somerset’s initial reaction to the Gillette Cup?

2023-42 What took place at Taunton for the first time on December 8, 1961?

2023-43 For which Birmingham League side did Fred Rumsey play?

2023-44 Who was the Oxford University pace bowler registered by Somerset in 1962?

2023-45 Which Lancashire League club attempted to sign Bill Alley to succeed Garfield Sobers as their professional in 1962?

2023-46 Who was Harold Stephenson’s 1000th first-class victim in first-class cricket?

2023-47 When did Harold Stephenson retire?

2023-48 Bertie Buse’s benefit match against Lancashire in 1953 was over in a day. Can you name another cricketer whose benefit against Somerset lasted a similarly brief period?

2023-49 In 1963 a Somerset player’s benefit realised a record sum. Who was he and who was the previous record beneficiary?

2023-50 On May 27, 1964, Somerset at 215 for nine defeated Nottinghamshire 215 all out in a Gillette Cup match. Who was Man of the Match?

2023-51 Which Somerset wicket-keeper was born at Billingham?

2023-52 Which Football League side did he play with?

2023-53 What representative honours came the way of Harold Stephenson?

2023-54 For which club did he play league cricket before coming to Somerset? (He played in Durham).

2023-55 What is the highest score ever made in first-class cricket on the Glastonbury ground?

2023-56 An opening batsman of the late 60s and early 70s, he came from Killinghall in Yorkshire. Who was he?

2023-57 How old was Ian Botham when he achieved the Test double and how many matches did it take him?

2023-58 Which Somerset amateur of the 20s and 30s was known as “BOX”?

2023-59 Which cricketer born at Wellington played for Somerset although it turned out to be Wellington, New Zealand?

2023-60 Who was known as “The Colonel”?

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Somerset Cricket Quiz 2023 – No.2

2023-21What Somerset pace bowler was in his youth an avid attender of “the Proms” in the Albert Hall?

2023-22 Where was he born?

2023-23 How many wickets did he take in his two seasons with Worcestershire?

2023-24 And how many in his first season with Somerset?

2023-25 What was his memorable performance when opening the bowling against New Zealand at Lord’s in 1965?

2023-26 What happened to Peter Robinson’s batting in 19679

2023-27 Who top-scored for Somerset in their first-ever Gillette Cup Final against Kent in 1967?

2023-28 At which sport did M. M. Walford represent Great Britain in the Olympic Games of 1948?

2023-29 When W. T. Greswell was in the Repton side of 1908 which famous cricket historian was his captain?

2023-30 Which Somerset player while touring India in 1926-27 took part in a sixth-wicket stand of 140 in 90 minutes against Hindus at Bombay?

2023-31 Who was his partner?

2023-32 Who led the tour?

2023-33 For which club did slow left armer John McMahon play for in the Central Lancashire League?

2023-34 Who was the Somerset bowler who went to West Hartlepool in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League?

2023-35 For which other county was J. G. Lomax capped?

2023-36 Somerset had another Lomax playing for them at the same time. Who was he and what was his background?

2023-37 In which year was Bill Alley voted Cricketer of the Year by his fellow professionals?

2023-38 Who was the South African bowler that Somerset tried to sign in 1962?

2023-39 For which Minor County was he playing at the time?

2023-40 Which side was Bill Alley to be found coaching in April 1962?

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Somerset Women’s Quiz – 2023

Women’s Cricket in Somerset in 2023

Q1 – Who was appointed as captain of Somerset Women in 2023?

Q2 – Somerset Women were scheduled to play 8 matches in the 2023 Women’s County T20 competition – how many actually went ahead?

Q3 – Which two players scored half-centuries as Somerset Women beat Wiltshire in a 50-over match in August 2023?

Q4 – Who was Western Storm’s leading wicket-taker in the 2023 regional season?

Q5 – The final match of the 2023 Women’s Ashes series was played at the County Ground, Taunton. Who scored a century for England during that match?

Somerset Women – History

Q6 – When did Somerset first form as a County Association within the Women’s Cricket Association?

Q7 – Somerset hold the record for the highest score in English women’s T20 cricket, scored against Wales in 2013 – what is that score?

Q8 – Who is Somerset Women’s leading wicket-taker across all formats?

Q9 – How many times have Somerset won Division Two of the Women’s County Championship?

Q10 – Which home ground have Somerset Women played at the most times in their history (in the Women’s County Championship or Women’s County T20)?

Somerset Women – Players

Q11 – Which Somerset Women player hailed from the Czech Republic?

Q12 – Four players who played for Somerset Women in their first ever Women’s County Championship game made their England debut in the same match, against the Netherlands in July 1999 – can you name them?

Q13 – Which Somerset Women player made her England debut in 2023?

Q14 – Who holds the record for the highest List A score by a Somerset Women player, with 138* against Wales in 2015?

Q15 – Name the four players who have played for Somerset Women and have also won a Women’s Cricket World Cup

Women’s Cricket at the County Ground, Taunton

Q16 – How many matches have Western Storm played at the County Ground, Taunton (during the Kia Super League, Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup)?

Q17 – Western Storm played their first match at the County Ground, Taunton in 2016 against Lancashire Thunder. Who took four wickets for Storm during that match?

Q18 – England played their first international match at the County Ground, Taunton in 1997. Who were their opponents?

Q19 – Name either of the two players who scored a century at the County Ground, Taunton during the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Q20 – The first recorded women’s cricket match at the County Ground, Taunton, took place in 1953 between a Women’s Cricket Association XI and the South. How much did it cost for an adult to gain admission to the match? I

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Somerset Cricket Quiz 2023 – No. 1

Questions 1-20

2023-1 Why was M. M. Walford unavailable for selection by Somerset in the summer of 1950?

2023-2 Who was the Somerset player whose father conducted the enquiry into public safety at Association Football grounds?

2023-3 Who asked for “four more gerania, Crusoe”, and why?

2023-4 In the Gillette Cup of 1965 against Berkshire one of the Minor County’s players was Man of the Match. Which one?

2023 -5 Who was the Scottish rugby international (asked to play for his country at age 16 and 17) who scored 100 in 63 minutes for Lancashire v. Somerset at Bath shortly before the First World War?

2023-6 Which two Somerset captains have captained England?

2023-7;Which Somerset player took part in the famous “Fowler’s match” between Eton and Harrow in 1910?

2023-8 Which South African batsman did Somerset try to sign in 1965?

2023-9 For which club (not first-class) did Chris Greetham play after being released by Somerset in 1965?

2023-10 What was unusual about the Somerset v. Notts. Gillette Cup match at Taunton in May 1965?

2023-11 As the result of these postponements, the original adjudicator was unable to make the presentations, only being available for the first two days. Who was he?

2023-12 When Yorkshire dismissed Somerset for 63 in the following round of the competition what was Fred Truman’s analysis?

2023-13 Who was the Somerset wicket keeper who in the Gents. v. Players match at Lord’s stood up to the two fastest bowlers in England, N. A. Knox and Walter Brearley?

2023-14 Somerset awarded one county cap in 1965. Who was the recipient?

2023-15 Who were the two Yorkshire bowlers who recorded “the ton” when Somerset scored 630 runs against them at Leeds in 1901?

2023-16 Name the three Somerset players, a batsman, a pace bowler and a wicket keeper who retired in 1965?

2023-17 What milestone did Brian Langford reach in the match against Northants. at Weston-super-Mare in 1965?

2023-18 At the same festival who took his first hat-trick in first-class cricket after 17 years in the game?

2023-19 On Somerset’s northern tour that year (1965) who scored 118 and took seven for 56 against Lancashire, following it with seven for 59 against Derbyshire?

2023-20 When did Ken Palmer make his debut for Somerset and in what year was he capped?

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Mark Cricket Club – Club History

Mark Cricket Club was established as a part of village life in 1885, with the annual Mark Cricket Festival believed to have been the forerunner of the now renowned Mark Harvest Home.

The original home of the Club was the field opposite the White Horse Inn.  During the 1920’s the Club moved to a field along Abbot’s Causeway and then onto Dutch Road before returning to the field opposite the White Horse Inn.

Continue reading “Mark Cricket Club – Club History”
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Virtual Tour available for disabled Visitors

Delighted to say that disabled visitors who are unable to go up stairs can now view those exhibits using our virtual tour system, which was installed within the museum today (8/11/2023).

Thank you 360 South West Ltd. for all your help on this project.

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News Item – Visit of Susann Savidge to the Museum

A busy morning in the Somerset Cricket Museum (31/10/2023). Today we welcomed Mustafa Shaikh, from the Somerset Cricket Foundation and his guest, Susann Savidge from the Somerset African Caribbean Network (SACN).

Susann was investigating how greater networking links can be made within Somerset. The Museum visit was followed by a walk around the ground looking at the West Indian players featured in the Hall of Fame and the two gates dedicated to Viv and Joel.

Mustafa and Susann are seen holding Viv’s autographed bat and one autographed by the West Indian test team

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Recent Addition – Memorabilia from the 1967 Gillette Cup Final v Kent

We are very grateful to Mr. Ian Keitch, who brought these items of memorabilia into the Museum today. The items belonged to his father, Geoff Keitch, a Somerset CCC member, who had recently died. Thank you Ian for the booklet, programme, ticket and scorecard.

They will certainly complement the article on the website, The Forgotten Final, by Richard Walsh.

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Burnham on Sea Cricket Club – Club History

Burnham-on-Sea cricket club was established in 1861 and has played continuously since then, although this date seems to be at variance with other reports. It has been stated both as 1861 (which appears to be supported by contemporary newspaper reports) and 1857, in articles from the same source (H.G. Wheeler), the latter statement leading to a centenary celebration in 1957.

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The Out-Grounds in Yeovil

Somerset County Cricket Club was first formed in August 1875 and originally the idea of those who had formed the County Club was not to have a home ground, but to take their matches to different grounds around Somerset and the photograph below shows the field off West Hendford, at the time a simple track beyond Beer Street, between the allotments and the Westland factory complex, which was the Somerset County Cricket ground for five First-class matches between 1935 and 1939. Cricket had clearly been played on this field for decades since in the 1901 census West Hendford was referred to as Cricket Lane. 

Both Johnson Park and Westland Sports Club were later used as out-grounds, the former for twelve First-class matches played between 1951 and 1957 and two List A matches in 1969 and 1970 and the latter for eight List A Sunday League matches between 1971 and 1978.

Reference and photograph courtesy of Yeovilhistory.info

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West Women’s Cricket

An article contributed by Matthew Kingdom.

Early Years (1930-1946)

In the early 20th century, domestic women’s cricket in England was organised regionally. In the 1930s, five “Territories” were defined by the Women’s Cricket Association (WCA): North, Midlands, South, East and West. West Women (sometimes referred to as West of England or Western Counties Women), played their first recorded match on 23rdJune 1930, against Midlands Women at Bournville Cricket Ground in Birmingham – the match was drawn after “deluges of rain delayed the start”. 

Continue reading “West Women’s Cricket”
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The Past and Future of Women’s Cricket in Somerset

Reflections from interviews with Kieran Peters and Jan Godman – article contributed by Matt Kingdom

An audio version of this article is added here

In September 2023, I sat down with Kieran Peters and Jan Godman to discuss the history and state of the Somerset Women’s cricket team, and the wider themes of their careers and cricket in the South West.

Continue reading “The Past and Future of Women’s Cricket in Somerset”
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Uphill Castle Cricket Club – Club History

The Somerset Cricket Museum is very grateful to Mr Richard Twort for the donation of the book 100 Years of Uphill Castle Cricket Club and for permission to publish extracts from the book in the following article, also to Mr Ade Gardener for the photographs.

Uphill Castle Cricket Club has been inextricably linked with the Graves-Knyfton family ever since its first tenuous steps in 1893.

It was a great social occasion when the family took up residence in the Uphill Manor a year earlier in 1892 and they celebrated their arrival by inviting the whole village including 150 children to a tea and concert at the Castle.

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Visits of the Walkers and Talkers Groups

Over the last six months we have been pleased to welcome the Walkers and Talkers to the Museum along with their special guests – this video records the visit of the group in July 2023 along with their guest speaker Vic Marks, who has donated three of his international blazers to the Museum (seen in this video).

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Chilcompton Sports Cricket Club – Club History

Stratton on the Fosse CC was founded in the early part of the 1900s and played at Downside School until 2015. The 1913 Midsomer Norton CC Fixture list below shows fixtures between both Stratton on the Fosse and the original Chilcompton club. The Club also hosted a County match between  Somerset and Glamorgan in 1934.

The Club played friendly cricket until the late 80s when it joined the North Somerset League, and won several divisional titles in the late eighties and early nineties.

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Taunton – The Home of Women’s Cricket

Article contributed by Matthew Kingdom

An audio version of this article has been added here

On 29th August 2006, on Day 1 of the England v India Women’s Test match at the County Ground, Taunton, it was announced that Taunton would become the new “Home of England Women’s Cricket”, with the aim of hosting at least one women’s international match at the ground each year, as well as key domestic matches and training camps.

Continue reading “Taunton – The Home of Women’s Cricket”
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Somerset Women

Article contributed by Matthew Kingdom

An audio version of this article has been added here

Women’s cricket in England developed throughout the 20thcentury under the auspices of the Women’s Cricket Association (WCA). In the 1930s, the first “County Associations” were formed, each affiliating to one of five Territorial Associations: North, Midlands, South, East and West.

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Western Storm

Article contributed by Matthew Kingdom


The Kia Super League era (2016-2019)

In 2016, the Kia Super League (KSL) was created, a semi-professional T20 league consisting of six teams, reflecting the increasing popularity of women’s cricket and aiming to drive up standards in the women’s game. Somerset CCC partnered with Gloucestershire CCC and the University of Exeter to form Western Storm, representing the South West of England and led by England captain Heather Knight. Sophie Luff, Anya Shrubsole and overseas player Lizelle Lee were the three [Somerset] representatives in the squad alongside former players Izzy Westbury and Fran Wilson.

Continue reading “Western Storm”
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Recent additions – Three England Touring Blazers from Vic Marks

We are very grateful to former England and Somerset bowler and cricket commentator Vic Marks, for donating three of his England Touring Blazers to the Museum during the monthly Walkers and Talkers Group event, today July 4th 2023.

Vic also spoke for two or three minutes on his memories of each tour.

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Barry Clifton

On behalf of David Wood, Curator at the Somerset Cricket Museum

We regret to announce the death of Barry Clifton, who helped run the museum for some ten years until 2017 before declining health forced him to step down. He took a special interest in our book sales but turned his hand to whatever needed doing.

Born in St Albans and working in London, he moved to central Taunton precisely because he could be near a county cricket ground.

His funeral will take place at Taunton Crematorium on Friday 30th June at 1.20pm. All who knew him would be welcome.

His sister has generously suggested that any financial gifts that might be offered should be given to Somerset Cricket Museum. It is what he would have wanted.

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Museum Guide Books

Delighted to take delivery of our new Museum Guide Books, pictured below is our Curator David Wood, receiving the first copies from Imogen Parker of the Wellington based @CarlyPressLtd .

The twenty four page Guide Book was compiled and written by Museum Volunteer, Paul Smith, with photos by Geoff Vian and Alain Lockyer. We are also very grateful to Annie Chave and her team at County Cricket Matters for their work in proof reading the text. The booklet was printed at the Wellington based Carly Press.

The books will be on sale in the Museum during the next CC match v Notts, do come & see us.

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New Additions – SCCC Members Blazer and other items

We are very grateful to Mrs Patricia Minson for the donation of many items of cricket memorabilia from her late husband’s collection – including an SCCC Members Blazer (circa 1985-1990), an autographed picture of Viv Richards, a home made SCCC pennant (taken to all away games) and a cricket cap with badges from all 18 counties.

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Somerset Women’s Cricket Team visit the Museum

We were very pleased to welcome the (triumphant) Somerset Women’s Cricket Team to the Somerset Cricket Museum on Sunday 14th May during a break in play in the T20 Regional Finals Day.

Pictured below are the Somerset team looking at some of the exhibits and Sophie Luff presenting the 2019 T20 Division 2 Champions Trophy to Volunteer Patrick Draycott, to be added to the collection of Women’s Cricket Memorabilia. (Sophie was overall top scorer in that competition with 316 runs).

Do come and have a look at the extensive Women’s Cricket collection next time you visit the Ground for the next County Championship match.

The Somerset Women’s team, sporting the new kit, were victorious in the regional T20 final’s competition. (A competition much curtailed by rain this year)

A comfortable win over Devon in the semi-final the morning followed by an even more comfortable win over Wales at the County Ground under floodlights in the evening. A better fielding display from Wales may have made the job tougher. Nevertheless, two emphatic wins.

Emily Edgecombe has, this season, taken over the reins from Sophie Luff, as captain of the Somerset Women’s team.

With her exploits during Finals Day, Natasha Wraith has passed the career 500 runs mark, for Somerset Women.

Excellent scores of 45 (from 28 balls) in the SF, and 39 (from 22 balls) in the Final, set Somerset Women on their way to victory. 

Emily Edgecombe also began her captaincy spell with two fine bowling performances with 2 wickets in the SF, and a 4-fer in the final.