Cricket has been played at the North Somerset Village of Wrington since the beginning of the 19th century. For years the Club Fixture Card stated the club was formed in 1817 but although there are records of games organised by The Chapel, Farmers matches and even Ladies V The Gentlemen it is more likely that the actual club was formed in 1870 and 1817 was a printing typo.
The fixture card also stated that all home games start at 2.00pm whilst away games depended on ‘The Condition of the Horses’. In living memory, games were played in what is now ‘Ladywell’ and ‘Half Yard’ before the Lynham and Marshall families and the owner of The Lion Pub donated three paddocks to the parish to create The Recreation Ground in the 1930s. The Cricket club has shared the field with the Football Club ever since to this day. The original pavilion was an old tin shed but has had several reincarnations the last of which was a rebuild by the Parish Council supported by the community and using ‘Youth Opportunity’ labour in the 1980s.
Up until the 70s as with all Village sides the games were ‘friendlies’ with the first innings ending at tea (5.00pm) and the game continuing until a result or 7.30pm. Wrington were one of the last sides to succumb to the inevitable appeal of League cricket and joined the North Somerset League. Always competitive, winning the First Division on several occasions…the last being in 2010 when a largely ‘home grown’ team won the League at Downside Abbey. With the North Somerset League moving to Sundays the Club joined the Bristol and District Cricket League in 2016 and duly won Division 8 that year eventually reaching Division 6 at its height. Until recently the club ran two Senior Teams and has always had a successful Junior section. As a village club it has relied on a number of families and individual stalwarts who have committed years to the club. The Nippers, Collins, Clements and Marshall families. Roly Hunt and Micky Ball who set up the Youth teams to second team Captains such as Pete Bush, Maurice Blight, Phil Parker and treasurers Trevor Crowe, Ken Collins to groundsman Vernon Stokes, Graham Lee, Roly Hunt and Dave Marsh.
Playing wise, John Fear a tall elegant left hand bat scored regular hundreds and was the player of his generation in the 60’s and 70’s and vies with the Clements’ as the best batsman in the club while the Hunts and Edmunds fight it out as the best allrounders.
Arthur Nipper, Michael Ball, Chris Patterson and Chris Ainscough lead the bowlers. John Scott who Captained Weston Super Mare for years also excelled for a few years having retired from Weston. Roy Clements was a good enough wicketkeeper to have several seasons on the staff at Somerset CCC in 1953/54. The Club remains in good health under Captain Peter Rudge and is reinstating a second team for the 2024 season.
Tucked in between The Mendips and Wrington Hill it is a beautiful place to play cricket and the Recreation field still remains the heart of the village. For the 2024 season the First XI will be competing in the Bristol and District Division 9 and the 2nd XI competing in the Bristol and District 30 Over League. The Club also has a Friendly XI who play most Wednesday evenings against local teams. They’re is also a thriving junior section and the Club prides itself on providing a pathway for the juniors to play senior cricket.
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