Headley Cricket Club to play at Bordon and Oakhanger Sports Club
Headley Cricket Club has signed up to play matches and train at the Bordon and Oakhanger Sports Club in Whitehill & Bordon from April 2019.
The first game of cricket on the new green at BOSC will take place on Saturday 27 April, 1pm – 7pm, when Headley Cricket Club’s 3rd XI take on visitors Brook Crick Club 2nd XI.
BOSC is the second ground for the cricket club and will see the 3rd XI team play all their home games at the venue. Some junior games will also be played at BOSC during the 2019 season, with the first game being on Saturday 4 May.
Men’s outdoor training starts on Tuesday 16 April and continues every Tuesday during the season, whilst youth training will take place on Fridays, starting on the 26 April.
Headley Cricket Club plays in the I’Anson league in divisions one, four and six. The l’Anson is independent of all county set ups, drawing teams from Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex. It is the oldest continuous cricket league in the country and probably the world. The league is only open to clubs within a 12 radius of Grayshott village hall, which means that no team has much more than a half hour drive to a game.
Ashley Cook, Chairman, Headley Cricket Club, said:
“There has been an immense amount of work put in at BOSC to produce a truly outstanding venue to play the game. A beautiful new pavilion has been built, which offers food and drink seven days a week throughout the year. The entire playing surface has been re-built from scratch and will provide an outstanding cricket experience for all who play on it. The club is extremely privileged to be playing at this great facility and we hope it will allow us to continue our overall aim of providing our great game to anyone in our local community.”
BOSC has existed since 1910, with the original clubhouse built on Bolley Avenue in 1922, acting as the army officer’s cricket pavilion. In 1995, as part of the VJ Day 50th Anniversary celebrations, BOSC was used for a cricket match between the Army and the town.
BOSC is historically important to Whitehill and Bordon and its military past. Thousands of those currently recruited by the Army will have undergone training at Prince Philip Barracks, some of whom no doubt made use of the original BOSC facilities for a game of cricket.
Samuel Metcalfe, Manager of BOSC, said:
“It is great to see cricket played at BOSC again, thanks to the partnership with Headley Cricket Club. We have a first class pavilion which provides first class changing room amenities and a clubroom for food and drink. Spectators will be able to enjoy the games from the pavilion’s terrace and balcony areas. We look forward to hosting the first game in April.”