Linden Park Cricket Club

Linden Park Cricket Club (LPCC) is a cricket club based at Higher Cricket Ground, Fir Tree Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England with over 300 members.

On Saturdays, LPCC has four adult teams, which youngsters are able to play in. The club has many awards that are available to win at the end of the season, most notably Saturday 1st XI Player of The Year, for the adults and Young Player of The Year or The Andrew Marshall Colt Cup for the youngsters.

LPCC have a less than friendly rivalry with Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club, with whom the club has had many altercations.

History

Cricket has been played on Tunbridge Wells common for over 200 years with the first recorded game taking place in 1782 between Tunbridge Wells and Groombridge. In 1876 a gentleman called Lewis Luck formed a cricket club known as Tunbridge Wells Juniors initially playing near the present Nevill Ground. Following the opening of the Linden Park estate the club moved to the Lower Ground and changed their name to Linden Park Cricket Club. In 1898 the club moved to the present location on the Higher Ground, where it remains today.In 1882 a United England XI (W G Grace captain) played Australia at the Higher Ground. The visitors were bowled out for 49 – perhaps the ground could return to being a Test Match venue? In 1927 LPCC played against a Frank Woolley XI with 6,000 spectators.

On June 19th 1941 1,500 people watched LPCC beat a British Empire XI but the following year the “Empire fought back”, beating the LPCC. On 6 May 1949 a match against Kent saw Les Ames make 91 out of 226 but unfortunately the team was bowled out for 71 in reply. Further matches against Kent and visiting academy and national sides (including West Indies) followed and continue today.

Development of youngsters

LPCC's Saturday 4th XI Squad is made up of experienced older players and plenty of youngsters. This side has not had the best of luck in recent years and has been relegated for the past three years. The side's most recent recognised partnership of 130 was made by two 15 year-olds, Nick Chellel, who scored 78, and Dan Scott-Ham, who is usually a bowler, who made 54. The side's highest recent score by a youngster was 16 year-old Michael Brown who scored his first ever 100 last year. The most recent 4th XI Player of The Year award was won by left-arm seamer Joe Nagle, who took 14 wickets in 9 games, and the most recent youngster to win a Sunday XI award was all-rounder Mark White, whose cousin is back to back MVP NBA baller, Steve Nash. Usually after three or even four years developing in the 4th XI, youngsters that shine in the side often find themselves in the 3rd XI or 2nd XI or even the 1st XI, where 16 year-old Alex McDonald found himself after just five games in the 3rd XI. The club continues to be successful today.

The club welcomes players of all standards and ages from 7 upwards. With over ten different sides playing each week – there will be one for everybody. The beauty of its location and friendly welcome mean that it is one of the highlights on the fixture list for all of its visiting teams. The LPCC recognises its importance in the community and in the common itself. During the summer it welcomes all non-playing visitors who want a cup of tea, something stronger, or somewhere to relax with a picnic.

The club's most important role is to encourage, assist and develop junior cricket in Tunbridge Wells. Its links to local schools are also important and it is committed to this going forward. A team of qualified coaches, under Brian Gasking manage teams at under 9, 11, 13 and 15 who each have a full programme of both competitive matches and friendlies where the emphasis will be on ensuring “everyone takes an active part”. Every Friday evening from April to September the cricket pitch is full of children playing as up to 100 boys and girls turn up to enjoy qualified coaching where the emphasis is on learning – with fun. Their parents seem to enjoy it too as in most weeks nearly the same number do not just “drop off and disappear” but stay throughout the evening chatting and enjoying a well earned drink in the beautiful surroundings of the common.

Pavilion

After over 100 years the club's pavilion was destroyed by hooligans in an horrific arson attack. The club has tried to arrange fundraising events such as the recent Victorian Day in which club members dressed up in Victorian clothes and played a charity match. The Pavilion was destroyed when vandals set fire to it. The Common Conservators have agreed to its rebuilding - in brick! The insurers have agreed a settlement. Builders are being lined up. The new pavilion can be ready for May 2007.

Situated in the centre of Tunbridge Wells, the common provides a tranquil open space amidst the hustle and bustle of this beautiful and historic spa town.

For over 100 years the Higher Ground cricket pitch, overlooked by the Wellington Rocks, has been a jewel in the centre of the common. A central feature of the community with nearly 200 players of all ages, Linden Park Cricket Club and its welcoming 130 year old clubhouse has provided a quintessential sense of British history complementing the beautiful Georgian and Victorian architecture of the town. On a typical summer weekend, over 3,000 people realise that there is no better place than one of the many benches around the ground to slow down, “take five” and relax in the sun to the sound of leather on willow. Fixtures for the season were in place, pre-season practice was completed, the days were getting longer, the sides for the first matches were selected and the pitches were cut. Everything was in place – but then disaster. At around 3:00 a.m. on 14 April, “Good Friday” and the day before the first game of the season, an alarm was raised – vandals had broken into the pavilion and set fire to it. Unfortunately, though it is a beautiful old structure designed to fit into the surroundings, it is 130 years old and to comply with The Commons’ byelaws, the pavilion was made out of wood and despite the best efforts of the fire services, the building was completely wrecked. Changing, showering, cooking and bar facilities, not to mention somewhere to hide from the rain, the very heart of the club had been taken away in just a couple of hours. The match the next day (15 April) had to be cancelled. This was the only one all season. Members and friends all helped and opposing teams demonstrated huge understanding and support for the club's plight. Emergency equipment was found. Mowers and ground keeping tools and a storage container to put them were organised. Portable units for changing and the all important bar were found. Lots of canvas gazebos! The club would not be living in the lap of luxury but Linden Park Cricket Club was going to survive.

Active teams

Saturday 1st XI, captain Stuart Clarke
Saturday 2nd XI, captain Brian Gasking
Saturday 3rd XI, captain Jeff Charlwood
Saturday 4th XI, captain Roy Hyde
Sunday 1st XI, captain Michael Taylor
Sunday 2nd XI, captain Brian Gasking
Midweek XI, captain John Harvey
Twenty20, captain Stuart Clarke