History Of Nutfield Cricket Club

Undoubtedly cricket holds pride of place for sport in the parish of Nutfield. The Nutfield Cricket Club was founded in 1869, although there were several matches recorded before the formal foundation of the club. Where they played is somewhat uncertain; an auction catalogue of 1867 states that the land now occupied by the Blacklands Meadow housing estate was then used as the village cricket field. It is also known that the  Nickalls of Patteson Court had their own ground, and that teams made up of the family and their university friends played under the name of Nutfield Cricket Club. In August 1889 a match was played between Nutfield and MCC and Ground. This was part of a cricket week in which one-day matches were played against a Will-o'-Wisps, Reigate Hill and Dorking, and two-day matches against MCC and Authentics. (The latter were a reserve side of the Oxford University club). It is unlikely that any of the Nutfield villagers played in these matches, and it is uncertain whether it was even the same club. We do not know when the villagers played their first match on the marsh, but it appears that the club has been playing there for over a century.