Eastnor Cricket Club lies in the dip between Ledbury and the Malvern hills and is in the rural and largely unspoilt county of Herefordshire. Apart from the occasional car that passes the ground, there are few visible signs that much has changed within the last century or so. The church of St John the Baptist (built in 1852) stands proudly behind the bowler's arm at the village end and the mighty Eastnor Castle remains reassuringly solid, just behind square leg. In fact the club was originally formed as Eastnor Castle CC in 1883, the first question asked of workers on the estate was "do you play cricket?" Cricket on a Sunday and six days a week to work on the estate was their lot, and they were responsible for the upkeep of the ground. Water for the wicket came from the castle moat and the mowers were pulled by horses and oxen. Players such as Norman Gifford, Basil D'Olivera, Bob Willis, Alan Ormrod, Brian Brain and Paul Pridgeon have all enjoyed lucrative benefit matches at Eastnor, as well as a Radio 5 Live guest team a few years ago. The ground was even used in 1973 when the BBC came to film Anthony Trollope's The Pallisters, with a number of Eastnor players actually used. The club currently competes at various levels, from youth teams, friendly and league Sunday matches, through to local county and beyond into the highly competitive Worcestershire league. The club also competes annually in the country wide Village Knock-out. |
The wine and cheese will be held in February 2009. Date and venue to follow

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today confirmed a new Twenty20 competition for ECB Premier League clubs called Cockspur Club Twenty20. Cockspur Rum already sponsor the 45-over ECB National C



