Welcome to Effingham Cricket Club
Effingham is a wonderful family cricket club for both senior and junior cricketers in the Borough of Guildford in Surrey. The Cricket Ground lies at the edge of Effingham Common and was originally known as The Calburn Cricket Field. The site was given to the Parish Council by the Lord of the Manor, Mr Calburn and has existed since 1853.
Known as “The Ships”, the club runs two adult men’s teams, with the 1st XI playing in the Surrey Championship, and the 2nd XI in the Shepherd Neame Surrey County League. We also have a Sunday XI in the Village Cricket League, and a Women’s XI playing in the Surrey Women’s Cricket League. Our Youth Development Programme has cricketers as young as 5 years old, and junior teams play in the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship.
Ships win inaugural ‘Super Saturday’ Tournament at the Oval
On Saturday, 22nd June, Effingham made history as the winners of the inaugural ‘Super Saturday’ Softball Tournament hosted by the Surrey Cricket Foundation.
The tournament, played in the historic Kia Oval, saw ten teams from across the county participate, divided into two groups of five with the top performing team from each group going on to contest the final.
The Ships were represented by a small but mighty team of six players – all of whom played in every game where other teams with larger numbers had substitutions at their disposal, and went undefeated in their half. The first three matches were against Southwark Park, Old Ruts, and Woking & Horsell, where Effingham found their rhythm as a team.
As the games grew in difficulty, the Ships only became stronger as a unit, and saw out a close game against Beddington to secure their spot in the final and maintain their winning streak.
On the famous Oval turf, the final of the tournament would be played against Sanderstead, who had also won all four group games to reach this stage. Effingham fielded first, gaining vital wickets throughout the bowling order, including from Hollie Eagle, Tannah Petsch, Rachel Roberts, and Frankie Perry (two overs) and were sharp in the field to prevent boundaries and take catches. With the bat, Anaya Holton and captain Georgie Perry saw the Ships home, brilliantly making two runs off the final ball of the game to take overall victory by one run.
Our thanks go to the Surrey Cricket Foundation, and to all the teams who took part for a wonderful day. A special thank you also goes to Sam Perry, for the unyielding support and assistance he provided to the team on the day.
Outfield Project
Work on the project to relay the outfield began in August 2023, and six months later the vibrant green grass has returned in prime condition.
A Message From Mat Meers
I have been lucky enough to be able to call myself the Effingham “overseas” since 2013, and have made 6 trips from my home in Sydney, Australia to play with the Ships (2013, ’15, ’17, ’19, ’22 & ’23). From what started as a simple message asking to play some cricket while I was staying in the area, to now scheduling all my time off from work to come over to play, it is safe to say this club has had an impact on me.
I like to use the term “overseas” as my skill level is nowhere near the level of your typical overseas player. (I have the special dispensation from the league to play 2nd XI to prove it!) However, I have found that here, it is the people and their attitudes that drive the success of the club, and whatever skill level you have, there will be an opportunity for you.
From a 1st XI that has been promoted 4 times in 4 years, and now playing in the Surrey Championship, and 2nd XI newly promoted and beginning a journey of their own, it has been the homegrown players, starting from Colts, working their way up to the higher level, with a great support system along the way, that is giving this club their great success.
And with the club now having a women’s team, which, thanks to the hard work of the club is growing very quickly, I look forward to those same opportunities being afforded to them. One of my favourite things about visiting is seeing how much the youngsters have improved their games, and working their way up the ranks since my last visit. That being said, any new players of any age or skill level would be welcomed into the fold with open arms!
If you are reading this because you are trying to make a decision on joining this club, all I can say is please do not judge a book by its cover – there may be other, more flasher covers, but this has to be the best story out there, for the people that are here alone, and I can assure you that you, your son, daughter or whoever comes to play here, will not regret it!
Meersy
Acknowledgements
Effingham Parish Council – Community Fund
The club wishes to thank Effingham Parish Council for their most generous award of £2000 in Spring 2021 to fund the essential purchase of replacement modern sightscreens. The previous models, made of wood and steel, had deteriorated beyond repair, and had become very difficult to manoeuvre.
In 2022, a further invaluable Community Fund award of £3000 was made towards refurbishment of both cricket nets at the club. This, together with a club contribution of £2400 and £1150 raised via the club’s JustGiving page, enabled levelling of the net sub-surface and replacement matting to be installed. This has provided a much improved and essential club practice facility of great benefit to all age groups.
England & Wales Cricket Trust
Small Grant Scheme 2017
Our sincere thanks go to the EWCT for awarding Effingham CC an incredible £3,000 grant as part of their small grant scheme 2017. The scheme is designed to help clubs make small changes to improve their long-term sustainability and/or to increase the number of games played during the season.
At Effingham, we put the funds alongside a club contribution of £1,400 to acquire new mobile covers. This essential equipment directly contributed to improved playing conditions in 12 fixtures and ensured that 5 matches were actually played that would otherwise have been cancelled.
Club Sponsors
