Surrey County Cricket Club

Surrey County Cricket Club (SCCC) is an English domestic first-class cricket team based at The Oval in London.

Formation and history

SCCC was born late in the evening of 22 August, 1845 at the Horns Tavern, where around 100 representatives of cricket clubs in Surrey passed a motion put by William Denison (SCCC's first Secretary) "that a Surrey club be now formed". A further meeting at the Tavern on 18 October, 1845 formally constituted SCCC, appointed officers and began the enrolling members. A lease of Kennington Oval, a former market garden, was obtained by a Mr Houghton from the Duchy of Cornwall. Mr Houghton was of the old Montpelier club, 70 members of which formed the nucleus of the new Surrey club.

Related Topics:
22 August - 1845 - Cricket clubs - Surrey - William Denison - 18 October - Market garden - Duchy of Cornwall

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The Honourable Fred Ponsonby, later the Earl of Bessborough was the first vice-president.

Related Topics:
The Honourable Fred Ponsonby - Earl of Bessborough

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In the inaugural first-class county match against Kent was held at the Oval in June 1846. However, the Club did not do well, despite the extra attractions at the Oval of a Walking Match and a Poultry Show. By the start of the 1847 season the Club was £70 in debt and there was a motion to close. Ponsonby proposed that 6 life members be created for a fee of £12 each. His motion passed and the Club survived.

Related Topics:
Kent - 1846 - The Oval - 1847

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In 1857, all nine matches played by the county ended in wins. In 1864, SCCC was widely recognised as the first unofficial Champion County. SCCC were also unofficial Champion County in 1887 and 1888 and jointly in 1889 before the County Championship officially came into being in 1890.

Related Topics:
1857 - 1864 - 1887 - 1888 - 1889 - 1890

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From 1948 to 1959, SCCC were first or second in the county championship in 10 seasons out of 12. SCCC finished runners-up in 1948, shared the championship with Lancashire in 1950, won seven consecutive outright titles from 1952 to 1958, and were runners-up again in 1959. The margins of victory were usually large (for example, Yorkshire were runners-up in 1952, 32 points behind). Their success was built on a remarkably potent bowling attack, with the combative Tony Lock and Jim Laker, the finest orthodox off spinner of all time, making the most of helpful Oval tracks.

Related Topics:
1948 - 1959 - 1950 - 1952 - 1958 - Yorkshire

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Eclipsed by Mike Brearley's outstanding Middlesex side in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Surrey reasserted themselves as one of the strongest teams in first class cricket in recent years, producing England stalwarts such as Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe and Mark Butcher. Adam Hollioake proved himself a match winning captain and, before his tragically early death in a car accident in Australia, younger brother Ben was tinged with greatness. Martin Bicknell, despite winning few test caps, has been the outstanding seam bowler in English cricket over the past decade and Alistair Brown, remarkably without a test cap to his name, has proved himself time and again the outstanding one day batsman of his time.

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This run of success came by Surrey to an end in 2005, when they were relegated to Division Two of the Championship on home turf at The Oval, failing to secure enough bonus points to survive during the match against fierce local rivals Middlesex.

Related Topics:
2005 - Middlesex

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