Est. 1850
ICKENHAM CRICKET CLUB
Club History
The early history of Ickenham Cricket Club is lost in the mists of time. It is known that the Club played in its early years on the Rectory Field.
It was widely held amongst many of the older members, now sadly no longer with us, that Brigadier Flavell was largely instrumental in obtaining permission for us to move to the Oak Avenue ground in or around 1928. The members set to and laid out a Cricket Square and did their best to level the outfield.
The Sims family were instrumental in establishing the ground and outfield. The Club had a ground but no Pavilion, this turned up in the shape of two first world war army huts. After Cricket many social evenings were spent in the old Pavilion, normally a dart match was arranged against our opposition.
A fixture against Ickenham during the war years was something to look forward to, as the Club was able to obtain a steady supply of beer, which was not otherwise available. The year 1949 saw Ickenham going on tour to the New Forest area of Hampshire. This first tour was the brainchild of the then President and has been a regular annual event ever since. Two interesting documents record the events of that very first 'annual tour'.
After the war Club Cricket all over the country flourished, Ickenham was no exception, the main ground known as Ickenham Green with the Club thriving the Committee felt it necessary to establish the future of the Club for finally. The Club made a giant step forward and purchased the ground. The purchase of the ground in the late 1950s cost the Club £5,000, for the Club an absolute fortune. The members dug deep in their pockets and with the help of a loan, the purchase of the ground was a success.
There were no more friendly games on a Saturday because of League Cricket. Ickenham joined the Truman's 75 League. The 1st XI for three consecutive years won the first Division Championship and remained unbeaten.
In 1979 the Club joined the Thames Valley Cricket League. One person who was an influencer during the 80s and 90s was the 'Doc' who allegedly filled every post from washer-up to President. It is people like Doc O'Connor who have built Ickenham Cricket Club into what it represents today.
Throughout the 1980's and 1990's, Ickenham was consistently successful in the strong Thames Valley League, with all XI's regularly finishing in the top third of the table. The 1st XI won the championship outright in 1995 and both the 2nd and 3rd XI's also won their respective leagues' competitions during this period. Ickenham also won numerous local and regional limited over competitions during this period including the Bertie Joel Cup in 1983 and the Middlesex 20 over competition in 1995.
In 1999, with Club Cricket in the UK being restructured along County lines, Ickenham, being based in Middlesex, decided to leave the Thames Valley League, and join the Middlesex County League. We enjoyed various degrees of success during our period in the MCL, the highlight of which was undoubtedly the 1st XI's promotion to the Premier Division of the league for the 2005 season. In 2018 Ickenham re-joined the Thames Valley League with the 1st XI entering in Division 3. Our first season back in the Thames Valley League was a remarkable success with promotion for the 1st and 2nd XI. The following season the 1st XI made back-to-back promotions, achieving promotion to Division 1 where they remain. In 2018, our Under 19s won the Middlesex T20 competition. In 2019, our Under 21s won the Middlesex Development League.
In 2004, Nicky Sims, an associate member of the Club, got together a group of women to form 'Ickenham Belles', a Women's Cricket team to play friendlies with other women teams in the area. From a small but select group, the women's team grew with each season until in 2009 the 'Ickenham Women' entered the North London Women's Cricket League. In their inaugural season they took a credible 2nd place which, together with a strong Girl’s section at the club, has assured the future of women's cricket at Ickenham. A strong 2021 season for the 1st XI has led to Promotion to the Women's Cricket Southern League. In 2021, we fielded two teams fir the first ever! We have a number of women playing representative cricket, please see our Women's section for more information.