Vine Cricket Ground
Ground information | |||||||||
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Location | Sevenoaks, Kent | ||||||||
Coordinates | 51°16′34″N 0°11′38″E / 51.276°N 0.194°E | ||||||||
Home club | Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club | ||||||||
Establishment | by 1734 | ||||||||
Team information | |||||||||
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As of 16 December 2017 Source: CricketArchive |
The Vine Cricket Ground, also known as Sevenoaks Vine, is one of the oldest
Seven oak trees were planted on the northern edge of the ground in 1902 to mark the coronation of
The ground
Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club and
Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club pay a rent of 1 peppercorn per year for the use of the ground, the archetypal
A bandstand was built next to the pavilion in 1894 and the ground is overlooked by a number of residential properties, one of which, Vine Cottage, is contemporary with the establishment of the ground.[3] The pavilion was renovated in 1934.[10]
Cricket history
The Vine is one of the oldest cricket venues in the world.[4] Its earliest known use was for a match between a Kent team organised by Lord John Sackville against one from Sussex on Friday 6 September 1734, a game which Kent won.[1][11] A fixture was played to mark the bicentenary of the occasion in 1934.[12]
Sevenoaks Vine was a venue for top class cricket matches in the 18th century and is notable for being the first place in England where cricket was played with three stumps rather than two. A total of 24 matches which were given retrospective first-class cricket status were played on the ground between 1773 and 1829. These include nine matches between Hampshire sides and England and 11 matches featuring Kent sides as the home team.[13]
The first recorded century in any form of cricket was scored on the ground in 1769, John Minshull scoring 107 runs for a Duke of Dorset's XI against Wrotham.[14][15] Minshull, a professional employed as a gardener by John Sackville, went on to be the first player known to be given out hit wicket, again at The Vine, in 1773.[15]
The world record for the highest known individual score in a top-class match was twice established at the Vine. First Joseph Miller, playing for a Kent team against one from Hampshire in August 1774, made 95 runs out of 240 and enabled Kent to win by an innings and 35 runs.[2][16] Then, in June 1777, came one of the most significant innings of cricket's early history when James Aylward scored a record 167 for a Hampshire side against an England XI.[2] In a contemporary report, it is stated that: "Aylward went in at 5 o’clock on Wednesday afternoon, and was not out till after three on Friday".[17] Hampshire won by an innings and 168 runs in one of the first matches to use three stumps rather than two.[16][17] Aylward's score was not surpassed until 1820.[17]
The last use of the Vine for a top-class match was in 1829.
The ground is the home venue of Sevenoaks Vine who play in the Kent Cricket League.[20]
References
- ^ a b c d A Brief History of SVCC and Cricket on Sevenoaks Vine, Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ CricInfo. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
- ^ a b The Vine Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, Sevenoaks District Council, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Under An Oak On The Vine, The Times, issue 53293, 1955-08-08, p.3.
- ^ The Oaks of Sevenoaks, Sevenoaks Society. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ Explorer Map 147 – Sevenoaks & Tonbridge (Royal Tunbridge Wells & Westerham), Ordnance Survey, 2015-09-16.
- ^ Historic England. "The Vines Cricket Pavilion at Vine Cricket Ground (1336357)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ Not to be Sneezed at - a peppercorn paid from Savills sponsored cricket club, Savills. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
- ^ Rowlet S (2017) Around the wicket, Sevenoaks Sports, 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
- ^ The Vine Cricket Club, The Times, issue 47661, 1937-04-17, p.5.
- Waghorn HT, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
- ^ Sevenoaks Vine Festival, The Times, issue 46813, 1934-07-23, p.6.
- ^ First-class matches played on The Vine, Sevenoaks, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- CricInfo, 2004-05-12. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ CricInfo, 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ a b Haygarth A, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744-1826, Lillywhite, 1862
- ^ a b c Quoted by Haygarth from a notice concerning the match, noted at England v Hampshire, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
- ^ Minor Counties Championship matches played on The Vine, Sevenoaks, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ Other matches played on The Vine, Sevenoaks, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ The Vine, Sevenoaks, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-12-16.