Norfolk County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county cricket clubs within the domestic

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Championship Eastern Division and plays in the Championship, the

MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...

and, from 2018, in the MCCA T20 competition.Wise C (2018
Norfolk aiming to keep up the good work in Manor Park double-header
''

Eastern Daily Press The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK. Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily P ...

'', 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2018-05-27. Norfolk took part in limited overs competitions which included first-class counties between 1965 and 2004. The club's main home venue is

Manor Park, Horsford Manor Park is a cricket ground in Horsford, Norfolk. The ground is the main home ground of Norfolk County Cricket Club. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1986, when Norfolk played their first MCCA Knockout Trophy match on the ground ...

to the north of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, although it has used other locations throughout the county.

History

Cricket may have reached Norfolk by the end of the 17th century. The earliest reference to cricket in the county is dated 1745. The first county match played by the team was Norfolk v Suffolk at Bury St Edmunds Race Course on Thursday 23 August 1764, which was won by Norfolk. This was reported in the ''Gazetteer & London Daily Advertiser'' on Tuesday 28 August. More games against Suffolk followed. A number of teams representing the county existed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The present club was founded on 14 October 1876 and played its first matches in 1877. The county joined the Minor Counties Championship when it was formed in 1895. It missed the 1896 season, and also did not compete in 1902 and 1903, but otherwise has remained at that level ever since.

Honours

Norfolk has won the Minor Counties Championship five times, two of them shared. It won the first Championship in 1895, sharing with

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

. It won outright in 1905, 1910 and 1913. Its most recent success was a shared title with

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

in 2002. Norfolk has won the

a record five times since its inception in 1983, winning in 1986, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009.

First XI honours

* Minor Counties Championship (3) - 1905, 1910, 1913; shared (2) - 1895, 2002 * MCCA Knockout Trophy (5) - 1986, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009

Grounds

Norfolk's main ground since 2001 has been

on the northern fringes of

. Prior to this the County Ground, Lakenham close to the centre of the city had been used. This was redeveloped for housing in the early 21st century and the cricket pitch and historic pavilion destroyed.Lakenham's historic cricket ground pavilion demolished
BBC News website, 2015-03-10. Retrieved 2016-02-14. The club has played home matches on nine other grounds within the county.

Notable players

Players who represented Norfolk and who have subsequently gone on to play over 100 first-class matches or

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

include: * Bill Edrich – 39 Tests for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

between 1938 and 1954–5 *

John Edrich John Hugh Edrich, (21 June 1937 – 23 December 2020) was an English first-class cricketer who, during a career that ran from 1956 to 1978, was considered one of the best batsmen of his generation. Born in Blofield, Norfolk, Edrich came from a ...

– 77 Tests and seven ODIs for England between 1963 and 1976 *

Geoff Edrich Geoffrey Arthur Edrich (13 July 1918 – 2 January 2004) was an English first-class cricketer born in Lingwood, Norfolk, who played in 339 matches for Lancashire between 1946 and 1958 as a right-handed batsman. Before his first-class career, he ...

– 339 first-class appearances for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

between 1946 and 1958 * Michael Barton – Surrey captain from 1949 to 1951. 147 first-class matches played. * Peter Parfitt – 37 Tests for England between 1961 and 1972 * Clive Radley – eight Tests and four ODIs for England in 1978. 559 first-class matches played. * Martin Saggers – three Tests for England in 2003–04. 119 first-class matches played. Former

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ...

commentator

Henry Blofeld Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, OBE (born 23 September 1939) nicknamed Blowers by Brian Johnston, is an English retired sports journalist, broadcaster and amateur ornithologist best known as a cricket commentator for ''Test Match Special'' on BBC Ra ...

played one List A match and 44 times in minor counties competitions for Norfolk between 1956 and 1965.

References

External sources

Norfolk County Cricket Club
{{Authority control National Counties cricket History of Norfolk Cricket in Norfolk Cricket clubs established in 1876 1876 establishments in England