Dear Corhampton Golf Club,
Hi!! Congratulations on scoring a Century - not easy when you spend a hundred
years trying to hit a stationary ball. As the new President of the Lord's
Taverners I look forward to the cricket match celebrating your Centenary,
between the Taverners XI and Hambledon and Corhampton Select, which should
be as confusing an occasion as the billing suggests, especially as it's being
played at a golf club. Are you using the early bats favoured by the
men of Hambledon in 1744? If you do, it'll look more like a hockey
match. I suppose the confusion lies in our different age groups. Hambledon
have played since 1744 or thereabouts, you're a hundred years old this
year, and we Taverners had our Ruby last year. And very grateful she was
too.
I call upon the Umpires to insist on fair play, especially with regard
to one of the Rules laid out in 1774. "Ye Bail hanging on one Stump, though
ye ball hit ye Wicket, it's Not Out." Not many years ago, Yorkshire were playing
Cambridge University at Fenner's. A ball from Macaulay beat the University
batsman's forward defensive lunge, and hit the middle stump. The bails,
miraculously, remained intact. Nothing, not even the breathy oaths of the
wicket keeper, would dislodge them. As Macaulay was about to bowl the next
ball the wicketkeeper - Arthur Wood - leaned forward and said to the batsman
"Excuse me, but has thi tried walking on water?"
Never mind walking on water - with a hundred years behind you, and the
prospect of all that golf ahead of you, you must be walking on air. Good Luck
to you all!
Leslie Crowther
THE LORD'S TAVERNERS HAMPSHIRE REGION
Cricket was played on Corhampton Down long before the original nine-hole
golf course was laid out 100 years ago but exactly when leather was first
struck by willow is lost in the mists of time.
According to the Hampshire Chronicle a meeting was held at Corhampton House
in May, 1885 to reorganise the Corhampton Cricket Club.
One of the rules was that no member paid less than five shillings and
no playing member less than ten shillings yearly. About 35 members were enrolled
and the ground on Corhampton Down had been "judiciously chosen and relaid".
Mr. R. King Wyndham, the local landowner, who was re-elected President,
said the new club would begin with a clean balance sheet. A special fund was
opened to pay for the erection of a cricket pavilion, which remained on the
course, latterly in a delapidated condition, until destroyed by fire during
the Second World War.
In the opening match of the 1885 season Corhampton entertained local rivals
Bishop's Waltham and won by 30 runs. Corhampton put together 71 runs and then
skittled the visitors for 41.
Judging by match reports in the Chronicle bowlers were consistently on
top in those days or the pitches made runs hard to accumulate. At Idsworth
the home team made 84, Corhampton replying with a meagre 46.
But Corhampton fared well at home to the strong Winchester club, scoring
93 before dismissing the visitors for 48, one of the two Westbrook's in the
side claiming five wickets.
When golf appeared on the Corhampton scene it had to give precedence to
cricket at the weekend. The cricket ground, which was situated where today's
match is being played, was a no-go area for golfers while play was in progress.
This meant that the golf course was reduced from nine to seven holes until
stumps were drawn.
Between the world wars the Corhampton club's name was changed to Wyndham
Cricket Club, founded as an estate club by Colonel Wyndham Long, of Corhampton
House. Members were drawn from Corhampton, Meonstoke and Exton.
The 1927 fixture list included matches against the Royal Yacht C.C., East
Meon, Portsmouth Amateurs, Wickham, Knowle Asylum, Southsea, and the Training
Ship Mercury, at Hamble, which was commanded by that great sportsman C.B.
Fry.
A cricket match was played on New Year's Day, 1929, between the Invalids
and the Hampshire Eskimos, many of whom came from Corhampton. Unfortunately
play was interrupted when the Hambledon Hunt raced across the ground in full
cry. Whether the match was resumed or the players retired to the nearest hostelry
is not recorded.
The start of World War II saw the end of cricket on Corhampton Down and
in the succeeding 53 years golf has held sway... until today!
