Longparish Cricket Club

Established in 1878, Longparish CC has a rich and varied history. The ground with thatched pavilion and owned by the Middleton Estate, lies in the water meadows of the upper Test Valley and has played host to some very talented cricketers. Players of note for the club include FR Wilkinson who was killed in the Great War. Cob Snow whose sons Dick and Allen also played prominent parts in the club’s history, Dennis Luff who scored more than fifty centuries for the side and the names Neale and Ball that are writ large across the scorebooks of yester year.

The club has also played host to some of the stars of world cricket. John Woodcock former times cricket correspondent and life long inhabitant of Longparish putting up a side each year to give the club a game. Len Hutton, Dennis Compton, Richie Benaud,  and many more have turned out on the ground, groundsman Kenny Ball having the distinction of opening the batting on the ground against Frank Tyson, one of the fastest bowlers ever to play the game and not the first bat to face The Typhoon and exit without troubling the scorers.

In the 1980s the club twice reached the final of the Village Cup. First in 1980 under the captaincy of Dennis Heagren when they lost in a low scoring game to Marchweil from Wales, and second in 1987 when under the captaincy of John Heagren, Dennis’s son, they beat Yorkshire side Treeton Welfare. During this period the club also finished at the top of the Hampshire League County Div 1 league on four occasions. Affairs took a dip in the nineties with the exodus of several players and celebrity appearances limited to Vic Marks and Simon Hughes, although the turn of the century has seen a turnaround in the fortunes of the club.

The club currently field two senior sides in the Hampshire League, a midweek side and a Sunday side, Club Captain and local farmer Paul Blackmore an ever-present in more than twenty years.  The Club also have a thriving Colts section under the auspices of Level 2 coach Justin Jackman that field teams at U11 and U15, several Colts both past and present playing regularly in the senior teams.

 In recent times the Club have enjoyed considerable success in the Winter Indoor Leagues at Winchester and at Dummer with league success for both Senior and junior teams. The club have also been lucky enough to receive a grant from the Hampshire Playing Fields association, that, alongside fund raising and donations from benefactors, have facilitated the purchase of a new roller, new covers and new nets.  

WINNERS

Norsk Hydro Village Cricket Championship 1987
Hampshire Cricket League Div. 1 1979, 1980, 1981, 1991
Noel Fisher Memorial Cup 1982, 1987
Longparish Village Invitation Cup 1977-1983
N. W. Hants Indoor KO Cup 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992
N. W. Hants Indoor League Div. 1 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992
N. W. Hants Indoor League Div. 2 1988
W & DCCA Zanco Ceramics Evening League Div. 3 2002
W & DCCA Indoor League Div. 4 2004
W & DCCA Indoor League Div. 2 2006

RUNNERS UP

Whitbread National Village Cricket Championship 1980
Hampshire Cricket League Div. 1 1982, 1987
Hampshire Cricket League Div. 2 1978
Hampshire Cricket League Regional Div. 4 (North West) 2005
N. W. Hants Indoor KO Cup 1983, 1985, 1991
N. W. Hants Indoor League Div. 2 1982, 1990
Noel Fisher Memorial Cup 1983, 1988
W & DCCA Indoor League Div. 3 2005
W & DCCA Indoor League Div. 1 2007
W & DCCA Indoor League Div. 3 2007
W & DCCA Indoor League Div. 4 2007