B. M. Close's Ground

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B. M. Close's Ground
Ground information
LocationSouthborough, Kent
Coordinates51°09′22″N 0°15′11″E / 51.156°N 0.253°E / 51.156; 0.253Coordinates: 51°09′22″N 0°15′11″E / 51.156°N 0.253°E / 51.156; 0.253 (approx.)
Establishment1859
Team information
Kent County Cricket Club (1867)
As of 9 September 2010
Source: CricketArchive

B. M. Close's Ground was a cricket ground at Southborough in the English county of Kent.[1] The ground was established in 1859 by Robert Winnifrith on land owned by George Newnham[2] and was described in 1862 as "one of the best cricket grounds in Kent".[3] The first recorded match on the ground was in 1859, when a Tunbridge Wells side played a New All-England Eleven.[4] In 1867, Kent County Cricket Club played a county match against Hampshire in the ground's only first-class cricket match.[5]

The final recorded match held on the ground saw Southborough play a team of Surrey Professionals in 1879.[4] In the 1930s the site of the ground, which was to the west of the centre of Soutborough, was built on and a housing estate covers the general area of the ground today.[1]

Cricket is still played on the Common in the town by Southborough Cricket Club. Their ground was used by Kent Women a number of times between 1957 and 1971 and remains in use today.[6][7] Kent have played over 200 matches at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the south and 106 matches at the Angel Ground in Tonbridge 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north.[8][9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b BM Close's Ground, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  2. ^ Milton H (1979) Kent cricket grounds, in The Cricket Statistician, no. 28, December 1979, pp.2–10.
  3. ^ Bell's Life in London, 1862, quoted in Milton op. cit..
  4. ^ a b Other matches played on BM Close's Ground, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  5. ^ First-Class Matches played on BM Close's Ground, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  6. ^ Southborough Conservation Area Appraisal, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, August 2003. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  7. ^ Other matches played on The Common, Southborough, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  8. ^ Grounds Records in Kent County Cricket Club Annual 2017, pp.210–211. Canterbury: Kent County Cricket Club.
  9. ^ Explorer Map 147 – Sevenoaks & Tonbridge (Royal Tunbridge Wells & Westerham), Ordnance Survey, 2015-09-16.

External links[]


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