Club History
Cricket arrived in Nottingham in the middle of the 18th Century, initially being played on the country estates of Clumber, Thoresby and Wellbeck. By 1770, the people of Nottingham had taken to the game and within 20 years reports of village cricket matches were being printed in the newspapers.
Attenborough had a village team around this time but the earliest report to hand was in the Nottingham Journal of October 5th, 1827, which read: "A cricket match was played on Wednesday at Attenborough between eleven of Mr Morris’s’ factory, Nottingham and eleven of the parish of Attenborough for 11 sovereigns a-side, which was won by the latter."
Thomas Broughton Charlton, the son of the Sheriff of Nottingham, helped to finance Nottinghamshire inter-county matches in the 1840s and played for Nottinghamshire himself. He is buried in Attenborough churchyard and, as the local squire, is thought to have influenced the development of Attenborough cricket.
There is further evidence of cricket in the village with newspaper reports of a match against Chilwell in 1842; then later in 1848 when, by "superior bowling and fielding", Attenborough beat Wilford.
It appears that cricket was getting stronger locally in the 1850s with several reports of Attenborough beating local opposition. The following notice appeared in 1857: "The Attenborough players are ready to play Kegworth for any sum of money at Trent Bridge. Apply Secretary, Blue Bell, Attenborough."
In the 1880s, an Attenborough United team was in being but what seems the prelude to the Attenborough Cricket Club as we now know it was the Attenborough Juniors team of 1892. When the side played Beeston Amateurs that year, the team comprised a number of members of the church choir.
The official birth of Attenborough Cricket Club is 1905 although they appear in the Notts Cricket Association Handbook of that year as "Chilwell & Attenborough". From 1907 to 1914, Attenborough CC stood alone in the Handbook with Percy J Clarke as Secretary and it was he who had attended and became a Committee member of the inaugural meeting of the Notts Cricket Association in 1896.
To this day, the Clarke family has been a leading light in Attenborough Cricket Club affairs with Graham Clarke the present Ground Committee Chairman and a Club Life Member.
One of the club’s leading early players was Walter Speak who lived in Attenborough from 1896 to 1912. His most famous record was taking all ten wickets (10 for 20) in a match against Dejan & Parkers in July, 1910.
Along with most village sides, cricket ceased at Attenborough with the advent of the Second World War but it is believed that the famous Hedley Verity appeared in a wartime game, arranged on the village green just before his premature death at the age of 39.
The Club was officially re-formed in 1955 when the former President Ken Royston began his long association with the Club. The present ground on the Village Green was acquired in 1957 through the generosity of local residents and club members. Considerable work since then has made it one of the best in the county, set in beautiful surroundings adjacent to the Attenborough Nature Reserve, with excellent facilities. In 1990, it was awarded first prize in the Ground Development competition organised by the Institute of Groundsmen and the Nottinghamshire Cricket Association.
The club also boasts an excellent youth set-up providing matches, practice and coaching for boys and girls aged from 9 to 17. Several youngsters are currently adding to past successes with youth cricket over 30 years.
The senior club is established as one of the top county clubs, at present running three Saturday league sides, two Sunday sides and midweek fixtures against touring sides, sometimes from overseas. In 1999, Attenborough failed by the narrowest of margins to achieve County Premier League status despite being unbeaten all season in the top division of the HSB South Nottinghamshire Cricket League.
The continuing improvement throughout the club’s history is testimony to the efforts of a hardworking Committee, a good supporting band of ladies and a number of stalwarts past and present, including the Clarke family, Bill Evans, Mike Hammond, Geoff Gooch and Michael Dandy. Honorary Life Members are RT Simpson from the professional game and EK Royston, GG Gooch, M Dandy, AGM Clarke, MJ Hammond, J Mangham, I Murray, Mrs S Dandy, Mrs A Clarke, M Evans, R Kitching and D Williams from the club.