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Club History - Dulwich CC 1867-2001Details of precisely when Dulwich CC was founded are somewhat hazy, as record-keeping in the mid 19th century was poor. However, club historians can point with some accuracy to 1867 - the year of the Second Reform Act in Britain, the US purchase of Alaska from Russia and Karl Marx's Das Kapital. Somewhat less attention was paid to the decision of the Camberwell Music Society's decision to form the Aeolian Cricket Club than to Strauss's Blue Danube waltz, which also made its debut that year. Some evidence links a group of Dulwich cricketers sending representatives to a meeting that enabled the formation of Surrey County Cricket Club in 1845, but as no records for that club exist, we must stick with 1867 as the starting point. For a while from that date, the club had a nomadic existence, and it was during this period, in 1875, that an Aeolian XXII took on the United South of England XI. This match was particularly noteworthy because the opposition featured the resident of 7 Lawrie Park Road in nearby Sydenham - a certain Dr W.G.Grace. W.G. ended up with figures of 12 for 77 as the XXII were tumbled out for 155; brother G.F.Grace, who was also to play Test cricket, took 7 for 27. The Graces didn't have it their own way in reply, with W.Tolley gaining the prized scalp of W.G. while still in his twenties. Henry Charlwood, who was to play in the first ever Test in 1877, and Humphreys top-scored for United South in their 371. Dulwich's second innings of 133 meant they ended up beaten by an innings. W.Morris tried to hold things together, with 38, but he was to gain fame more than 20 years later when he became the first Dulwich player to score a double hundred. After basing themselves in Peckham Rye and Nunhead, in 1879 the club moved to the Greyhound CC ground in Dulwich village, where they became a formidably successful team, seldom beaten. It was in those early days that the association with the Greyhound pub was formed - it is still not unheard of for members to celebrate victory there now! A dominant figure was opening bat T.R.Pearse, who in 1882 scored the club's first recorded century, 105 at the Royal Artillery ground in Woolwich. He also opened the bowling for the club. But then he was captain - which all goes to show how nothing much changes in cricket! Perhaps he was first to the bar, too. Pearse also initiated the touring tradition at Dulwich as early as 1877, when he took the club to Kent. By 1890 they were travelling as far as Eastbourne in their thirst for entertainment - a remarkable achievement in the days before cars, when everything depended on trains. Happily, in 2001 the tradition remains stronger than ever. In 1885 Aeolian moved the club to its present location on Turney Road, where they shared the ground with Lennox CC, who were based on the pitch next door. As today, the stronger side was closer to the railway line and so in 1888 the two clubs merged to become Dulwich CC. The stars of the team were the Tregallis brothers, one of whom scored 173 and took 6 for 7 in a particularly satisfying (and oft repeated!) thumping of local rivals Honor Oak. When F.S.Gillespie scored 217, still the biggest ever total by a Dulwich batsman, it seemed like the dawn of a new era. Sadly it was, for later in that summer of 1914 war broke out, and many members would not return when normal life was restored for the 1919 season. Those that did, however, could celebrate one of the most remarkable victories of all time, when Dulwich declared on 502 for 8 before bowling out Sutton for 89 - just another everyday 413-run victory! Post-war the name of F.C.W.Newman is the one that frequently dominated proceedings, but it was A.E.R.Gilligan, who had previously captained England (the first recorded Dulwich player to captain his country, but not the last), invited the 1928 touring West Indians to play Dulwich. As you would expect, Dulwich earned a hard-fought draw and so felt they could turn down any future offers from a side who clearly weren't up to much! That day Sir Learie Constantine and R.K.Nunes, another future Test captain who was to play for the club, were on the opposition. In the 1930s the bowler they all feared was Len Summers who in 1935 took 9 for 0 against Spencer in one amazing spell, and three times took all ten wickets. But even his best efforts were put into the shade by 2nd XI bowler John Meekins, who took 10 for 15 v Purley - the best figures in the club's history. The first team captain told him to keep on putting in performances like that if he wanted to gain promotion! That Dulwich has always been a family club can be shown by the feats of two families: the Carpenters and the Rices. Terry Carpenter was to take 1932 wickets in a career that stretched from the 1950s to 1986, with a club record best season of 171 in 1959. He was able to play alongside his son, Clive, seeing him score centuries for the club. Meanwhile the Rice family of Eric and son Peter span many years. Peter, who captained the club during one of its most successful periods, played his thousandth match as long ago as 1984, reached 25,000 runs in 1994 and is still going strong in 2001. The continuity of the club can be seen by the fact that Peter Rice's successor as captain, David Woods, is also still a regular with 8000 runs and 1300 wickets to his name. The two of them were the founders of the club's annual pilgrimage to south Wales, a tour that recently commemorated its silver jubilee. The close ties formed in Swansea and the Mumbles resulted in one member marrying one of the locals! Messrs Rice and Woods were key elements, too, in Dulwich's golden era of the mid-1970s, when the club won the Surrey Championship for three successive seasons between 1974 and 1976, having been founder members of the league in 1968. The club also reached the National Club Knockout final at Lord's where they lost to Scarborough in 1976. But it wasn't all down to these two stalwarts as the presence of two more Test captains - Kiwis Geoff Howarth and Jeff Crowe - in the side will show; not to mention Aussie David Hookes, who once hit six sixes in an over against Bexley. But things were never that easy for the overseas stars: when Jeff Crowe scored a devastating century on tour in Darlington, his reward for the next game was the number eight spot and a request to match the performance batting left-handed! Links with overseas clubs, especially in Australia and India, have borne fruit for many years, as Dulwich players have wintered abroad while they have ventured to England. The most recent Test star to play for the club was Indian keeper Nayan Mongia. In modern times, the patterns of the past have been repeated. As in the 1870s, Dulwich has ventured far on tour. Former club captain Kanak Patel has been the mastermind behind four overseas tours, starting with a visit to Kenya in 1990 when the club managed a couple of wins, as well as a close-run game against a National XI. But it wasn't all about cricket, there was a safari, golf and the beaches to be enjoyed. In 1993, he led the club to India where in one game at the Brabourne stadium in Bombay, home of the CCI, things seemed to be going well against a supposed bright fast bowling prospect - until the selectors turned up. Suddenly future Test bowler Abey Kuruvilla upped his pace and took 7 for 1, leaving the club's (not so) gallant number eleven to walk out to the middle waving a white handkerchief in surrender. Three years later, during the World Cup, the club returned to India. Unlike Australia and West Indies, who were too afraid to go, they also visited Sri Lanka - as did Kenya. It is fair to say that Dulwich and Kenya met with similar levels of success! As on the previous trip, victories proved hard to come by, but pleasure and delight were never more than a moment away. In the new millennium, Dulwich is looking forward to new challenges. They began in Kenya and Uganda, 124 years after their first ever tour, even winning a match in Nairobi thanks to a brilliant innings from Danny Law, ex-Dulwich and now Durham. Not only was there cricket, but white-water rafting down the Nile and ballooning over the Masai Mara. In 2002, for their 135th anniversary, the club hosted a dinner at the Cafe Royal for Sir Garry Sobers, before going on to win the Third Division of the Surrey Championship. Team Secretary John Lawrence
is about to start his 34th year in that role, having only recently
stepped down after 27 seasons as Sunday 2nd XI captain. In that
period, he missed just two games – a remarkable record. When
he played his thousandth game for the club in 1990, he was presented
with a bat signed by all the England side, and all club members.
Club President John Smith has held that position since 1986, and
is easily the longest-serving president since the war. |