about Knowle Cricket Club

A Club with Historical Roots

Knowle Cricket Club has a history stretching over 170 years. It was in 1852 that a group of young men from the recently opened Bristol and Exeter Railway decided to form the ‘Knowle Cricket Club’ on a field just off the Wells Road. It may well be in keeping with this heritage that even today when you walk around the ground, there are numerous white-painted railway sleepers adequately substituting as benches for match day spectators.

Many key milestones can be tracked during the latter part of the 19^th Century, through the two World Wars – where a number of Club members lost their lives in battle – to 1972 and the advent of league cricket in the West of England. With league cricket came an added competitive edge between Clubs, not seen before. It was not long before overseas players were introduced to Club cricket, and Knowle Cricket Club was the very first Club in the West of England to arrange the arrival of an overseas player in 1979.

Shaun Graf, described by his Director for Cricket in Victoria, Australia as a “medium pacer that will do a job” was in fact the quickest bowler seen in this area. Not surprisingly, 1979 was the first year that Knowle won the Bristol and District League. Many other overseas players have come from the same connections in Victoria since including Nick Jewell, Bryce McGain and Michael Beer – the latter making his debut in the Ashes series against England in 2011. Knowle Cricket Club narrowly missed out on the opportunity to have a young Shane Warne as its overseas player in 1989 – Shane ended up playing for local Club Imperial during that summer – though he would play the odd Sunday XI match for Knowle.

Knowle Cricket Club has always been a community-focused institution, drawing together membership from the local community and serving the area surrounding it, with its facilities and opportunities for good competitive cricket. Indeed, the 1^st XI has always been made up of ten local players and an overseas. As a Club we pride our youth set-up and invariably, the ten ‘local’ players in the 1^st XI are those that have come through the Club’s admired and respected youth system.

Knowle Cricket Club has three Saturday teams that play at a high competitive standard, and a Sunday XI that also plays competitive league cricket. Our ladies team play in Somerset leagues during both the winter (indoor) and summer. Our youth section provides a wide range of opportunities to girls and boys from the ages of 5 to 17. This includes ECB All Stars and Dynamos as well as several age group teams in the Bristol Youth Cricket League. The Club’s historical and sustained connections with local primary and secondary schools provide mutual benefits. The schools frequently make use of our facilities and many of the school children are members of the Club’s strong youth section.

Today, nearly 170 years since its establishment, Knowle Cricket Club is the heart of its local community. It is recognised as one of the top Clubs in the West of England, with a youth section that is as healthy as it has ever been – as with all cricket clubs, that is where the future of the Knowle Cricket Club lies.

Steve Windaybank and Habib Naqvi

Knowle Cricket Club