There is evidence of a cricket being played in Smallfield since the turn of the last century and we have evidence of a match played between Burstow and Smallfield in 1906, where Smallfield suffered a rare defeat!

However the history of the club is somewhat vague and this is the only recorded match we can find before the Club was re-founded in 1955. There are recollections that the Club played on a ground in Wheelers Lane, in the centre of the village but was disbanded either just before the 2nd world war or because of it. Perhaps anyone reading this may be able to shed some light on it?

What we do know is that the Club played their first game as Smallfield in late 1954 ahead of an official start in 1955 on their current ground in Plough Road opposite the Pub of the same name (since re-named the Plough & Furrow).

The changing facilities were very Spartan then with the players ‘showers’ consisting of a bucket of cold water thrown over each other!

In 1969 the Smallfield Sports association was founded by the Smallfield Cricket and Smallfield Football Clubs. This enabled a coordinated approach to the development of these sports in Smallfield.

In 1974 a purpose built pavilion was erected, complete with a bar and showers. From then until 1999 the club house was variously altered and improved. In 1999 the pavilion was totally refurbished, enlarged and re-roofed. The building now has new enlarged changing facilities with new showers and toilet facilities, a third changing room for officials again with shower and toilet facilities and an enlarged and improved club room & bar. There are also improved kitchen facilities and a toilet for disabled persons - a long way from the humble beginnings in 1955! These improvements were only possible by funding from Tandridge District Council and donations from Aqualisa showers and Carter Thorne Carpets. The British Airports Authority also contributed to the installation of the disabled persons’ toilet facilities. We are indebted to everyone who helped make all this possible.

Up until 1999 the Club played mainly friendly games, although some of the earlier players may dispute how friendly they were! In 1999 the Club took the bold step in joining the Mid Sussex League and managed promotion at the first attempt but it was not until the 2008 season we gained promotion to the 1st division as runners-up.

In 2000 the Club embarked on its first tour to Devon and we have been going every year since playing three games and staying at the Fox & Hounds Country Club in Chulmleigh, near Crediton. In our first year we played Thorverton, Shobrooke and Chulmleigh. Apart from Shobrooke, which incidentally is one of the most picturesque grounds you can find anywhere, the teams we play have changed over the years and last year we played at Ottery St Mary and Milland, near Petworth on our way home.

Our drinking sprees are legendary in that part of the world. On our first night its unusual to get to bed much before 4:00am and up at 8:00am for a full Devonshire breakfast. What a start to the day. What a start to the Tour!!

We share facilities with the Smallfield Football Club on a public playing field which is owned by Tandridge District Council and the two clubs pay an annual rent. The Council maintains the main grass areas and the Cricket Club fully looks after the hallowed square.

The square itself contains 10 wickets and is sown with three variety perennial rye grass (lolium perenne) mixture and top-dressed with with heavy Surrey Loam. In recent years we have had some problems with annual meadow grass (poa annua) and an underlying thatch/fibre problem. However in early September 2009  we carried out extensive renovations including deep vertical aeration using a Sisis 600 de thatcher and removed mountains of rubbish. The meadow grass has also been attacked  and the whole square re-seeded and deep spiked. The last act was applying autumn/winter fertilizer and worm-killer. The square at the time of writing (October 27 2009) looks an absolute picture with strong growth of dark green grass.

Thanks to help from Sports Match and Fusilier Electrical of Smallfield we were able to acquire an artificial surface practice wicket and net which is extensively used during the playing season. In the winter we hire indoor nets locally to keep those skills honed.

Our first priority is to replenish our maintenance equipment following the robbery in July 2009. At the same time we need to ensure that our second team get off to a good start in the Mid Sussex League in 2010 by ensuring we have the right mix of players. From then on it’s about developing the club to it’s full potential by attracting players from all sectors of the community, strengthening our young player base and continually improving our ground and playing facilities. Doing all this takes time and commitment and to meet these challenges a development plan is being formulated which will be published soon. We have also signed up to the ECB’s NatWest Cricket Force 2010 to further improve our facilities.

If you would like to be part of our exiting future why don’t you contact us for more information - you will be most welcome!