Goodwood Cricket Club is a Sunday cricket team that play in the grounds of Goodwood Park, near Chichester. The ground overlooks Goodwood House and is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
It is thought to be one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world. A receipt for brandy in 1702, held at Goodwood House, records the first reference to cricket at Goodwood. Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, known as the Duke who was Cricket, (John Marshall 1961) was a leader in developing the game around Sussex. His enthusiasm was continued by Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond who was one of the original backers of Thomas Lord, founder of Lord's Cricket Ground. Teams that have come under the auspices of Goodwood Cricket are the Duke of Richmond's XI, Lord March's XI, the Goodwood Cricket Club XIs and the Goodwood Staff XI . The cricket club was resurrected by the 4th Duke in 1813.
Today, Goodwood CC is run by a group of volunteers. The Club formed an alliance in 2017 with Chichester Priory Park CC, whose 1st and 2nd XIs play at the ground on Saturdays.
History
As early as 1622 two young men were reprimanded for playing with a cricket ball in Boxgrove churchyard on a Sunday. In 1702 the 1st Duke of Richmond gave brandy for Arundel men following a cricket match. By the 1720s the Duke of Richmond's XI were playing all over Sussex, including a match against Sir William Gage's team at Firle Place near Lewes. In 1727 some rules or ‘Articles’ of cricket were drawn up for matches between the 2nd Duke of Richmond's XII (unusually, the number in this particular instance) and Mr Brodrick's men, the first at Peper Harow, near Godalming, on 27 July 1727 and the second at Goodwood on 28 August. Despite the detail of the new rules, there was an easy let out for the two captains: ‘These rules do not apply to the Duke of Richmond or Mr Brodrick.’ These ‘Articles’ of cricket, kept in the Goodwood archive, are the earliest known written rules of cricket in existence.
From about 1749 matches were played regularly at Goodwood, ahead of all other locations to claim to be the first. In 1746 an annual ‘Crickett Plate’ was being arranged. The winners would have ‘11 black velvet caps.’ Competition was to be fierce: ‘…a true cricket match should have as much solemnity as a battle.’ The game subsequently spread west from Sussex, via nearby Slindon, to Hambledon in Hampshire where it was famous from the 1750s. It continued to be a favourite game of the 3rd Duke (who led an XI against Hambledon for £1,000 guineas in 1768) and of the 4th Duke, who as a young man was a prime mover in the foundation of the MCC, approaching Thomas Lord to find a suitable site. A military man and great sportsman, the 4th Duke also found that cricket matches were an ideal way to get to know his soldiers. The 5th Duke of Richmond was President of the MCC and the 10th Duke of Richmond was President/Patron of Sussex CCC. Another link with Lord's could be the club colours. These colours are the racing colours of the Dukes of Richmond and long after their use by the Dukes and the cricket club, they also became the colours of the MCC around 1888.
There has been one 1st class match at Goodwood; this was played on 22–23 July 1814 between Lord Frederick Beauclerk’s XI and George Osbaldeston's XI. The match was scheduled for three days but was over in two. A total of 265 runs were scored in 4 innings, 44 wickets taken and Osbaldeston's XI won by 17 runs. The Goodwood cricket ground is overlooked by some magnificent Cedars of Lebanon, planted by the 3rd Duke of Richmond in 1761. One of these is known as the ‘Sheep Shearing Tree’ because of the competitions that were held beneath its mighty branches.
Over Goodwood's long cricketing history, illustrious players such as James Lillywhite (Captain of England) and, in more recent times, Sir Colin Cowdrey, Ted Dexter, Jim Parks, John Snow, Peter Moores, Devon Malcolm, Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain and Jofra Archer have played at Goodwood.
