LONDON NEW ZEALAND CRICKET CLUB
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Notable games

The first game:

The first match LNZCC ever played was on 11th May 1952 vs Oxted CC at Oxted - LNZCC  founders Trevor Campbell and Errol Holmes were also members. LNZ captain Roger Blunt won the toss and put Oxted in to bat, as he knew that many of the LNZ supporters would come to the Surrey club ground in the afternoon and it would be nice to have them watch the LNZ innings.

At lunch Oxted were 108 for 1. Over 100 guests attended lunch including President of Surrey CCC Lord Tedder (Marshall of the RAF and one of the strategic masterminds behind the Battle of Britain in WW2) and Field Marshall Sir William Slim (General Slim of Burma, WW2 – his ties to New Zealand date back to the Gallipoli campaign, where he was severely wounded in action with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.)  “Fine speeches were made with toasts proposed and taken with much noise and gusto.”

After lunch Oxted’s innings collapsed with 8 wickets falling for 37 runs with Blunt taking 3 in one over. The innings total was 164. In reply LNZ were progressing steadily and with 60 runs required and six wickets in hand Holmes who had earlier made a commendable 27 excused himself in order to prepare the champagne party at his home Tandridge Hall. Unfortunately, as with Oxted, five wickets fell for 20 runs and LNZ were left 19 runs short at the end.  How was Blunt to explain to Holmes the club president how the club came to lose their inaugural match from such a commanding position? Holmes took it in his stride and kept the champagne and beer flowing for many hours in to the night.

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation:

‘The Coronation Match’ was played at The Oval on 26th May 1953 against Surrey Club & Ground where New Zealand’s Prime Minister Sir Sidney Holland and Leader of the Opposition Walter Nash were in attendance as they were in London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. Also present were the Duke of Beaufort and their lordships Cobham, Freyberg and Roseberry. During the interval the National Band of New Zealand took to the field to entertain the crowd, which prompted the Surrey CCC secretary Brian Castor to wail, “What ever will these London New Zealanders do next?”

London New Zealand won by 25 runs after posting 213 for 9.

Other teams played in the early years were Anstye, Cross Arrows (at the Nursery Ground, Lords), Distillers, Dorking, Farnham, Four Elms, a Royal Navy side called ‘HMS Mercury’ (at The Bat & Ball ground, Hambledon), MCC, Much Hadham, Oakley, Penshurst & Westcliffe.

The only original fixture to have persisted since 1952 is against Ripley Cricket Club in Surrey.  Ripley CC was established in 1749, Although disputed by neighbouring villages Ripley have been credited with being the first club to add the third stump to the wicket and from the account below it appears their first match was played in August 1747.

A great match of Cricket for 50 guineas a side is made by the noblemen and gentlemen, and to be played on Monday next, in the Artillery Ground, between the gentlemen of Ripley, Bramley and Thursdley in the west of Surrey, against the gentlemen of London. Wickets to be pitched by one o'clock. They play the following match the Thursday following on Ripley Green. These matches being attended with great charge, the door for the fixture will be six pence, two pence not being sufficient to defray expenses. From 'Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket’ by G.B. Buckley

Matches against New Zealand sides:

Until 1986, LNZCC played matches against touring New Zealand teams.  Games were played in 1965 & 1969 at The Oval, in 1974 and 1978 at Eastbourne.  The final match vs New Zealand was at The Maori Club at Worcester Park in 1986.   

 Aorangi Park – Wimbledon:

In the 1960’s the other wandering club with aims similar to LNZCC - London New Zealand Rugby Football Club (established 1926) – was in need of a permanent home and in 1967, a lease was secured from All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in Wimbledon. The ground in South West London was named Aorangi Park (Aorangi is the Maori name for Mount Cook and means ‘Cloud Piercer’) and would become the sports and social club for bowls, cricket, tennis & rugby.

After 18 years the park was swallowed up by the ever-expanding All England Tennis Club but the name and our link to it lives on as ‘Aorangi Terrace Bar & Café’ above Number One Court.

 Hagley Hall –  Deep ties to New Zealand in the heart of England

Since 1963 the club has travelled to Hagley Hall near Stourbridge in Worcestershire to play a Lord Cobham XI, The President’s XI, I Zingari, and since 1985, Hagley Cricket Club. Hagley Hall is the seat of the Lyttelton family, who have connections to New Zealand dating back to some of the earliest immigrant ships to arrive in Canterbury.  LNZCC been made most welcome by the Lyttleton family, initially by the 10th Viscount Lord Cobham (a former Governor General of New Zealand (1957/62) who became our President after the death of Errol Holmes), then by his sons Johnny Lyttelton from 1977 and since 2006 Chris Lyttelton the 12th Lord Cobham.

 London New Zealand CC has made the following overseas tours:

·        Monte Carlo CC in Monaco in 1992
·        Denmark in 1966 & 1968
·        Netherlands in 1972
·        in 1993 to Oporto Cricket & Lawn Tennis Club, Portugal
·        To play two different clubs on the Isle of Wight; Areton 1989 and Ventnor from 2005 - 2012, and
·        Since 2013, to the Balearic Islands to play Ibiza CC
 Sourced from ‘Kiwis on the Common’ 50 Years of the London New Zealand Cricket Club by Honorary Member Paddy Gaffikin.