The Duke of Norfolk's XI is a
scratch cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
team. It was originally named for the
16th Duke, but following his death in 1975 the team played on in
his widow's name as Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI. After her own death in 1995, the title reverted to the original, in the name of the
17th (until 2002) and then
18th Dukes.
Since 1952 the English international summer has traditionally been marked by a one-day fixture between this team and the tourists at
Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War a ...
, the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk. The team has played almost all its matches in England at that ground, although one match against the
International Cavaliers The International Cavaliers were an ''ad hoc'' cricket team made up of famous cricketers in order to encourage local cricket. Their teams included many prominent cricketers from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as many retired veterans and talente ...
in 1966 was played at
Hove
Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...
. The team has typically been made up largely of
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
players not involved in other games, mixed with recently retired internationals.
Derek Randall
Derek William Randall (born 24 February 1951) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire, and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Known to cricketing colleagues and fans as "A ...
,
Robin Smith and
Andy Flower
Andrew Flower (born 28 April 1968) is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and a former cricketer. As a cricketer, he captained the Zimbabwe national cricket team. He was Zimbabwe's wicket-keeper for more than 10 years and is, statistically, the greatest ...
are among those to have played for the Duke's team.
The Duke of Norfolk's XI have made two
first-class tours overseas. In February and March 1957, managed by the Duke and captained by
Desmond Eagar
Edward Desmond Russell Eagar (8 December 1917 — 13 September 1977) was an English amateur first-class cricketer who played county cricket for Gloucestershire and Hampshire. Eagar debuted for Gloucestershire whilst still a schoolboy at Chelten ...
, they played three first-class matches against
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
; the touring team won two and the other match was drawn. The other first-class tour was also to the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, in 1969–70, when the Duke managed a team captained by
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...
which played three first-class and one
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
games against the island teams, with one win, two losses and one draw.
References
External links
Lists of matches played by Duke of Norfolk's XIat CricketArchive
at CricketArchive
Duke of Norfolk's XI
The Duke of Norfolk's XI is a scratch cricket team. It was originally named for the 16th Duke, but following his death in 1975 the team played on in his widow's name as Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI. After her own death in 1995, the title re ...
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