Edinburgh Academical Cricket Club, generally known as Edinburgh Accies, is a

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 ...

club founded in 1855 and based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The club is the oldest

Old Boys The terms Old Boys and Old Girls are the usual expressions in use in the United Kingdom for former pupils of primary and secondary schools.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While these are traditionally associated with independent schools, they are ...

cricket club in Scotland. In 1854, the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

acquired a playing field at

Raeburn Place Raeburn Place is the main street of the suburb of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, and the name of the playing fields there. Rugby The first ever international rugby football game was played on the playing fields at Raeburn Place on 27 Ma ...

, Stockbridge, and Edinburgh Accies was founded the following year. Former pupils of the Edinburgh Academy and members of EACC were integral in the development of

Scottish cricket Cricket has a considerably lower profile in Scotland than it has in neighbouring England. Scotland is not one of the twelve leading cricketing nations which play Test matches, but the Scottish national team is now allowed to play full One Day I ...

, and within a few years all the

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in Scotland had private cricket grounds. The club’s distinguished history includes 42 Academicals who have played representative cricket, 6 have played both rugby and cricket for Scotland, and a few have played for the MCC. The club won the Scottish Cup in 1974, and Masterton Trophy in 1970 and 1977. Edinburgh Accies, originally an exclusive club for

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

of the Edinburgh Academy, has signed professionals since 1981, and membership today is open for anyone to join.

History

Origin

The origin of Edinburgh Accies can be traced back to before the club was officially formed to the establishment of the

in 1824. Cricket was played at the Academy almost as soon as it was open in the "Yards" which surround the main school building. T.H. Shepherd's drawing of "The New Academy" (1828), shows two boys holding cricket bats. One of the boys in the drawing was William Moncreiff, who joined the school on its opening day and was one of the founders of

The Grange Cricket Club ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

in 1832.

First 50 years (1855 - 1904)

The first cricket match, for which any scores have been traced, appeared in The Courant of 17 April 1855. Academy cricket flourished through the 1860s with the 1866 XI winning all its school matches. The 1860s and 1870s produced a number of notable cricketers and also a distinguished cricket writer in

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

(Captain of the Academy 2nd XI in 1861). T.R. Marshall went on to play for the MCC and

. He and two other Academicals, R.H. Johnston and H.J. Stevenson were in the Scottish XI which defeated a strong Gloucestershire XI (including

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...

) in 1891. L. M. Balfour-Melville who was captain of the Academy XI in 1871, ranks with T.R. Marshall as the best Academical batsman before 1900. He captained the Scotland XI which defeated the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

in 1872 at the age of 18. H.J. Stevenson was one of the great lob bowlers, and his notes were included in an MCC booklet "Instructions to Cricket Coaches at Lord's". In 1886 for the Academy he took five wickets in five balls and repeated this feat for The Academicals in a club match in 1894. On one occasion he took all

ten wickets in a match In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

against Perthshire Cricket Club.

First half of 20th century (1905 - 1953)

After the turn of the century, the fixture list became stabilised, with H. J. Stevenson in command the club built a reputation for attractive and effective cricket. Academical cricket ceased during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, resuming in 1919. The 1930s saw a peak for the club with a strong 1st XI including eight of its playing members who had represented Scotland, and two other competitive teams. Academical cricket at

was once again interrupted during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the playing field ploughed up for agricultural use, with the Academicals not returning until 18 June 1949.

Advent of competitive cricket (1953 - 1969)

The East of Scotland District League was formed in 1953, with the Academicals first winning the league in 1957. The Centenary of the Field was celebrated in 1954 with a cricket week, including a two-day match between the Academicals and the MCC and a Centenary Dinner at which the Toast of 'The Field' was proposed by

Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...

. The 1960s with J. M. Allan as captain led the Club to its first ever international tour to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1963, with the venture repeated the following year, and an overseas tour to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1969.

Paths of glory (1970s)

The 1970s saw the Club's most successful decade for silverware. In 1970, the Masterton Trophy was won for the first time, and again in 1977. The Academicals won the Scottish section of the National Club Knock Out Competition on four occasions, in 1971 reaching the last 8 before losing to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

who went on to win that year. In 1974 the Club won the Scottish Cup for the first time. The league structure was reformed in 1975 into 3 main divisions, with the club going open the following year allowing non-former pupils of the

to join. In 1979 as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations, the club undertook a tour to the North American continent with games from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Professional era (1980s & 1990s)

In 1981 George Reifer who represented

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

and later

, became the club's first professional. Other notable professionals during this period include

Nehemiah Perry Nehemiah Odolphus Perry (born 16 June 1968) is a former cricketer from Jamaica who played four Tests and 21 One Day Internationals for the West Indies between 1999 and 2000. He was a member of the West Indies squad at the 1999 Cricket World Cu ...

who played four

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

and 21

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and Peter Steindl who played for

Recent times

Due to current redevelopment at Raeburn Place, the club has spent its longest period away from their home ground since the Second World War, and currently plays at its second ground New Field, which it shares with the

school.

Badge, colours and name

The monogram of the Academical Cricket Club (ACC) symbolise the cricket activities of both the

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

and the Academicals, as the club was originally intended for both boys and Old Boys. It was not thought necessary to include

in the title. The monogram is still used on 1st Academical XI caps, and badges. In the 1860s cricket shirts were brightened up by coloured shirts, with the Academy XI wearing white shirts with narrow blue stripes. In 1871 the Academy striped shirt was discarded, and a white shirt with a blue and white sash was approved instead.

Grounds

Raeburn Place

The Academical Field at

was purchased by the

in 1854, and has several unique claims to fame - the first school playing field (of its kind) in Scotland, the oldest private cricket ground in Edinburgh and one of the oldest in Scotland, the "cradle of Rugby Football" in Scotland, being the scene of the first International Football Match and Scotland's 'home ground' for 24 years. The Academical Field at Raeburn Place is home to both the EACC - the oldest Old Boys' Cricket Club in Scotland, and the EAFC - one of the oldest Football Clubs in the world.

New Field

Nine acres to the north of Inverleith Place was acquired by the

in 1895 which became the Academy's "New Field". The Academical club has often played matches there as a second ground, notably in recent years while the

ground is being redeveloped.

Notable players

The following Academicals have played Representative Cricket.

First appearance prior to 1905

1905 - 1954

Since 1955

A number of Edinburgh Academicals have represented Scotland at both rugby and cricket, these include:

Henry Stevenson Henry James Stevenson (12 July 1867 – 8 August 1945) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He played at Full back. He also played first-class cricket. Rugby Union career Amateur career Stevenson played for Edinburgh Academicals ...

, T. R. Marshall, L.M. Balfour, E.M. Bannerman, W.E. Maclagan and K.W. MarshallBath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ), pp 104, 105; note list shows initials not full names

Honours

First XI

League

* Edinburgh & District League (1) – 1957 * East League Division One (2) – 2001, 2008

Cups

* Scottish Cup (1) – 1974 * The Masterton Trophy (2) – 1970, 1977

References

* Edinburgh Academical CC 1854 - 2004 (2005). Ian D. Stevenson, 52 pages * One Hundred Years at Raeburn Place 1854 - 1954 (1954). Published by the Edinburgh Academicals Club

External links

{{Cricket in Scotland Scottish club cricket teams