Col. L. C. Stevens' XI, sometimes shortened to L. C. Stevens' XI, was an English

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 that played 30 matches (two of them first-class) at

The Saffrons The Saffrons is a multi-purpose sports ground in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The ground is home to Eastbourne Cricket Club, Eastbourne Town Football Club, Eastbourne Hockey Club and Compton Croquet Club. There is also a sand dressed astroturf pitch ...

ground in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

from 1949 to 1968. The teams were raised by Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Cording Stevens OBE (born 1891, died 27 May 1968) who was president of Eastbourne Cricket and Football Club and Eastbourne Rugby Football Club. He also founded the Eastbourne school Chelmsford Hall Preparatory in 1920. The matches ranged from one to three days' duration. Six were against touring

Test 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), ...

sides, played at the beginning of their tours as warm-up matches. Most of the other matches were against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

or the

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. The two matches that were accorded first-class status were against Cambridge University in 1960 and 1961. Tom Graveney scored the team's only first-class

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

in the 1961 match. The 1960 match was a draw; Cambridge won the 1961 match. Five Col. L. C. Stevens' XI players made their first-class debuts in the 1960 match, including Dr David Rice, at the age of 46, who captained the side in both matches. Two more players made their first-class debuts in the 1961 match. In contrast, the 1960 match was Sir

Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...

's second-last first-class match. The match against Cambridge University in 1963 was scheduled and played as a first-class match, but the MCC later rescinded its status.

Derrick Robins Derrick Harold Robins (27 June 1914 – 3 May 2004) was an English cricketer and sports promoter, at one time chairman of Coventry City Football Club. He was born in Bexleyheath, Kent. Robins played two matches for Warwickshire in 1947, but did ...

played in several non-first-class matches for Col. L. C. Stevens' XI in the 1950s and 1960s. After Colonel Stevens' death he organised his own team, D. H. Robins' XI, which also played matches at The Saffrons, some of them first-class, from 1969 to 1978.

References

External links

Lists of matches played by L. C. Stevens' XI
Former senior cricket clubs Sport in Eastbourne {{england-cricket-team-stub