The Royal Air Force cricket team 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 ...

side representing the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. The team played 11 first-class matches: nine between 1922 and 1932, mostly against other branches of the Services, and another two in 1945 and 1946. Their home ground is the

Royal Air Force Sports Ground The Royal Air Force Sports Ground is a cricket ground in Uxbridge, situated behind RAF Uxbridge. The ground also goes by the name of Vine Lane, a nearby main road. It was first used in 1939 by the RAF. Teams such as the MCC, the Middlesex Crick ...

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

. A number of notable cricketers played for the RAF team in its first-class days. Their side for the first such game, against Rest of England at

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 ...

in September 1922, included no fewer than eight current or future

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

ers:

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

, Wally Hardinge,

Frank Woolley Frank Edward Woolley (27 May 1887 – 18 October 1978) was an English professional cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club between 1906 and 1938 and for the England cricket team. A genuine all-rounder, Woolley was a left-handed batsman ...

Percy Fender Percy George Herbert Fender (22 August 1892 – 15 June 1985) was an English cricketer who played 13 Tests for his country and was captain of Surrey between 1921 and 1931. An all-rounder, he was a middle-order batsman who bowled mainly l ...

Harold Gilligan Alfred Herbert Harold Gilligan (29 June 1896 – 5 May 1978) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Sussex and England. Gilligan captained England on their four-Test tour of New Zealand in 1929–30, which England won 1–0. Lif ...

George Geary George Geary (9 July 1893 – 6 March 1981) was a first-class cricketer who played for Leicestershire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. Abilities Above medium pace and right-handed, Geary was able to swing the new ball very e ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

and

Abe Waddington Abraham "Abe" Waddington, sometimes known as Abram Waddington (4 February 1893 – 28 October 1959), was a professional cricketer for Yorkshire, who played in two Test matches for England, both against Australia in 1920–21. Between 191 ...

(though none of them were currently serving in the RAF). However after this festival game, the RAF did not play another first-class match for five years.

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared p ...

's only match of first-class cricket came for the RAF against the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

in 1931. Since the 1940s, the RAF side has continued to compete in minor cricket.

References

External links

Scorecard Oracle
on CricketArchive English club cricket teams Former senior cricket clubs Military sport in the United Kingdom Military cricket teams Royal Air Force {{England-cricket-team-stub

See also

References

External links