Brighton and Hove Cricket Club, nicknamed ''The Mighty Bensons'', is an amateur

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 str ...

club based in East Sussex, in southern England. Their top team secured the Sussex Cricket League championship in 2000 and in 2007. Based since 1991 at the Nevill Sports Ground in

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 c ...

, southern England, the club achieved success in 1979 when it won both the first and second eleven competitions in the Sussex League, while playing at Horsdean. 2010 England wicket keeper and batsman,

Matt Prior Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...

, has been a member of the club, as has the former England captain,

Tony Greig Anthony William Greig (6 October 194629 December 2012) was a South African-born Test cricket captain turned commentator. Greig qualified to play for the England cricket team by virtue of his Scottish parentage. He was a tall () all-rounder w ...

and the New Zealand opening batsman Mark Richardson.

Club history

County Ground

Brighton & Hove Cricket Club was founded on 22 August 1945, as an amalgamation of Hove Cricket Club (founded in 1918) and Brighton Nondescripts Cricket Club (founded in 1920). The club was based at the County Ground in

, Sussex, although all Sunday games had to be played away from home.

Withdean Stadium

By 1955 it was clear that the club could not remain at the County Ground and in the following year it moved to a very small ground next to the

Withdean Stadium Withdean Stadium is an athletics stadium in Withdean, a suburb of Brighton. It was constructed in 1930. It was the home track of Olympic athlete Steve Ovett. Between 1999 and 2011 it was the home ground of football team Brighton & Hove Albion ...

in Brighton. Here the club enjoyed a good family atmosphere, but the facilities were primitive and the use of the ground as a rugby pitch during the winter, and even as a collecting ring for a horse show, made playing-conditions dangerous. The Club found a temporary refuge at Longhill School in 1969 before moving to Horsdean.

Horsdean

At Horsdean, too, there were problems with the use of the playing surface for rugby during the winter, and the clubhouse was hardly suitable to be used as a

cricket pavilion A cricket pavilion is a pavilion at a cricket ground. It is the main building within which the players usually change in dressing rooms and which is the main location for watching the cricket match for members and others. Pavilions can vary from m ...

. But the square was improved until it became one of the best in club cricket, and this helped the club to achieve an increasing amount of success. The high point came in 1979 when the club won both the first and second eleven competitions in the Sussex League. At the end of the 1990 season, however, a long-standing threat from the construction of a road bypass became a reality. With no sign of a replacement ground, the club spent 1991 without a venue, playing all Sunday matches away, but fulfilling its League fixtures thanks to the kindness of

Brighton Polytechnic The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...

, on whose pitch they were allowed to play.

Nevill Ground

Towards the end of the 1991 season, the club was offered the use of the Nevill Ground by Hove Borough Council, which was in the process of renovating the clubhouse. Ironically, this was one of the grounds the club had considered moving to in 1956 and rejected. The club eagerly accepted the council's offer, work began on the square that autumn, and since then the club enjoyed a happy collaboration with Hove Borough Council. Improvements at the Nevill Sports Arena provided the club with excellent facilities for the 2009 season.

Achievements

With several players having represented their Counties, or attended the University Center of Cricketing Excellence – a scheme set up by the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...

– the Club stands as one of the most highly profiled amateur cricket clubs in England and Wales. The most recent former player with Brighton and Hove Cricket Club to make a name for himself is

Matthew Prior Matthew Prior (21 July 1664 – 18 September 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. He is also known as a contributor to ''The Examiner (1710–1714), The Examiner''. Early life Prior was probably born in Middlesex. He was the son of a Noncon ...

, who signed for Sussex County Cricket Club and has since gone on to earn himself many England caps. Another international cricketer to play for ''The Mighty Bensons'' is New Zealender Mark Richardson, who has a century against England to his name.

, who captained England in the 1970s, has been a member of Brighton and Hove Cricket Club. Also brothers Alen and Colin Wells (Sussex and England) Alan (Sussex) and RP(Roly)Willows (Middlesex and Lords Ground Staff) represented Brighton and Hove during the 1970 and 1980 along with Jerry Morley and Andy Dindar (Middlesex).

Notes

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External links

Brighton and Hove Cricket Club

Sussex Cricket League
Club cricket teams in England Sport in Brighton and Hove 1945 establishments in England