Fenner's is

Cambridge University Cricket Club Cambridge University Cricket Club, established in 1820, is the representative cricket club for students of the University of Cambridge. The club was recognised as holding first-class cricket, first-class status until 2020. The university played ...

's ground.

History

had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and

Parker's Piece Parker's Piece is a flat and roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England, regarded by some as the birthplace of the rules of association football. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, a ...

. In 1846,

Francis Fenner Francis Phillips Fenner (1 March 1811 – 22 May 1896) was an English cricketer for Hampshire and other teams. A right-arm fast bowler, Fenner took 176 wickets from his 54 first-class appearances from 1829 until 1856. He established Fenner's ...

leased a former cherry orchard from

Gonville and Caius College Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...

for the purpose of constructing a cricket ground. In 1848 he sub-let the ground to Cambridge University Cricket Club. Fenner's first hosted

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

in 1848, with Cambridge University playing against the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC). A 40-foot wooden pavilion, painted blue, with a slated roof had been erected by the 1856 season. Since 1894, Fenner's has been owned by the Cambridge University Cricket and Athletic Company; a private limited company whose Members comprise the full members of

and

Cambridge University Athletics Club Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Facilities

As well as the cricket ground, there is a 3-lane indoor cricket school. The groundsman pioneered the art of mowing grass in strips to create patterns, a technique now common in sports stadiums around the world. p. 103

Land deal

In August 2024 it was announced that the University had sold land on the edge of Fenner's to

Hughes Hall Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The majority of students are postgraduate, although nearly one-fifth of the student population comprises individuals aged 21 and above who are studying undergraduate ...

. Subsequently a petition was launched against development of that land.

References

External links

Fenner's home page

from CricketArchive

from

Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

Cambridge University Cricket Club
{{coord, 52, 12, 00.43, N, 0, 07, 54.62, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title 1848 establishments in England Cricket grounds in Cambridgeshire Sport at the University of Cambridge University of Cambridge sites Sports venues in Cambridge Parks and open spaces in Cambridge Sports venues completed in 1848 University sports venues in the United Kingdom

History

Facilities

Land deal

See also

References

External links