Welcome to Chulmleigh Cricket Club!

The small town of Chulmleigh, perched high above the Little Dart river, lies deep within the rolling Devon countryside, midway between Dartmoor and Exmoor. The cricket ground is situated on the edge of the town in beautiful and tranquil surroundings and with distant views across the Taw Valley and on to Dartmoor.

We are a traditional village cricket club. We play no league cricket, but that does not mean the cricket we play is anything other than competitive and hard-fought. We run a senior side playing every weekend with some mid-week games and also have a thriving youth section with Under 10, 11, 13 and 15 sides playing in North Devon Leagues and managed by our own ECB-qualified coaches. Our youth policy is paying off with several young players represented at District and even County level. We also have superb indoor practice facilities at the town’s own Sports Hall.

Many fixtures are against local sides and touring teams, friendly faces returning year after year. South Oxfordshire Amateurs have been visiting us every season since 1947, the year our original (and newly restored) thatched pavilion was opened. This fixture, which boasts a splendid lunch, is one of the highlights of the season.

We are a family-oriented club that is proud of our place in the heart of the community and welcomes players and participants of all abilities and ages. We aim to give the maximum number of players the opportunity to play and we welcome female players. Our annual Under 25s vs. Over 25s match for the Mike Wall Trophy is a fun occasion and decides bragging rights between “Oldies” and “Young Guns” for the whole year.

Visitors can make use of the great facilities situated in the town. A popular schedule is a round at Chulmleigh Golf Course, followed by lunch at one of the three pubs or our very own Indian restaurant before arriving at the cricket ground for a civilised start at 2.30pm. After the game both teams adjourn to Sam’s at The Old Court House where the finer points of the game and the highlights and lowlights of individual performances are discussed over a drink or two.

The Club also has plenty of off-field activities. Quiz nights and skittles evenings come under the guise of fund-raising, whilst our annual trip to Taunton to watch Somerset CCC or after-game barbecues are purely social.

Why not come along and join in?

Recent Posts

A Not Unexpected Defeat at Broadclyst

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Report submitted by Buzby

I’m so glad the ECB has this year introduced a new rule stating that scores in the first game of the season do not count towards the season’s averages.

 Killerton House, a venue synonymous with under-achievement and lack-lustre performances by CCC over the years (with one notable exception a couple of years ago when we won by 10 wickets, a day that has gone down in Broadclyst annals as “The day we did a Chulmleigh”) looked in fine fettle and as we arrived our hosts were trundling up and down on the roller and patrolling the outfield with a wheelbarrow of soil and a spade looking for rabbit damage.

The day had started promisingly; dry weather with a good forecast and the Ducati oozing menace and intent in the garage waiting to be unleashed onto the A373 (It wasn’t my fault officer, the bike was oozing menace and intent). It’s always difficult to know what a good score is on an April Killerton pitch so Jack was under strict instructions to win the toss and bowl so when he returned to the darkness of the away dressing room and announced he had lost the toss we were a little disappointed but cheered up when he told us we were bowling anyway.

After an uncharacteristically enthusiastic fielding practice (the result of a bunch of blokes delighted to be out in the sunshine after having been cooped up indoors all winter – by mid-May nobody except Danny P, the CCC equivalent of a loveable but mad springer spaniel will bother with practice) we took to the field. It felt good to feel the grass beneath our feet and be out in the sunshine with our mates and our opening attack of Jack and Tom Spence started well ensuring Gidders at slip kept concentrating when edges just failed to carry two or three times. The slimmer, more mobile Gidders was impressive in the field, so much so that I rechristened him AB de Giddiers. We kept a lid on Broadclyst but didn’t get a wicket until the double bowling change when AJ, the absolute epitome of the wily old fox, bowled one opener and followed it up by bowling the other one. Danny P bowled well and was unlucky when an edge didn’t stick but Jack shuffled the bowlers well and runs were restricted and wickets regular. The remodelling of Nigel’s action has been much more productive than when theEnglandmanagement tried to do the same to James Anderson at the start of his Test career and he returned figures of 3 for 24 to prove it.

Tom and Danny P returned to the attack and picked up a scalp each with Woody bagging two and with catches by Martin, Tom Spence and Yours Truly, at 30 overs with the score in the low nineties we felt we were doing ok.

Then, almost from nowhere Broadclyst launched a counter-attack with both batsmen hitting through the ball and unafraid to take the aerial route. In the last five overs we conceded 35 runs and although 130 was an achievable target the momentum had definitely shifted in Broadclyst’s favour.

The entertainment portion of the tea interval comprised of the older, grumpier contingent moaning about the unnecessary proliferation of crisp flavours and sandwiches where the filling was of a viscosity which allowed the said filling to escape if you didn’t pay attention.

Then it all went a bit wrong. Don’t get me wrong Broadclyst have a very useful bowling department but our own contribution to our downfall cannot be overstated. Ley and I had good deliveries (I had a real snorter that bounced and left me and nicked the shoulder of my bat) but the other five members of the top seven will admit that shot selection and shot execution left a bit to be desired. We were in deep trouble at 35 for 7 when AJ and Tom Spence initiated a minor revival with some lovely sweep shots from AJ and Tom’s first ever six, but it was too little too late and we couldn’t quite get to three figures which would have given us a smidge of respectability.

Gidders Gets Right Over It At Broadclyst

Our disappointment was palpable. It is fair to say I do have a very low disappointment threshold (I was disappointed the first time I flew in an aeroplane and on looking down couldn’t see the isobars that you see on a weather map) but I’m pretty sure we all felt the game was winnable at tea and we let the chance go begging. Still, it was a fun game played against old friends and considerably better than not playing at all, and we look forward to the return fixture at Chulmleigh where our success rate is considerably higher.

Broadclyst 129 all out: Jack 2-23, Tom S 1-16, Danny P 1-23, AJ 3-12, Nigel 3-24

CCC 91 for 7: AJ 28 no, Tom S 24 no