Early Records
Cricket has been played on the cricket field in Rowington at least since the establishment of Rowington Cricket Club in 1887 and possibly even longer.
Very few early records of the club survive but the earliest known score-card dates from a match against Earlswood in 1888, the earliest fixture list is from 1937, the earliest known score-book dates from 1960 and the Annual General Meeting minutes go back as far as 1912. The first recorded club president was Mr J W Ryland in 1912, the first club chairman was Mr H B Darby in 1946 and the first recorded club captain was Mr E L Edwards in 1907.
Before the Wars
In September 1912 the ground was bought for £380 by Mr E L Edwards (photographed on the right), who lived at The Croft and was captain of the club for 25 years from 1907 to 1932 and president from 1929. He agreed to rent the ground to the cricket club for £6 per year. In these early days of the club the 'square' was very narrow; there was no pavilion, just a tiny changing hut which was also used as the score box; the outfield was only cut about twice a year and provided hay for Mr Edwards' horses; and, as cricket was only played by one team on Saturdays, as few as 26 games were played in a season.
In 1914, with a view to resolving what was viewed as the 'dressing room syndrome', the club asked to use the committee room at the neighbouring Men's Club as a dressing room for visiting teams for the sum of £1. Teas at this time were also taken in the Men's Club, for which no payment was required from the players.
Between the Wars
No cricket was played during the First World War and it was not until October 1920 that a meeting was held with a view to re-starting the cricket club. Mr Edwards offered the use of his field rent free for two years, although no record has been found of any payment ever being made to him thereafter!
During the 1920's the Annual General Meetings were held in a bedroom at the Cock Inn (now the Cock Horse) and the annual suppers that followed were considered by many to be the social event of the village year.
After the Wars
Due to the commencement of the Second World War the club was unable to complete the 1940 season. The ground was ploughed up and no further cricket was played there until 1946 when, following a meeting at the Men's Club attended by more than 50 people, Rowington Cricket Club was re-formed. 
The members' enthusiasm and determination to re-start cricket in Rowington as soon as possible led to the legendary Boxing Day matches against Little Aston. These took place in 1948 (photographed on the left) and 1949 and received plenty of publicity in the local press.
The members' enthusiasm and determination to re-start cricket in Rowington as soon as possible led to the legendary Boxing Day matches against Little Aston. These took place in 1948 (photographed on the left) and 1949 and received plenty of publicity in the local press.On 31 December 1951 the Rowington Cricket Field Trust was established by Mrs D E B Combe and Mrs O M Christophers, the daughters of Mr E L Edwards, in memory of their late father and mother. Under the trust deed the freehold of the cricket field was conveyed to the trustees primarily for use as a cricket ground for the inhabitants of the parish of Rowington. The ground was to be managed by a committee of management comprising the trustees and two representatives nominated by the cricket club. The only buildings to be permitted on the site were a sports pavilion and a store room for sports equipment, and restrictions on the sale of alcohol were imposed in order to protect the Men's Club next door. Subject to payment of all outgoings, Rowington Cricket Club has been allowed to use the cricket field ever since.
With the future of the club now secure, the idea of a new pavilion, which had first been mooted in 1949, gained momentum, and a concerted campaign to raise the necessary funds began in 1952. These efforts culminated in the opening, on 27 April 1957, of the new pavilion which was built for a total cost of £1,600.
In 1958 long awaited sight screens were kindly given to the club by Mr R F Everitt in memory of his father, the 'Orcutt Cup' was presented by Mr R Orcutt to be played for annually between Rowington and Lapworth, and a ship's bell was presented to the club by Mr C Newton-Thompson on behalf of himself, Mr J Parsons and Mr B Lang with a view to getting the game to start on time. Mr Newton-Thompson also donated, in 1960, £30 towards an improvement to the ground provided that this was matched by members. The committee decided upon a scorebox which was erected and in use for the 1961 season.
From strength to strength
Further improvements were made to the ground in the 1960's and 70's including the building of a new lavatory block in 1967 (financed by loans from 11 club members) and, when the club was offered £1000 from the village tote, the installation of new showers. The photograph on the right is of Rowington batsmen in the pavilion in the 1960's.
During this time a number of well known cricketers graced Rowington with their presence including Alvin Kallicharan, the West Indies' captain. In 1979 Rachel Heyhoe-Flint and some other Warwickshire ladies put up a fine performance against the Rowington men.
The Modern Age - over 100 years of cricket in Rowington
In 1987 Rowington Cricket Club celebrated it's centenary year in style with the publication of a book about the history of the club.
A major exercise was carried out to re-roof the pavilion with wooden shingle tiles to match the originals in 1997. Shortly thereafter the club made a successful application for £20,000 of lottery funding towards a number of projects including draining the ground (a great success), providing wicket covers and a bowling machine and erecting a new mower shed to replace the wooden building that, many years previously, had been used as a pavilion.
The Tapster League, of which Rowington was a member, was absorbed into the Cotswold Hills League in 2001 with the top Tapster teams going into Division 1 of the Cotswold Hills League and the lower sides going into Division 2. Since then Rowington's 1st XI has oscillated between Division 1 and Division 2 (although the team was vying for promotion to the premiership in 2003) and the 2nd X1 between Division 4 and Division 5.
A very popular annual folk evening organised by Brian Taylor continued for over 20 years (each year being 'the last'!) and raised about £20,000 for the club. At one special folk evening £7,000 was raised for Good Hope Hospital following the premature death of Dave Swingler, a former 2nd team captain. Sadly, the 2004 folk evening, at which Vin Garbutt gave an excellent performance, proved to be the end of an era - unless Brian can be persuaded to come out of retirement!
Over the last few years the Annual Dinner has been given a greater focus with the attendance of a number of Warwickshire cricketers or other well known personalities. The cricketers involved have included Gladstone Small, Ashley Giles, Nick Knight, Trevor Penney, Neil and Mike Smith and Tim Munton, not a bad side between them, and in 2006 the guest of honour was Sir Digby Jones, who once played for the club.
Players
As recently as the 1960's, the team consisted mainly of players who lived in Rowington and its neighbouring villages, that is, within easy walking and cycling distance of the club. Since then, as travel has become easier, the club's make up has changed considerably with many players now coming from much further afield.
Notable performances include, in 1962, Mr K Everitt becoming the first member of the club to make 1,000 runs in the season and, in a match against Kings Heath on 25 May 1963, Russell Kyte scoring 62 and then going on to take all eight wickets (Kings Heath were two short) including a hat trick and one catch.
More recently, in 2001 Graham Sly received national press coverage when he hit 6 sixes in an over against Henley-in-Arden and, in 2007, 13 year old Sam Ostler became the youngest player to win a Rowington cap for taking four wickets in a single league game whilst playing for the Second XI against Dorridge.
Professor Sir Howard Dalton, who played for the Club in the 1980s and, apart from his bowling, hid most of his skills from those who knew him, died suddenly on 12 January 2008. In his obituary the Daily Telegraph mentioned his love of village cricket and reported that he was a wayward but explosive fast bowler whose cricket career highlight was taking eight for 15 when representing Rowington CC against admittedly inferior opposition.
It is thought that the Sly family has had an unbroken connection with the club for its entire 120 years. Two members of the family were recorded as playing for Rowington in the 1888 match against Earlswood, Mr W Sly took over as groundsman in the early 1930's (and there has been a W Sly looking after the ground for much of the time ever since), Mr W Sly became the first honorary life member of the club in 1958 and Sly family members still play for and support the club to this day.
Extracted from 'Rowington Cricket Club 1887 - 1987' published by the Rowington CC in 1987 to celebrate its centenary year, with supplementary information courtesy of Brian Taylor.
