100 Years of Bures Cricket

The Gt Bentley Team arrive at the "Eight Bells"	The Bures team ready for action	The supporting ladies dressed in period costume	H. Munson captain of the Bures teram receives the first ball from the Gt Bentley bowler.
Score card	East Anglian Magazine dated Oct 1957

In 1845, eight years after Queen Victoria ascended the throne, a cricket match began between Bures and Great Bentley. The Essex team batted all day, scoring 301 runs for the loss of nine wickets, which in those days was an exceptional score.
It is said that after the teams had left the field to quench their thirst at a nearby inn, the Bures captain protested that his side had fielded all day and had not been given a chance to bat. He received the reply: 'You can have your innings in 100 years' time.'

On a damp Saturday in June 1957 a wagonette drawn by two horses and driven by Alec Thompson attired in smock and Cavendish gaiters drew up at the Bures 'Eight Bells'.

The team, in their Victorian cricket costume, together with their supporters in crinolines and poke bonnets, were welcomed by 'mine host', George Boulton, with ale for the team and water and lumps of sugar for the horses.

Supporters of the Bures team, the men folk wearing their best cravats and top hats, escorted the ladies in their long dresses and lace caps to the recreation ground as the 'stirrup cup' was being drunk.

As it might have done 112 years before, the church clock chimed the hour as the Bentley team left the thatched pavilion to take the field for the second day's play.

Finally, the Bures score stood at 300, two runs short of victory. Then, Maurice Cansdale made the winning hit and Bures had won the match of the century.

Text courtesy of The East Anglian Magazine 1957
Images courtesy of the Bures Cricket Club.
A more detailed explanation of this event can be found at Bures-online or Bures Cricket Club