Cregagh Cricket Club

Cregagh
Founded:	1906
Home ground:	Cregagh Memorial Recreation Ground, Gibson Park

Cregagh Cricket Club is a cricket club in Belfast, Northern Ireland, playing in Section 3 of the NCU Senior League.

The club was formed in 1906, when Mr. J. W. A. Hamilton, an elder of the McQuiston Memorial Presbyterian Church on the Castlereagh Road in east Belfast, brought together a small group of men to form the Cregagh Cricket Club. Land was leased from the church at Gibson Park, where the club still plays today. The club had a close association with the 19th Belfast company of the Boys' Brigade.

The club stopped playing cricket during the First World War, during which 70% of the club's membership volunteered for service, and eight members never returned. The club decided, in memory of the fallen, to establish the club as a member of the Northern Cricket Union, and this was achieved in 1920. The ground was bought from the Church, renamed Cregagh Memorial Recreation Ground and memorial gates were erected (opened in 1923) in honour of the club's war dead. Although the gates are no longer in place today, there is a memorial plaque within the pavilion.

The club's first achievement on the field was the Intermediate League County Antrim Division championship in 1925. In addition to this, a Cregagh 2nd XI was established under the name of Cregagh Corinthians.

In 1927, senior status was achieved, but for one season only as the senior clubs decided to revert to a 10-team league of which Cregagh would not be a part.^[1] In the meantime, the Junior Cup was won for the first time in 1934 and again in 1936. In 1938, the club won the Senior Qualifying League, which meant a return to senior cricket for the 1939 season.

The 1940s was the most successful period for the club, winning the NCU Senior League title in 1945 and 1947, and reaching the Senior Cup final in 1944.

Crgagh remained a force in Ulster cricket in the 1950s and 1960s and had several outstanding players, including Charlie Corry, who was selected for Ireland in 1959, when competition was at its fiercest.^[2] The club was relegated from the top NCU division in 1961.

In the early 1980s, the club merged with Orangefield Old Boys' Football Club, resulting in a name change from Cregagh Athletic Club to Cregagh Sports Club. A new clubhouse was built that is still in place today, and a drinks licence was granted, as previously alcohol could not be sold on the land. This merger doubled the playing membership and offered additional revenue streams.

Honours

• NCU Senior League: 2
  • 1945, 1947
• NCU Junior Cup: ‡2
  • †1934, 1936

‡ 1 by 2nd XI † Won by 2nd XI

References

1. ^ Clarence J Hiles (2003), A History of Senior Cricket in Ulster, Hiltop Publications, p. 115
2. ^ Clarence J Hiles (2003), A History of Senior Cricket in Ulster, Hiltop Publications, p. 164

External links

• Cregagh Cricket Club