An open letter to the Parish at the start of the 1995 season:
The Compton and Shawford Sports Club was re-established soon after the war to provide Cricket and Football facilities for the Parish on the newly opened Memorial Playing Fields. The Pavilion was transported from the foot of Shawford Down where it had served as the Clubhouse for the Golf Club. Cricket has been played at the ground every season since the formation of the club whereas the Football section has missed a number of seasons although the present club has been playing in various guises since 1973.
The Cricket Club had their most successful seasons between 1976 and 1985 culminating in three seasons in the 1st Division of the Hampshire League and victories in the Winchester and District Knock-Out competitions.
Since those days the fortunes of the club have dipped. A steady trickle of departing players and the lack of any new younger players has seen the 1st XI struggle to hold their own in the 4th Division and the 2nd XI barely survive in the lowest regional division. The average age of the 2nd XI is 48 and the 1st XI only rarely fields any players aged under 30. The proportion of our players who live in or have roots in the parish is also declining In short. we have a crisis.
We desperately need an influx of new players and officials. We would love to recruit a classy batsman or a reliable pace bowler but in reality we know that such talent is unlikely to come to us. We would be happy just to provide a game for someone who played a bit at school and who would like to renew their association with the sport or for someone who has never played but thinks they could do better than Atherton & Co. If you are unable to provide a regular Saturday commitment we also play the occasional Sunday game which is invariably a very social occasion. We do not currently have a Junior Section but if there are enough youngsters aged 8 and upwards who want to play we will be happy to cater for their needs.
The real question is does the Parish want a Cricket Club? The future of Cricket in the Parish lies in your hands.
If you would like to play please contact either Gordon de la Mare (713524) or Julian Croker (735552). We will shortly be starting Indoor Nets and will be holding Practice evenings on Wednesdays at 7.00pm from 19th April.