Nairn County Cricket Club looks to future as it celebrates 150th anniversary
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The Links are a quintessential part of the Nairn townscape and a key part of that wider landscape is the picturesque building sitting in front of the splashpad and Strathnairn Beach Café.
This pavilion, dating back to the early 1990s and the third to occupy the site since 1904, is home to Nairn County Cricket Club, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
“The earliest records of cricket being played in Nairn date back to 1842, however in 1874 two existing teams, Nairn Union and Nairn Mechanics, came together to establish Nairn County Cricket Club,” said committee member Tim Hyatt, who together with teammate Nick Day has been looking back at the archives and sharing the fascinating story of the club with the broader community on social media.
Could Croy Primary School close down?
Police chief misled Alistair Wilson's family
The club boasts a rich history as one of the founding members of the North of Scotland Cricket Association (NoSCA), formed in 1893. The club went on to win its first NoSCA league title in 1906, winning a further eight times between 1923 and 1939. After three titles taken home in the 1950s, the last two titles date back to 1961 and 1971.
“Back in the day, you would get up from your spot on the Links on a match day to get ice cream, and you would find it occupied by someone else by the time you got back,” Mr Hyatt said about the club’s days as a major draw.
Several players shone not only in regional competitions but at international level: in 1991 Mike Allingham made his Scotland side debut, making 21 appearances between then and 1999. More recently Adrian Neill first played for Scotland in 2019 and is still involved to this day.
“Another great moment for the club was when a NoSCA team hosted the Australian side in 1934, and Nairn players such as Major K.S. Clarke – the longest serving captain of Nairn County CC, from 1923 to 1947 – B. Sinclair and W. Macrae played against cricket legend Don Bradman. It also had a ladies team between 1934 and 1940,” Tim continued.
While getting people interested in the history of the club, it is the future that members want to safeguard.
Mr Day said: “It’s clear from photographs and books that have been kept that the club was always very prominent in the community – the numbers of people who came to watch and those who came to play, the level of detail people went into when matches were reported.”
The plan is to proactively in reaching out to the public including potential players, starting with the younger generations.
“This is such a really friendly and welcoming club,” Mr Day said. “We would like some more adult players, but that’s great for the now: the future has to be about attracting younger players, attracting children, and we’ve spoken about how to get into local schools and possibly run cricket sessions and introduce children to it.
“It would also be amazing to have women and girls getting involved. In general, we’d like for more people to come and try cricket – there is a social aspect to it that cannot be compared to any other sport, it gives you time to stop and speak to other players.”
From April onwards the club runs outdoor nets and training sessions on the Links ground – on Tuesdays and Thursdays for adults and Wednesdays for juniors, between 5pm and 7pm.
To mark the 150th anniversary a cricket festival is being organised for July 14.
Mr Hyatt said: “We’re still gathering numbers of current players, but also past players. We also want to try and see if we can get some ex-Scotland cricketers to come along.
“We just want to try and make it a really big focus on that day and hopefully the sun will shine and we’ll have some real fun cricket with a celebratory dinner in the evening. It would be amazing to get a good crowd to come down here to watch and feel part of the event. Again maybe one or two might have an interest for the future.”
If you are interested in giving cricket a go, email tim_hyatt@msn.com
