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Last modified: 26 October 2026 · Build 1
[An extract from Graham Jackson's unpublished book, The Life and Times of London Cricket, reproduced with his permission. It first appeared at the end of the September 2026 Chronicles, following Graham's letter about Trinity Fields and Emanuel School.]
Established in 1926, Old Emanuel cricket club were one of the seventeen founder members of the Surrey Championship in 1968. In the first ten years of the Championship, their 1st XI was placed eleventh overall, with their 2nd XI bringing up the rear. To a degree it could be said that perhaps the club was more interested in those early years in enjoying their cricket than playing for a win.
Derek Newton was Chairman of the Surrey Championship from 1971 to 1973, and Vic Dodds was perhaps the most recognisable player at the club: capped by the Club Cricket Conference in 1974, its President in 1995, and Chairman of Cricket at Surrey County Cricket Club from 1996 until 2001. Ian Payne, another 1st XI cricketer, played first-class cricket for Surrey from 1977 until 1984 and for Gloucestershire from 1985 until 1986.
From the start until 2021, Old Emanuel played at Blagdon’s, the school’s ground at New Malden. Obviously the Great War and the Second World War intervened; indeed, during the second conflict the school was evacuated to Petersfield, in much the same way and at the same time as other schools that left London to escape the Blitz.
For cricket, the school invariably employed a coach during the summer, who took up residence at Blagdon’s. It is interesting to recall that on 14 May 1988, while Wimbledon FC were recording a shock FA Cup victory against Liverpool at Wembley, Wimbledon Cricket Club was suffering a shock defeat against Old Emanuel at Blagdon’s, at the hands of Dave Gilbert, the Australian seam bowler, who ran through their batting.
Emanuel School itself is interesting in that over its long history it has alternated between being a single-sex school and co-educational. In 1995 the school returned to co-education, and today it is one of the leading schools in the country providing equal opportunities for boys and girls.
However, this decision was eventually to influence the way the school approached physical education. For an independent school, it has always struggled to provide sporting facilities to suit all pupils. The cricket square at Emanuel School – and a good surface it is too – doubles as a playground. After co-education returned, it was clear that something needed to change to enhance the sporting facilities.
Eventually the lease that Old Emanuel cricket club had at Blagdon’s was coming up for renewal, but the school decided to terminate the arrangement so that it could make the necessary changes at Blagdon’s to provide more sporting opportunities, for girls in particular.
As with many Old Boys sides, in order to remain competitive both the cricket and rugby sections had pursued an “open” membership policy. With Blagdon’s, where most of the action was, situated so far from the school, the number of former pupils going on to play for the Old Boys sides continued to decline until the link had effectively ceased to exist.
As the deadline came closer, not helped by the Covid pandemic in 2020, both sections struggled to find alternatives. Eventually the rugby section found a suitable home close by, but the cricket section, despite their best endeavours, were left stranded. One possible option was the abandoned ground at Tamworth Lane, Mitcham, which had been used by Westminster City School, their sister school, and also for football and cricket by Old Westminster Citizens, but the financial commitment needed to resurrect this ground made it unviable.
Old Emanuel cricket club enjoyed their last match at Blagdon’s on 4 September 2021, when they edged out Kempton in a close encounter by three runs. So after ninety-five years, the cricket club were left without a home.
As negotiations had broken down, with the club entering into an agreement with Old Tenisonians at Motspur Park, the search for a ground continued into the autumn. Salvation came from an unexpected source – and, some say, direction. When the 2022 fixtures were released for both the Surrey Championship and the Surrey County League, it was realised that, by a complete fluke, one club that ran only one side in the Surrey County League had fixtures that dovetailed exactly with Old Emanuel’s, so that the Old Emanuel 1st XI could play on their ground whenever their only eleven were playing away.
This was, of all places, at Ewhurst, in deepest Surrey, not far from the border with Sussex! The club agreed terms, and their 2nd XI were then able to find grounds on a piecemeal basis for their own requirements. When 2023 arrived, Ewhurst had withdrawn their only side from the Surrey County League, preferring to play on Sundays, and Old Emanuel were able to play all their home matches in the rural setting of Ewhurst.
This arrangement carried on throughout 2024 but, without any financial support from the school, Old Emanuel cricket club effectively withdrew from the Surrey Championship at the end of that season.
Today, Old Emanuel cricket club exists in name only. An open letter from their President, Ian Payne, dated 1 March 2024, makes it clear that the club was without players or a ground in advance of its centenary in 2026. With the introduction of the Surrey Cricket Championship in 2025, a newly formed club containing the rump of the Old Emanuel players was permitted to take their place, named, rather strangely, Merton Mavericks cricket club, in a groundsharing arrangement at Pyrford.
However, this is a totally independent club. In 2026 Merton Mavericks were expected to play their 1st XI home fixtures at Pyrford again and, given that they have to share Pyrford’s ground, their 2nd XI would have to hire elsewhere. In 2025 the new club struggled to find a second ground, temporarily settling at Tentelow Lane, Southall, Middlesex, north of the M4 – hardly a satisfactory solution. This was the former home of Osterley cricket club, who suddenly folded just before the start of the 2025 season, their demise effectively linked to the consequences of a pavilion fire in 2022 and a dispute with the local council, who owned the ground.
In the meantime, work is now complete at Emanuel School’s Blagdon’s ground, which now has an artificial hockey pitch, three hard tennis courts, cricket net facilities and a repositioned cricket square (probably predominantly for girls’ cricket), for the sole benefit of the school.
Although the resurrection of Old Emanuel cricket club to play league cricket again seems highly unlikely, given the virtually complete disconnection from the school, it is possible that a team may be cobbled together from former pupils to play the occasional match against the school, and possibly to compete in the Cricketer Trophy in future years. That did not happen in their centenary year.
— Chronicles, September 2026: Graham Jackson's letter on Trinity Fields, and on Emanuel going co-educational.
Do you have memories or photographs of Old Emanuel cricket at Blagdon’s? Please let me know.
Philip Boys (“History Boys”)