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KIBWORTH CRICKET CLUB - THE GROUNDS


We know that the club has used at least five grounds during its life of over 150 years. The locations of four of these are shown below on a modern map of the two villages.



Number 1: Uniknown (1847 - 1850)

Number 2: The Rectory Field (1857 -

Number 3: Harborough Road ( - 1883)

Number 4: Fleckney Road A (1883 to 2005)

Number 5: Fleckney Road B (2006 to date)


Unknown

The Leicester Journal records the first meeting of the club for the 1848 season on 1st May and describes "the ground on which they play(which belongs to the rector the (Rev. E.S. Bathurst) has been much improved during the winter, and some good sport may be expected this season.". Its precise location is unknown.



The Rectory Field

     

This was the field used by the 1857 reformed club and belonged to the Rev. M. Osborn. Now covered by the Rectory Lane housing development the Rectory field was the first home of the club for which we have a definate location. 


Harborough Road

This ground was located to by the side of the Leicester to London railway line near to where the sewage treatment plant was later placed. Owned by the Grammer school and "in the occupation of Mr Jack Waterfield" 
who used to play for the KCC in the 1860s, it was used from an unknown date until the club moved to Fleckney Road. It would seem that the rent for the ground was regularly increased and these rates became more and more difficult for the club to meet. A pavilion built of railway sleepers was built on the field and remained long after the club had departed, its timbers finally being used for firewood in the 1990's.



Fleckney Road A

The ground circa 1940


The club built the Fleckney Road ground at a time when this part of the village was still in its infancy and was refered to by locals as "New Town" (see map below). It was a major undertaking for the club

The aerial photograph below shows a game in progress on the ground at the turn of the Millenium. The letters show;
Fleckney Road A
A: The changing rooms. Originally built as a stand alone tea room in 1946 they were later linked to the new pavilion.

B: The new pavilion. built in the late 1960's it was expanded twice in the 1980's to provide a larger bar and more seating.

C: Equipment shed. Built from the remains of the old pavilion it had a seating area in front widely known as "Critic's corner"

D: Car park. An area of field rented from the local farmer in the late 1990's. Prior to this the ground could host a limited number of car lined along the boundary edge between B&C

E: Location of the 1890's pavilion. This structure served the club for over 60 years before being replaced by B. In the early 1980's the new scorebox was placed here just in front of the Oak tree planted in memory of Stan Bolton.

F: Kibworth Bowl's club. Built in the late 1920's on the site of the defunct tennis court in the corner of  the cricket club, for many years the bowls players of Kibworth had to cope with cricket balls raining onto their immaculate green until they moved to a new location in 2001.



The ground hosted six Leicestershire second XI games during the 1990's.for details see http://cricketarchive.com/Leicestershire/Grounds/2169_sec.html

Article: The old ground remembered


Fleckney Road B

Despite its one hundred years of history the original Fleckney Road ground became obviously inadequate for the club as the millenium approached. The shortness of the straight boundary and refinement of modern bats put cars and homes within easy range of even moderate batsmen. Playing in the "Centenary" Match in 1984 australian Mark Haysman cleared the houses with room to spare and several of lesser ability would pepper rooftops and upper floor windows in the years that followed.
The club looked for alternative sites around the village in particular at the field next to the sports centre on Smeeton Road but always cast hopeful eyes over the large, mostly flat field that lay directly behind the pavilion. When this finally because available early in the new century the club was in a position to put its plans into effect, selling Fleckney Road to the developer David Wilson with the provision that they could continue to use it for two further seasons. A project committee was formed to oversee the construction of a new pavilion and two pitches together with extensive car parking and artificial net facilities. The club took possession of the new pavilion in November 2005 and on 15th of April 2006 opened the new ground with a game against a Leicestershire XI.


Images of Pavilion
    

Aerial Views

At the top is a view of the site at the turn of the millenium with Fleckney Road A to it's right. At this stage the grounds only function was as the 'favourite field' of Ronnie Welton's cattle. The view below, taken in 2006 shows the David Wilson estate emerging from the old ground.

2000 view


2006 view