The first recorded cricket match played at Shepshed, or Sheepshed as it was then known, was in August 1801. Whitwick met Sheepshed on Crophurst Plain near the old Charnwood Forest Canal Reservoir at Blackbrook.

Whitwick won by an innings, scoring 47 to Sheepshed's 21 and 14.

 

The stockingers of Sheepshed practiced their cricket on spare afternoons becoming much more proficient against neighbouring villages than in their first showing. In 1869, they formed the Sheepshed Cricket Club under the patronage of Squire Ambrose Charles de Lisle. The Squire became first president, and often turned out for the team with his son, Everard de Lisle. The club changed its name to Shepshed Cricket Club in 1888.

 

The club has been indebted to the Squire de Lisle and his successors, who have supported it over the years. When the proposed route of the M1 between London and Yorkshire was moved further east at the beginning of the 1960's, the club almost folded since the motorway would have forged straight through its Butt Hole cricket ground. The Squire offered the alternative site at Morley Lane, where the club continues to play.

 

In its earliest days, players changed in tents or behind bushes.

Refreshment usually consisted of ale at 11 pence (4.5p) per gallon.

Rules were introduced and strict discipline enforced. The club subscription for each season was 5 shillings, a half-crown to be paid before practising, and the rest within a month. Any member who failed to appear when selected was fined sixpence, unless he gave two clear days' notice to the secretary. A member quitting the game before its conclusion without the consent of his captain was also fined sixpence.

Any player not paying his fines within a week was debarred from practising.

 

Originally there was only one team. Players had to compete seriously for places. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, several Sheepshed players became professional, so the local side was often without its best players. In 1895, the club joined the North Leicestershire Cricket League. A second XI joined the league in 1898. Currently there are four teams, two playing in the neighbouring Nottinghamshire League with the prospect of a fifth team being formed.

 

Disbanded during the 1st World War, teams continued to play during the 2nd World War. A water diviner, F Barker, found water near the new pavilion at Butt Hole. The well provided water not only for preparing the wicket but also tea-making and washing.

 

Shepshed Town's 1st XI has played in Division 3 of the Leicestershire League since 1968 although in recent years, progress has been made and 2009 sees them playing in Division 1. The 2nd XI has been fairly consistent in its membership of Division 6, with brief appearances in Divisions 5 and 4. 2009 will see them playing in Division 5

 

This potted history merely touches on the recorded history of the club.

I am indebted to the centenary booklet issued in 1969, which records great detail of players and performances. Much of the information in that booklet was compiled by Mr Ralph Smalley, who was a life member of the club until his death in 2003.

 

Reproduced by kind permission of Sue Hutton.  

 

2009 saw the 1st XI playing in Division 2 of the Everards (Leicestershire) League with a mid-table position to secure 2nd Div cricket for 2010, the 2nd XI secured 5th Div status for 2010 and a change of rules sees a 3rd XI appearing in the Everards Leagues for the first time.

2009 also saw the formation of our first women’s team.

 

Another major step saw the club hosting the Shepshed Community Bonfire for the first time. Judging by the crowds that turned up on a less than perfect night it could well be here to stay.

 

 

 

Minor updates by Phil Smith

HISTORY