Pavilion Diamond Jubilee Update 

The Green has seen a few cricket legends in its time  … Don Topley, Ian Pont, Kevin Smith … but none more so than England captain Sir Len Hutton who opened our pavilion on 25 June 1960.  It was a fitting reward for President Rex Beard and colleagues who had worked tirelessly for years to make their dream of a pavilion at The Green come true.

In the absence of any cricket we’ll be digging through the archives to tell this incredible story from letters, pictures and even an unpaid bar tab from John Stonehouse written on velum.  When many other small cricket clubs have folded in the past sixty years, EAGCC has thrived due partly to the rock-solid base provided for us all those years ago. 

But we’re starting bang up to date with the mixed news that the large tree behind the pavilion has been cut down.  The Green has impeccable credentials as the World’s First Carbon Neutral Cricket Club (yes, really … lots more on this too) so will be replacing this tree with six more – one for each decade our pavilion has graced the heath.

The reason for the felling was the damage caused by the tree taking 250 gallons of water a day out of the clay soil around and under our pavilion.  The clay has shrunk and cracks in the walls are plain to see, but as the soil recovers its strength these will stabilise and can then be repaired.  This problem has been exacerbated by recent extreme weather and the impact of global warming which is with us right here, right now.

The picture shows the stump which any dendrochronologists out there can hopefully date for us.  To encourage a bit of interaction in these Covid lockdown days, for the chance of winning a prize just send an email to info@eagcc.com with a) how old you think the tree was and b) whether you think club secretary Neil Brinded is even older.  

Stay safe.   El Presidenté