By CONRAD SUTCLIFFE
TEIGNMOUTH’S name will appear on cricket fixture lists for the first time in more than a decade when the 2021 season gets going.
Shaldon Optimists, the Tolchards Devon League side that plays in the town, has changed its name to Teignmouth & Shaldon CC.
The club began life playing on the Herne Field in Shaldon in 1995 and, after playing friendly and South Devon League cricket, joined the Devon League in 2006.
Joining the Devon League was the catalyst for growth that saw the establishment of a second team, the creation of a youth section and the need for a larger ground.
The Optimists moved across the River Teign from Shaldon to the Hazeldown Oval in 2010 and have played their league matches in Teignmouth since 2011. Three promotions have taken them to the C Division of the Tolchards Devon Cricket League.
Glynn Ballman, the Shaldon chairman, said his committee colleagues felt the time was right to recognise the Teignmouth element of the club and members agreed during the recent on-line annual meeting.
“There has been a growing opinion amongst our club members at Shaldon Optimists CC that our name no longer accurately reflects either our physical home or our strong ties to Teignmouth.
“This led to a proposal that we change our name to Teignmouth & Shaldon Cricket Club.
“In proposing the name change there was a desire to honour the heritage of the club and hence we will retain Shaldon in our name and will always considers ourselves, through our nickname, to be The Optimists.”
Gary Abraham, the club’s vice-chairman, said the motion to change the name was passed unanimously, not that he was surprised.
“If we speak to lots of people in Teignmouth they don't even know there is a cricket club there,” said Abraham
“We just feel that we've been in Teignmouth now for 10 years and have no real affiliation to Shaldon, only our history.”
The first Teignmouth Cricket Club was formed in 1895 and from 1947 played on the Bitton Park rugby ground.
John Lockyer, who played for the former Teignmouth club, said the Bitton Park layout was large enough to accommodate a cricket pitch before a car park was constructed on the estuary side of the ground.
“The pavilion was on the bank behind one set of rugby posts and boundary on the river side stretched almost to the railway line,” said Lockyer.
“We played some great games at Bitton Park, perhaps the greatest of them all when Gloucestershire came down in the early 1970s to play a benefit game for Graham Wiltshire.
“Wiltshire was a coach and ex-player with Gloucestershire and the game was arranged by a friend of a friend.
“Admission was a pound and lots of people took the afternoon off work to come down and watch.
“Those who played in the game will never forget it, especially Dave Williams. The Pakistan batsman Sadiq Mohammed was one of the best in the world at the time and Dave got him out first ball.”
“Another Test player, Zaheer Abbas, also played and he got a hundred.”
England rugby captain John Scott was among the players Teignmouth were able to call on during the 1970s. He lived in Exeter and was a student teacher at St Luke’s College in the city.
Teignmouth were among the founder members of the Devon League’s second division in 1978 and by then were playing home games on the sports field at the town’s community college.
Teignmouth became Teignbridge CC in 1985, reviving a cricket club name that died out in 1913, and the renamed club carried on playing at the school for two seasons before moving to the Sandy Lane ground in Dawlish.
Dawlish & Teignbridge emerged from the art-deco pavilion for the 1993 season, but within a year the club renamed itself Dawlish & Teignmouth.
“At that time the Teignbridge name meant nothing other than being the name of a council district and the club wanted to reflect its history,” said Robin Lambert, who was the club secretary at the time.
Dawlish & Teignmouth CC played on until the 2008 when a shortage of people willing to run the club led to its closure. They make it to the end of the season and wound up after playing Ottery, a game they lost by 37 runs. D&T submitted registrations for the 2009 season, but did not make it to the starting line in May.
Teignmouth CC may be long gone, but its memory lives on in tangible form at Stokeinteignhead CC’s ground.
Several years ago the old cricket pavilion at Bitton Park was dismantled, transported to Netherton Park and rebuilt on the ground.
Do you have any memories of the former Teignmouth Cricket Club from the days when they played at Bitton Park? Were you at the big game against Gloucestershire? Do you have any photos or mementos from that game? If so Conrad Sutcliffe would like to hear from you. Contact him via email at conradcopy@btinternet.comfor a chat.
