Club History And Future Plans
Early Developments
John Fisher Cricket section was established a little more than fifty years ago. At one time players were former pupils or teachers at the school. This contributed to the strong camaraderie and loyalty which has always been prevalent throughout the section. For some years the section has been totally open with no qualifying school connections necessary. All cricketers, regardless of their background, are welcome. The current playing membership includes solicitors, postal workers, accountants, insurance brokers, barmen, computer software personnel, journalists, mature students and everything in between. Historical records show that early fixtures were played at Grange Park, Old Coulsdon, next to the Tudor Rose public house. The section was designed mainly for Sunday cricket, there being no Saturday fixtures and only one Sunday XI was fielded. The majority of players represented local clubs such as Beddington & Purley on Saturdays anfd then switched their allegiance to the Fisher team on Sundays. Players from well established Saturday clubs playing Surrey championship cricket meant that the Fisher Sunday team was strong and capable of taking on opposition of the highest calibre.
Ground Purchase & New Clubhouse
Fisher moved to their current headquarters,which are situated at
Limpsfied Road Warlingham ,opposite
Verdayne Gardens (see Location Map), a mere quarter of an hour from Croydon,in
1954,when an opportunity to purchase their own ground from Newmarks was eagerly
snapped up. After the acquisition of the ground, members voluntarily spent a
considerable amount of their spare time gradually transforming a field, which
had been previously used for cattle
grazing and pig farming, into a football & cricket arena. A part time
groundsman was employed and the first ‘real home’ fixtures were played there
while a second XI was added in 1959 and occasional Saturday games started in
1961.
A milestone in Fisher’s history was reached when on 7th October 1972 more than 800 people
attended the opening of the new clubhouse.At last a dream had been achieved, a
clubhouse comparable to any in the region had been built, early steering
committees refusing to believe that
the Old Boys could never finance such a scheme. The new facilities brought an almost inevitable wave of optimism to the section. The Saturday XI
began to play regular fixtures
throughout the season and in 1973 a Sunday third eleven, which consisted mainly
of schoolboys, was started. The
Sunday 1st XI's fixture list was becoming increasingly strong and
regular opponents included Beddington, Bromley, Purley, St.Lawrence &
Highland Court, Frindsbury, Richmond, Unilever, Chestfied and Wanstead.
League Cricket
In 1977 a decision was reached at the AGM that application would be made
to join the Surrey Slazenger (now Kuckaburra) League. Many established members
were not in favour of league cricket and expressed that opinion in no uncertain
terms at that meeting. Younger members of the section however were keen to play
a more competitive type of cricket and considered that league cricket would
provide an injection of enthusiasm to the section while improving our standards.
It was also felt that opposition of a reasonable standard was becoming
more difficult to find since clubs of note were, themselves, entering into
league cricket. Hindsight has strongly reinforced the decision to apply for
Slazenger league membership.
The Saturday XI was duly elected to the league and in its first season
finished tenth out of fifteen in
Division Three, then the lowest division. Experience of league cricket was
quickly gained and quality players
were aquired, resulting in the club finishing as runners up in Division three in
1980.
Success followed success and a 1981 saw the club finish as unbeaten champions of
Division Two ,setting a league record by winning all fifteen consecutive games.
The same year also saw the start of the Saturday 2nd XI .Again 1982
was a resounding success, with Fisher leading the Division One title race for
much of the season until a couple of defeats suffered late in the season
saw them finish as runners up in the top division. From mid 1980 to towards the
end of summer 1982, 27 consecutive games in all were won and Fisher had
immediately established themselves as a highly respected local side.
Recent Developments
Fortunes have plummeted and risen since then involving several
relegations as important players left and were not replaced, the kind of
fortunes most clubs experience at some stage. In 1991 from a low point which brought relegation to Division Four, highs
have again been achieved with subsequent promotions. A sustained period in the 2nd
Division (now of Five) was followed in 1999 by relegation but Fisher bounced
back to the 2nd Division again in 2000.It is our ambition to regain
our First division status .As part of the overall plan to revitalise and upgrade
Fisher cricket, sight screens and perimeter fencing were installed in 1997,a
heavy duty roller was purchased in 1998 and upgrading work has been going on in
relation to the square for some five years such that scores in excess of 220
runs are regularly reached in 45 limited over fixtures.
Also in the late 1990s,Fisher took initiatives to maximize the use of
their excellent facilities and to increase income. Local side Whatley Vale now
share the use of the square with us for their Sunday fixtures and it is a compliment and testimony to the quality of our cricketing venue that Purley C.C. now play Eve Surrey Championship cricket games there on Saturdays.
Fisher want to both mount an assault on the Division Two championship and at some futurestage perhaps to enter a Saturday 2nd XI in the Kuckaburra league.
Please see the CONTACT US section of the website for how to contact us if you are interested in joining us.
