Radyr cricket club - Established 1890 - A history

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The club was formed in 1890 when a group of young men in the village of Radyr got together to play cricket. In those days the club was based on the Rectory Field, which is today the area of land which includes the Church and the tennis club. In 1908 the largest local landowner, the Earl of Plymouth, whose descendant is still our landlord, built a new sports complex which included a cricket ground and pavilion, which was formally opened on Whit Monday of that year. 

The period before the First World War was a boom time for the club. The numbers of village residents had almost doubled and the side had become increasingly successful. RCC had an extensive fixture list, often playing fifteen games a season against teams drawn from local factories, communities, churches and professions. In fact on a number of occasions a Second XI took the field. 

The outbreak of war however changed all this. More than fifty pre war players went off to fight and six made the ultimate sacrifice. All of these men are remembered on the War Memorial in the centre of the village and each Remembrance Sunday the club lays a wreath to honour them and other club members who have fallen in combat. Cricket was still played throughout the war but really only to help the convalescence of men recovering from their wounds at the war time hospitals in Llandaff, Morganstown and Whitchurch.

The Armistice in 1918 did not lead to an immediate resumption of play, as a great number of the older players and committee members who hadn’t fought, had also passed away. The next few years were particularly difficult as the club was unable to fill the playing gaps. So in 1928 a merger was proposed with Garth Cricket Club who played in the recreational fields in Morganstown, and Radyr and Garth Cricket Club was formed, playing at the current ground. The club prospered, despite the economic struggles of the 1930’s.

In 1939, RCC (no-one really knows when the Garth part of the club’s name disappeared) faced the challenges of war for the second time in twenty years. Players were called up and the ground also did its bit: allotments were dug along the approaches to the ground, and the playing area was given over to pasture. Interestingly even though cricket wasn’t played throughout the war, when the Americans arrived in 1942 onwards, they cut a baseball diamond, and on occasions played their national game.

Again as with the end of the First World War, the surrender of the Axis forces did not signal a return to prosperous times, with the club in a parlous state. However thanks to various stalwarts the village galvanised with a determination to see cricket played once again. The pavilion, which had become a cowshed, was restored, a new committee was formed and the ladies of the club were resolute in their fund raising efforts. As a consequence matches began in 1948 with a full fixture list the following year. The club’s twenty five members played forty five matches that year and RCC was back.

The post war period into the early 1950’s was difficult as National Service often denuded the club of its best young players, making the fulfilment of fixtures a challenge. For that reason membership was widened to include those who worked in the Parish as well as residents of Radyr and Morganstown. 

This change, allied to the recovery from the ordeals of war and austerity, meant a prosperous time for the club as it became a social hub. The cricket also improved and in 1956 a member scored a century for the first time. By the mid 1960’s the club was fielding two sides on most weekends: in 1967 the fixture card shows forty three games for the First XI and twenty one for the Second XI. 

However despite the above optimism, playing numbers fell so dramatically in just a few years, that by 1970 the club was forced into another amalgamation, this time with the Overseas Cricket Club. They were a nomadic club who played all their fixtures away from home and the fit worked perfectly, giving the club the playing boost it so desperately needed. With numbers now increasing and playing strength enhanced it was hoped a corner had been turned. But the tribulations were not yet at an end. In the middle of the 1973 season, whilst the club was on tour in Oxford, the news broke that the old timber pavilion built in 1908 had been destroyed by fire. This left the club without a clubhouse and really no income or savings to build a replacement. Following some discussions a plan was enacted to put the whole club on a more robust financial footing. As well as raising money from any avenue possible it was decided that part of the solution was to make better use of the ground. Therefore in 1974 the Radyr Athletic Club was formed with Cardiff Corinthians AFC as a partner who would play football on the ground during the winter months. They are still our partners to this day. The efforts at fund raising bore fruit and a new pavilion was opened in 1975 on the footprint of the old.

In 1976 there was another first for the club, as it realised that the days of friendlies were disappearing and it began playing league cricket for the first time. Since then the opposition has been much the same though the names of the Leagues has gone through various iterations. We are now members of the South East Wales Cricket League. In 1992 the club formed a Third XI and used various grounds in the area until the second ground, contiguous with the main one, was officially opened in 1998. In 2010 a Fourth XI was formed and these two sides use the pitch on alternate Saturdays. In 2020 a Fifth XI was proposed but the Covid pandemic delayed their start until the 2021 season.

Throughout this period the club has improved its facilities to what is seen today. The permanent out door net facility was completed in 2012, which also allowed the club to buy and store mobile covers. In 2021 these were replaced by a larger version and the old ones placed on the second ground. In 2015 an electronic scoreboard was built which was upgraded in 2021. However all of these achievements pall into insignificance compared to the works carried out between 2019 and 2021: here the club embarked on a project which transformed the ground. Firstly an extension to the pavilion was built which gives two state of the art changing rooms for RCC players, umpire facilities and a disabled toilet. Secondly taking advantage of the hiatus caused by the pandemic, to build a pathway behind the club and erect fences to help both members and walkers to safely carry out their recreational pursuits.

At the end of 2019 there were three promotions from the four sides, with the coup de grace following a few weeks later as the club’s Under 19s won the Welsh Cup. The culmination of a huge amount of work, by so many people to bring youngsters through the age groups to that particular point. However only a few months later in February 2020, Storm Barbara hit south Wales, the Taff broke its banks and the ground was flooded. That was followed by Covid and that dreadful word “lockdown”, when the world seemed to change forever: it appeared that the restoration works would never happen but thankfully the members found a way. Looking now at the ground, it is a cricketing paradise and it is hard to believe that a tsunami ever tore through this peaceful idyll.

Since the flood the club has grown exponentially and now runs six senior sides on a Saturday, with the desire to create a third ground on the adjoining land utmost in our thoughts. The First XI finished in their highest ever league position and qualifying for the South Wales Premier League is now not a pipe dream. The period has also seen a massive increase in women and girls cricket with RCC leading the charge in south Wales. The club now runs two hardball sides which in 2023 were winners and runners up in their respective divisions: also the Soft Ball section goes from strength to strength. There will be an Under 15s girls XI in the 2024 season and cricket is now most definitely a game for everyone.

RCC is the ultimate in community recreational cricket clubs and whilst people come and go, the club just rolls on and it seems that progress is made every year in one form or another. Hard work, good cricket and a lot of fun sum us up and this has been the watchwords since 1890: hopefully it will continue indefinitely.

Christopher Hitchings - Chairman