Our Story
According to Parish records, Hanbury has has a cricket club in one form on another since the mid 1800's. During the period 1894-1913, the ground was at New Lodge and the clubroom was the Parish Room. However, the owner of New Lodge, a Mr. E Arliss would not allow practices to take place but luckily a Mr. Keeling offered his field with the provison that any damage was made good and that no intoxicating liquor was brought on to the ground.
The modern history of the Club starts in 1978 when a friendly game was organised between the adjoining villages of Hanbury and Draycott in the Clay to raise money for the Parish Church of St. Werburgh's, sparking the idea for a combined club. The original fixture was resurrected as an annual fixture in 2007 with the teams playing for the St. Werburgh Trophy.
The Hanbury and Draycott in the Clay Cricket Club was officially founded in 1979, starting as a team playing friendly cricket matches against other village clubs, playing its home games at Marchington Cricket Club. The name was changed to the now more familiar Draycott and Hanbury Cricket Club in 1984.
The Club leased a patch of land from the Duchy of Lancaster's Estate on Knightsfield Road, Hanbury in 1982. The land was drained and seeded that year and the Club played their first home game at the new ground on 17th July 1983 versus Etwall Cricket Club and the venue is still our home to this day.
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Sheep grazing on the 'outfield'.
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Job 1 complete: Remove the sheep!
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Work begins, creating the drainage routes.
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I've seen better outfields....
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Digging up for clay.
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Hardcore and foundations ready for the pavilion.
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The pavilion, erected in it's final home.
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The pavilion was also installed in 1983 and has had a couple of extensions added in 1990 and 2019, along with the changing room expansion and complete remodelling in 2008.
1st Team
Competitive cricket started to be played in 1985 when the Club joined the Derby & District Cricket League. Steady progress was made through the division with Draycott and Hanbury eventually crowned Division 1 Champions in 1989.
In 1991 the Club joined the Burton and District Cricket League and this started the most successful period in the Club's history. The 1st XI were crowned Division 2 Champions in 1992 and then Division 1 Champions the following season. The 1st XI quickly established themselves in the Burton and District Cricket League Premier Division, becoming Premier League Champions in 2001, 2003 and 2004 attracting overseas players from the Barbados Cricket Team along the way between 1995 and 2005.
The Club won the prestigious local 60-over a side Burton Brewery Cup in 1999 and were Semi-Finalists in the National Village Cup in 2003. In 2005 Draycott and Hanbury CC joined the Derbyshire County Cricket League, playing in Division 3 South.
2nd Team
The Club entered a 2nd XI in the Burton and District Cricket League in 1993 playing in Division 3b. They were Division 3 Champions in 1996 and reached the heights of Division 1 with promotion in 1998. After successive relegations in 2004 and 2005 the 2nd XI were withdrawn from league cricket in 2006.
During the 2018 season the Club also resurrected the 2nd XI, playing in Division 10 Southwest of the DCCL and then Division 9 South during the 2019 season. Unfortunately due to player commitments and the global Covid pandemic, the 2nd XI was again withdrawn from the league after the 2019 season, but the team was back again for the start of the 2023 season.
A New Beginning
After the 2006 season there was a major restructuring of the teams with the majority of the 1st XI going their separate ways, seeing the Club begin 2007 in Division 7 West of the Derbyshire County Cricket League. Over the next few years the Club has seen regular promotion and unfortunate relegation through the different leagues.
There were promotions in 2007, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2023 and relegations in 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2021. As a result Draycott and Hanbury Cricket Club will line up in Division 5 South of the Derbyshire County Cricket League at the start on the 2024 season.
Ladies and Girls
In 2019 we started a Ladies section within the Club which concentrated on playing at Ladies Softball festivals around the local area. We have now expanded by running a girls only Dynamos Cricket programme in 2023 and entering into a girls u12's softball league in 2024.
Junior Teams
Draycott and Hanbury Cricket Club have had junior sides playing in the Burton and District Junior Leagues since 1998. The Club had worked hard on the junior section in recent years and we can now boast teams playing in a number of differrent age groups - Kwik Cricket, under 11's, under 13's and under 15's. Also, for the 2022 season we ran an under 17's side alongside the other teams. In addition to these teams the Club have also participated in the ECB All Stars programme since 2017, which runs for 8 weeks and is aimed at 5 to 8 year olds and in 2023 started the Dynamos programme for 8-11 year old.
Social Teams
Along side the competitive cricket teams we also run a number of social teams for all abilities. These include the Sunday Friendly team, the very social Beer team.
Come Join Us!
We are always on the look out for new players, no matter what their ability, age or sex. We have a team that can accommodate you! If you're interested in joining the Club please use the Contact Us page.
