Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Cricket is just one in a thriving
stable of sports in one of Britain’s
loveliest locations, Horsham.
Frank Fielding reports on...
The Ward
of Horsham
Driving out of Horsham uphill
towards the A24, it’s easy to slip
past the narrow turning into
Cricketfield Road.
But, if you have done so, you’ll have
missed one of the most joyous sites for
any fan of the sound of leather on willow.
For, tucked away at the end of the
road, lined as it is by smart bungalows, is
Horsham Cricket & Sports Club, whose
home, nestling in the characterful rolling
West Sussex countryside, is acknowledged
to be one of the most beautifully located
grounds in Britain.
Lined by low hills to the west and the
London to Portsmouth mainline railway
to the north, the ground is a hark back
to olden times, when any cricketing fan
could drive straight on to the
surrounding grass verge beyond the
boundary, take out a picnic and gaze
across to the sporting action.
On selected days, steam locomotives
still haul train enthusiasts past the
historic setting, overlooked by the 14th
century spire of St Mary’s church,
positioned at the end of the Causeway,
Horsham’s signature street of timber
framed houses, once owned by the local
merchants.
Amid this setting and strong spring
sunshine strolls Roger Ward, sporting
Rayban sunglasses, every bit the
groundsman in form as he finishes
tending the square during a second
eleven match between Sussex and Surrey.
Nearby, the shed’s open to display his
range of machinery, equipment, seed
and fertiliser. More akin to a three-bay
garage converted from a rustic barn, it
blends perfectly with the tranquil
location and rural feel of the ground.
With him is his assistant, Ben Gibson.
Three years at Horsham, before that at
Brinsbury College, Adversane, West
Sussex, and undertaking an NVQ Level 2
in Sports Turf management, he is
warming to his role.
“It’s a lovely place to work,” says Ben,
whose main responsibility at the ground
is managing the four grass tennis courts,
which sit alongside the five all-weather
ones, as well as the cricket outfield -
Roger focusing on the square with its
sixteen wickets.
Horsham Cricket Club has played at
this magnificent site since the mid 1800s,
and now ranks in the Sussex Premier
League. Although the game was played
in Horsham before 1768, the first record
of a town side was on 8 August 1771,
when the club was created. It shifted
locations over the years before settling at
the present ground in 1851.
The club runs two grounds, four
Saturday teams in the highest leagues