CUPAR CRICKET CLUB HISTORY
Cricket in Cupar before 1884
The game of cricket was introduced to Cupar in the early part of the 19th Century by the troops stationed at the local barracks during the Napoleonic Wars. The earliest matches were played on the Cart Haugh, a green area bounded by the River Eden, Lady Burn and the St. Andrews road, to the east of the town centre.
The local newspaper, the ‘Fife Herald’ recorded the formation of Cupar Cricket Club in 1836, the year before Queen Victoria came to The Throne. Two matches were recorded in 1842 against Dundee, in the second Mr W Horsbrugh hit the first century in the clubs history. The clubs next fixture did not take place for another seven years and over the following decades matches were sporadic, often arranged at short notice and against scratch teams. Among these early opponents were Grange (1853) Edinburgh University (1855), Kirkcaldy (1857) and Carlton (1865). Scores were often low and it was not uncommon for four innings to be completed in one day. In the early 1850’s W. Horsburgh was selected to play for Scotland XXII against an England XI.
Towards the end of the 1860’s Cupar had rivals within its own boundaries. A mechanics Club came into being, as did a club called Thistle, who shared the Cart Haugh with Cupar. By the end of the decade Cupar has established itself as one of Fife’s premier teams but inconsistency saw the clubs fortune slump to the point that they managed only one victory in 1871. Three years later Cupar were shot out for just 3 runs by Abbey Park of St. Andrews.
The fortunes of the club continued to be erratic with improved results in 1879, which saw Cupar play Arbroath who remain their oldest opponents outside the Kingdom. 1880-82 saw only a handful of fixtures with none in 1883, with the clubs immediate future seeming in the balance.
Established in 1884
In the early part of 1884 there was talk of a club revival. Fred Horsburgh (son of the clubs first centurian) returned to Cupar the previous year and was hunting for a permanent and more suited home for the club. A field, in fact a cow field, to the west of the town behind Bonvil House although not very level (as it remains today!) was thought to have possibilities. Work ensued which resulted in a playable ground by the beginning of the 1884 season. The first match took place on 3rd May between the Clubs first and second XI’s, the following week, St Johnstone of Perth became the first visiting club. The match was hardly a high scoring affair with the hosts skittled out for 24, only for their visitors to collapse for 16 courtesy of the bowling of Messrs. Horsburgh and Matthews. This bowling attack took 96 wickets between them in this inaugural season, with Mitchell the clubs top scorer with 162 runs at an average of 16.2 for the season. The season ended with 10 victories, a tie, two draws and only two defeats.
Much work took place in the closed season to convert what was effectively still a cow field into a cricket ground. This included levelling part of the outfield and the laying of a square. In 1885 the club appointed Ivan Carlisle as its first professional and one year and two weeks after the first fixture the new ground was proudly opened with Forfarshire providing the opposition. The visitors struggled and were all out for 67, however Cupar struggled to reach this modest target and were dismissed for 50.
The 1885 season was less successful than the clubs first season and to compound matters two of the clubs best players moved away from the town before the start of the 1886 season. The following seasons saw Cupar’s fortunes fluctuate and by the end of the century they had employed 10 professionals, in contrast to local rivals Forfarshire and Arbroath who benefited from greater stability.
The early part of the twentieth century saw club records tumble with Hirst, the Uddingston’s pro scoring 201 not out at Cupar in 1901, four seasons later D.S.Cooper set a club record scoring an undefeated 207 at Forfarshire. Both records remain in tact to this day.
In 1910 the old Bonvil Park was renamed Duffus Park when it was bought by and gifted to the town by Dr Barclay of Bonvil. The club’s fortunes were brutally interrupted by the Great War in 1914 and five dark years passed before peace and the noble game of cricket returned to this island and the town of Cupar.
CUPAR CRICKET CLUB CAPTAINS
1884- F. Horsbrugh
1885- H. Matthew
1886-7 Rev. T. Pearson
1888-90 S. Wyatt
1891 T.W. Aitken
1892-3 W.S. Birrell
1894 H.B. Ashton
1895-1902 J.M. Ramsay
1903 D. Lees
1904 J.M. Ramsay
1905-6 W.S. Birrell
1907-8 H.A. Newman
1909-11 W.S. Birrell
1912 W.C. Coulter
1913-14 W.S. Birrell
1915-18 The Great War
1919 W.G. Innes
1920 W.C. Coulter
1921-22 Col. M.E. Lindsay
1923 J.O. Ramsay
1924-7 Col. M.E. Lindsay
1928-9 H.L. Stewart
1930-8 J.D.G. Reid
1939-40 H.L. Stewart
1941-45 World War II
1945-6 H.L. Stewart
1947 W.C.G. Peterkin
1948-54 H.L. Stewart
1955-6 R. Houston
1957-9 D. Bell
1960-4 W.Y. Bell
1965 J.D. Garland
1966-7 P. McLaren
1968-9 W.Y. Bell
1970 J.D. Garland
1971-2 J.C.H. Burniston
1973-4 W.Y. Bell
1975-7 P. McLaren
1978-9 J.M. Eagles
1981-3 D.C. Bell
1984 G.J. Laing
1985-6 D.S. Kane
1987-8 D.H. Morrison
1989-91 D.C. Bell
1992-5 M.S, Boyd
1996-7 D. Gray
1998-9 R.E. Morris
2000-1 J. McLaren
2002-6 A. McAulay
2007- P. Trayner
CENTURY MAKERS
| century_makers_for_cupar.doc |