It is not possible to give an exact date, but cricket has been played at or near to the ground (within 500 yards) at Graburn Way for over 250 years (the present pavilion bears the proud legend, EMCC 1730).
In 1723 the Daily Courant reported a match was played at Molesey Hurst between the Gentlemen of London and the Gentlemen of Surrey, and that after the match the players were entertained at Hampton Court Palace by Frederick, Prince of Wales.
In 1733 there was another reference to the Prince of Wales being present at Molesey Hurst when eleven Surrey men beat eleven Middlesex men. Two years later in June 1735, a cricket match was played at Molesey Hurst where the Gentlemen of Surrey on the Prince of Wales side played the Gentlemen of London (who went on to win the game).
Again in July 1739, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was present at the time" when London met Kingston and Molesey.
A report dated September 9, 1758, read, "Whereas on the 16th and 17th (Wed. and Thurs.) of August last was played a grand match of cricket between eleven gentlemen of London and Surrey against eleven gentlemen of the county of Kent, which was won by the former. An advertisement has appeared in the Daily Advertiser that they will play the same eleven of London and Surrey on Molesey Hurst and Dartford Brent for a guinea a man. We accept the challenge and will play them for 50 guineas a side on condition that they will bring sufficient security that they will abide by what the umpires shall determine and further that they will not ride, run or sculk away."
Two hundred years later East Molesey was again patronized by royalty when in 1949 the Duke of Edinburgh honoured the ground by his presence at the match between East Molesey and the New Zealand touring team. He paid his second visit on Sunday 26 April 1953, for the memorable match between the Club and formidable Australian touring side of that age.
It was memorable for never before had an Australian team appeared on the ground, although in 1890 the Australians did play at East Molesey, on the then new Hurst Park Racecourse. On what was described as a "fiery" wicket, the Hurst Park Club won by 34 runs. There had been pre-match concerns that the pitch was not ready for cricket to be played on. The Club included many famous cricketers of the day such as Alec Hearne, M. Read, W. Chatterton, W. Lockwood, D. Hunter, A. Mold, G. Davidson and W.T. Graburn.
Lt Col Willy Graburn was a remarkable personality - he was club captain from 1908-1920 after which he became club secretary and held every post within the club except president. The pavilion was erected in his memory, which is also honoured by Graburn Way, the road that leads to the club and bounds the ground on the east side. His batting, it was said, ''was always graceful, elegant and stylish'' and had represented Surrey on a couple of occasions.
Another prominent figure in the history of EMCC was B.M. Turner who played a most important role during the forties and fifties in securing the ground as a permanent home for the cricket. He joined east Molesey in 1935 when the club membership totalled 70 and the ground was held on long leases from the Kent family.
Elected a vice president in 1937, Mr Turner urged that an effect be made to secure the freehold. He made several approaches to the then government sponsored body The National Fitness Council for funds. The negotiations dragged on for months, and with the outbreak of the war in 1939, the plans were abandoned.
In 1942 it was learned that the lessors, the Kent family, were planning to sell the freehold, so Mr Turner was asked by the club to negotiate with the owners and to organise an appeal for funds to save this historic ground.
The appeal for the sum of £2026.00 was met with such enthusiasm that the sum was oversubscribed within nine months. The Esher Council generously contributed £250.00 and the New Zealand government gave 100 guineas. An Egyptian gentleman who had played on the ground some 55 years previously sent 25 guineas. The late, great Sir C. Audrey Smith (county cricketer, actor and founder of cricket in Los Angeles) sent a substantial donation to recall hitting four balls of one over into the river. The efforts of B.M. Turner and the committee of the day ensured that the ground was saved for all time. Mr Turner became president of the club in 1945.
A key to the interest displayed by the New Zealand government can be found in paragraph 8 of the Declaration of Trust which reads:
"The Nominees hereby declare that the intention of the club purchasing the property is to provide a Memorial for ever to Frederick Edward Smith of Dunedin, New Zealand and of 13 Kent Road, East Molesey, Surrey, a captain in the 47th Battery, 5th New Zealand Expeditionary Force, who was killed in action at El Alamein, North Africa, on the twenty-fourth day of October 1942, and who was for many years a prominent and active member of the club and to all other members past and present who made the supreme sacrifice and the property shall henceforth be known as the East Molesey Cricket Club."
F.E. Smith was one of the greatest all-round cricketers Molesey ever had and in three of the four seasons before the war he completed the double, scoring over one thousand runs and taking one hundred wickets. On one memorable occasion he took all ten wickets to fall, including a hat-trick.
During the club''s long history many outstanding personalities have appeared in the club colours.
Although his time with Molesey was brief, one of the greatest was W. "Billy" Williams, who died on April 14, 1951 at the age of ninety. He is known for his legendary wicket taking exploits, and took over 100 wickets for 55 consecutive years. Surprisingly enough in 1885/6 when he played for Middlesex, it was as a wicket keeper, although when he played for the county fourteen years later, he reverted to his more deadly leg-break bowling. Even as late as his seventy fourth year he was still turning out for the M.C.C., and took 3 for 16 against the Lords and Commons, one of his victims being Lord Tennyson.
The great Doctor himself W.G.Grace played at Molesey and there is photograaphic evidence of this in the clubhouse.
R.M.V. Robins first appeared on the ground as a small boy and although, to the cricket enthusiast, his career meant Highgate, Cambridge, Middlesex and England, over the years he played many times for the club. His father (V.H. Robbins) and brother (W.V.H. Robbins) also played at Graburn Way, but it was Colonel V.I. Robbins who was more closely connected to the club. The Colonel was first eleven captain for over twenty years and almost single-handedly built the famous score box which stood at the Racecourse end. The score box was sadly demolished at the end of the eighties by repeated attacks from vandals.
Tagg''s Island, across the River Thames, is approximately 140 yards from the stumps at the Racecourse End of the ground and has been the target for many big hitters over the past two hundred years. There is no record of any batsman ever hitting a ball onto the island although several have come close.
A challenge was issued by a newspaper and several local businessmen to any batsman who could hit a ball onto Tagg''s Island and a prize of £1,160.00 was offered. This challenge was taken up by amongst others, the great Australian all-rounder, Keith Miller, who on the 26th April 1953, during the EMCC v. Australian touring side, smashed a huge drive off the bowling of George Tribe.
The ball rose through the air, clipped on of the old elm trees which in those days lined the ground, and fell a tantalisingly three yards short of dry land. Although the prize money is no longer on offer, many players have strained their shoulders muscles in the effort to be the first to reach the island, but none have succeeded. But the challenge remains...
The first ever-recorded LBW decision is reported to have been given on the Molesey ground in 1795, and five minutes later there was the first report of a batsman throwing his bat across the dressing room in disgust. The batsman in question was the Hon. J. Tufton, and the bowler B. Wells. There is sadly no record of the umpire who bravely gave this historic decision.
The Long Room at Lords has a picture of cricket being played at the Molesey Hurst ground over 150 years ago. The Molesey Hurst ground was situated about 500 yards up the river opposite Hampton Church.
In the 1930''s, Bernard Constable left East Molesey to play for Surrey. He played for the county for many years whilst serving under five different captains. He was a fine middle order batsman and was though to be one of the best cover point fielders in the country during his time at the Oval.
David Sydenham joined East Molesey from Berryland C.C. in 1950, and went on to play for Surrey in the 60''s. He started with the county selling scorecards and working with the ground staff before working his way into the county side. He topped the county bowling averages during one season, and took six wickets against the powerful West Indies touring side that included greats such as Sobers, Walcott and Weekes.
Eric Edwards was one of East Molesey''s best all-rounders of recent times. Born during the First World War, he was one of the first conscripts to be recruited in 1939 for the Second World war. He served for six years in the East Surrey Regiment, surviving unscathed at Dunkirk and many other campaigns. He was demobbed in 1945, rejoined East Molesey, where he had played before the war. His budding county career was cut short by the conflict, but on his return to the game he found a rich vein of form. In one season he scored 1629 runs at an average of 38 and took 133 wickets for 12 runs apiece.
Ken Cracknell was another fine bowler who bowled with nagging accuracy for over after over. He consistently took over 100 wickets in a season and was undoubtedly one of the finest ever club bowler of pre-war cricket.
The Australian touring side played at Graburn Way in 1953 as mentioned earlier and unfortunately proved to be the finish of Bill Johnsons career when he twisted his knee badly whilst fielding in the match and never played test cricket again. There wee thousands in the ground to watch and it was not unusual for a simply club match to have hundreds in watching.
In recent years, the biggest crowd at Molesey was in 2003 when the Moles played the famous Lashings who had no fewer than 9 test cricketers playing. There was an estimated 1,500 people watching. http://www.crabwise.co.uk/discussions/lashings/scorecard.pdf
More recently, the now club President Malcolm Lawford has scored over 10,000 runs in the Surrey Championship through the 70''s,80''s and 90''s and into the millenium. Malcolm''s brother Gary was a fine wicket keeper batsman who tragically died at 39 and will be remembered by all who played with and against him as a very good player but just as importantly one of the friendliest opponents it was your privilege to meet. The Lawford tradition is strong as ever with Malcolm''s son Paul, a fine player and 1st XI skipper. Duncan Pauline and Nigel Ross were EMCC cricketers who graced the first class scene for Surrey and Middlesex in recent times.
During the early nineties this proud club fell upon harder times and as many clubs have found, club cricket in its truest sense can be a hard place to survive in. But a combination of old and new members proved they have one thing in common, that they had a strong determination to re-vitalise this great and historic club. With an innovative commercial letting of the pavilion during the week as a nursery school, and an active increase in the colts section, the club was re-vitalised and now is taking an increasing amount of steps forward including plans for a new pavilion. 2001 saw the re-introduction of a Saturday third eleven league side as the important vehicle for older colts and more adult members wishing to play league cricket at a level to suit.(see below for details of the new 4th XI)
2003 saw the revolutionary new financial bonus system in place for the Saturday league first eleven. In an ever changing world, club cricket at the highest level has to change with the times. EMCC recognises this. Our raison d''etre is to play cricket at the best level we can. All our resources are to be used to this end.
In 2007, we saw our colts section grow to over 150 and expect it to grow even further in 2008, as more qualified coaches from within the club are emerging to meet the demands of this growth. A colts cricket week of coaching was introduced with great success in 2006 and was be repeated in 2007 and will be again in 2008.The colts are the lifeblood of the club and half of this years league first team came through the colts section.
Moles believe still in playing as competitive and serious cricket as possible on Sundays and for that reason, entered the first division of the Thameside Sunday league in 2002 and in 2006 won the titile without losing a single game.
Mid-week cricket bid a welcome reurn to Molesey in 2006 when Moles entered the Bertie Joel cup and reached the final,losing out to a very good Cambridge Granta side from the East Anglian premier league.
In 2007, the 1st eleven gained promotion to the 1st division of the Surrey Championship and it was a great step forward in putting this great and historic club back where it belongs, i.e back into the top 20 clubs in the county.
2008 will see Moles entering a 4th team into league cricket on saturdays for the first time in its history.
A new and vibrant committee has been put together in the last 3 years and being the only club in Surrey that had a female Chairperson for 3 years recently showed the forward looking attitude of this historic club. The pavilion saw in 2006 a new roof put on and much improvement to the building in general. New sponsorship has been obtained and innovative ideas are being put in place to generate income to help move forward the Moles in the years to come. Other innovative income ideas have seen the letting of part of the clubhouse to caterers who run a year round riverside cafe.During the winter of 2007/8 we have put up attractive picket fencing round the whole ground and have substantially cut back undergrowth on the riverbank side, thereby opening up even further the views to and from the Thames. New large sightscreens and a new cage practice net have been purchased in 2008 to add to the 2 state of the art practice nets to boost the clubs excellent facilties.
Over the years there have been many other good cricketers and plenty of characters associated with East Molesey C.C. who have not been mentioned here, but there is a long and fascinating history to preserve and it should be the aim of all members, both present and future, to maintain this historic ground for cricket. Not just for now, but for cricket and cricketers of all time. So be proud to be a Mole!
EMCC First Class Honours Board
Charles Fox - 1876-1893 (Surrey & Kent)
Maurice Read - 1880-1895 (Surrey & England)
William Chatterton - 1882-1902 (Derbyshire, MCC & England)
Alec Hearne - 1884-1910 (Kent, MCC & England)
George Davidson - 1886-1898 (Derbyshire & MCC)
Bill Lockwood - 1886-1904 (Nottinghamshire, Surrey & England)
William Graburn - 1894 (Surrey)
Bernard Constable - 1939-1964 (Surrey)
Dennis Constable - 1949 (Northamptonshire)
David Sydenham - 1957-1972 (Surrey & MCC)
Nigel Ross - 1973-1977 (Middlesex)
Duncan Pauline - 1979-1986 (Surrey, Glamorgan & Scotland)
Henry Jones - 2008-present (Loughborough UCCE)
Overseas Players
2000 - Patrick Cruywagen
2001 - Ben Kidston
2002 - Bradford Leonard
2003 - Mario Villavarayen
2004 - Mario Villavarayen
2005 - Bradford Leonard
2006 - Amila Perera
2007 - Amila Perera
2008 - Amila Perera
2009 - Dylan Thomson
