Cricket Club Burns Down by Emilie Wellman

During the night of the 6th of September, the Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club, founded in 1863, was burnt down. The police and fire brigade were notified of the incident by 3:15am and by 5:24 am the fire was under control. The club provided a statement that said “overnight on 6th of September, there was a catastrophic fire in the pavilion”.

6 fire engines and 40 fire fighters attended the scene and there were no injuries caused by the fire. The cause is unknown and groups from Kingston, Surbiton, New Malden, Richmond and Surrey Fire & Rescue arrived at the scene. This accident has affected many sports including cricket, rugby and the field had previously been rented out to schools and keep fit sessions. We caught up with a rugby coach to ask him a few questions about how this has had an affect on the team.

How has this affected the teams training regime?

Benjamin: “We have to train somewhere else now and we don’t have any facilities, no toilets, less storage space and no floodlights so they can’t train in the evenings like the older age groups used to. It’s quite sad for the boys and the parents who have used that facilities for so long.”

Has coaching at King’s Field had an impact?

Benjamin: “Training on the King’s Field is annoying because it is more cramped so then the training is more spread out through the day so people with children in different age groups can’t go all at once, they have to go multiple times which is not convenient. It’s also harder to host other visiting teams as there is less space.”

We also caught up with one of the players at Harlequins amateurs to get his views on how the team has handled and adapted to this horrible incident.

How did you find out about the fire?

Joshua: “I found out while eating dinner when my dad told me and I was very shocked by the news. I was also very upset as I have been going to the club for almost three years.”

How did it affect you and the team?

Joshua: “We had to change our training grounds to a nearby coaching place called Kings
Field. I don’t think it had a very big impact on how we played, however they closed the parking so it was harder for people to find a space, especially coaches.”

The demolition is due to take place by the end of the year but no date is given for when it will be rebuilt.