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The History behind Marden Russets Cricket Club..

The Marden Cricket Club, was in existence at the end of the 19th Century and there is a record - in an old Bearstead scorebook now in the Maidstone Museum - of a match between Marden and Bearstead in 1789! The club had a variety of venues until the early 1920s when Jas Seymour, one of the first professional cricketers in Kent, moved to the Howlands next to the cricket ground where we play today. The ground remains in the ownership of the Day family and Roger Day is the Club President.

The Russets Hockey Club was formed after WW1 initially leading a nomadic life as a
Ladies team and then as a Mixed XI before arranging to play games on the cricket outfield at Marden, using the cricket pavilion and the upstairs of the adjoining Howlands barn for changing.

After the Second World War separate Men’s and Ladies XI’s were formed
and in anticipation for the need for improved facilities at the club, the cricket and hockey clubs merged in 1960 to form the Marden Cricket & Hockey Club. The existing clubhouse was built in 1963 and both sports have entertained countless visiting teams to the ground which now caters for a greatly increased membership.

The local farming fraternity has produced many fine cricketers for the club over the years and names such as Day, Tipples, Sunnucks, Wickham and Worley are synonymous with the success of the club.

One particular achievent came in 1975 when the side travelled to Cornwall for the semi-final of the National Village Knock-out Cup. Although narrowly beaten, the club and their travelling supporters gave the West Country a day to remember.

The club now fields two Saturday sides in the Invicta Cricket League. In 2007, the first team narrowly missed promotion into the Premier Division and the second eleven enjoyed their best season for many years. There is also a very popular mid-week team who play a variety of long standing fixtures which includes hosting touring sides.

The thriving junior section provides a healthy nucleus of young players for the future, some of whom have already made significant contributions to the senior teams. The recent appointment of a Child Welfare Officer to the cricket club is further step towards the club achieving the ECB ClubMark accreditation.

For those of an inquisitive nature, the 'Russets' name is taken from the apples that are grown with such distinction in and around the Marden area. In fact, a number of the current members of Marden Cricket & Hockey Club are actively involved in cultivating, picking, sorting and marketing award winning fruit.
 
For those of an inquisitive nature, the 'Russets' name is taken from the apples that are grown with such distinction in the Marden area. In fact, a number of the current members of Marden Cricket & Hockey Club are actively involved in cultivating, picking, sorting and marketing award winning fruit.