The Cambridge cricket community is in revolt about the treatment of Fenner’s, the iconic first-class ground used by Cambridge University that has nurtured 21 Test match captains.
The ground, situated in the heart of Cambridge, has hosted first-class cricket since 1848 and developed cricketing greats including Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, Gilbert Jessop, Ted Dexter and Michael Atherton. But the future of the ground is now in jeopardy.
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Telegraph Sport can reveal:
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Access to the ground has become much harder, with new measures taken to stop “undesirable individuals” from being able to watch games, and even student players being barred from arriving at games.
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The number of fixtures played at the iconic ground has declined dramatically, with under half of Cambridge University Cricket Club’s home fixtures played at Fenner’s this year.
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Players have attacked the pitch and facilities as substandard.
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Extortionate fees of £425 plus VAT for a one-day match, have left local teams unable to afford to play at the ground.
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There has been no full-time groundsman at Fenner’s since 2022.
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Former England captain David Gower has sounded concern “that such spaces should remain intact.”
Concerns about the future of Fenner’s have intensified since land around the pitch was bought by Hughes Hall, a college at Cambridge University, last July. Late last year Hughes Hall announced plans to build new student accommodation on green Protected Open Space adjacent to the college and near the cricket pitch.
In response to the plans, a petition organised by the Protect Fenner’s Action Group urging Hughes Hall not to redevelop on the site has so far attracted more than 4,000 signatures.
While no building on Fenner’s has yet been confirmed, this season Hughes Hall has made it more difficult for casual fans to watch cricket. Rather than being able to walk through the park to see games, as has been the case throughout the ground’s history, spectators must now sign in at the porter’s lodge at Hughes Hall. The measure is part of an attempt to curb “undesirable individuals” accessing the ground, Cambridge University Cricket Club explained in an email circulated before the season.
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The email said that: “It is the wish of Hughes Hall that the main Mortimer Road gates during match days remain closed to limit the number of undesirable individuals walking through college grounds and into Fenner’s, we would also support this. However, the Porters Lodge have agreed to staff the gates at all times during a match day to allow anyone wishing to watch the game, whether on foot or driving, to come in.”
In practice, insiders believe that the new measures have deterred casual fans, who do not wish to sign in if they only intend to watch cricket for a few minutes, and contributed to a decline in spectator numbers.
“The gates are locked and Hughes Hall wants more land to turn the grounds into a private campus,” said Steve Platt, a CUCC member who has lived near the ground for over 50 years. “Fenner’s is being privatised by stealth.”
“It’s not unhindered like it used to be – last year you could just walk in,” Anthony Hyde, the secretary of the Cambridge University Cricket Club, told Telegraph Sport. “It was a surprise and a lot of people have mentioned it – students and non-students. I don’t understand it. Fenner’s is a Cambridge institution and it’s always been an open space on match day.”
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Hughes Hall’s purchase of land by the ground is understood to have cost around £3 million, paid to the university’s Cricket and Athletic Club Limited. Yet there are fears that this money is not being spent on investing in the future of cricket at the ground.
Lucy Walker, a former city councillor in Cambridge and long-time resident, told Telegraph Sport, “Where is the £3 million that Hughes Hall apparently paid for the land? I hope it is being invested in Fenner’s future, because it is too valuable an asset to lose.”
Decline in number of games
From 39 scheduled days of cricket at Fenner’s in 2024, there are just 31 days of cricket scheduled at the ground this year. This is thought to be the lowest number, excluding 2020, in any year since World War Two. While Oxford University’s men’s and women’s teams play 33 of their 36 home games at their main ground this season, the Parks, just 18 of the 38 games played by the Cambridge University sides are at Fenner’s.
“There’s a lot of people expressing concern about Fenner’s,” said Hyde, the secretary of CUCC. “There’s a decreasing proportion of our cricket played on Fenner’s, and our students want to play as much on Fenner’s as possible.
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“We’d like to play games, as many as possible, at Fenner’s. We ask if we can play them, and sometimes it’s ‘yes’, sometimes it’s ‘no’.”
Pitch ‘unfit and dangerous to play on’
Since 2022, Fenner’s has had no full-time head groundsman, instead using a part-time consultant. To hire the cricket pitch and pavilion for a day costs £425 + VAT, leading locals to attack the hire costs as “F— off fees”.
The wider cricket community in Cambridge is also suffering from the reduction in fixture at Fenner’s.
“This decline is unnecessary and disturbing for the whole cricketing community in Cambridge,” Nigel Gadsby, the former captain and chairman of Cambridgeshire county cricket, told Telegraph Sport. “Fenner’s could be used all through the summer up to six days a week, if realistic fees make it possible for all kinds of local teams to play there again.”
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On this, Lionel Sheffield, chair of the Protect Fenner’s Action Group, also said: “This can’t be allowed. Hughes Hall wants Fenner’s for its own benefit while cricket declines, and the public are shut out of this prized city asset.”
Last year, a friendly between Cambridgeshire, the national county side, and Surrey was abandoned halfway through the match, with the umpires declaring that the pitch was unfit and dangerous to play on.
“The saddest thing is going back to Fenner’s and seeing the state of the pitch – it looks all right but it is terrible compared to what it used to be,” said Gadsby. “It is only fit for school cricket or recreational cricket.
“It is so sad to see the state of the ground. It could be easily changed if University got in a good groundsman to improve the wicket. The university can afford to do it if they want to.”
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Gower calls for ground to be protected
Former England captain David Gower, who played first-class cricket against Cambridge University during his career, called on the future of Fenner’s to be protected.
“The ground is a Protected Open Space and the concern is that such spaces should remain intact,” Gower told Telegraph Sport. “I played some early season matches there and although university cricket is not what it was in the days of the likes of Peter May, Derek Pringle and Michael Atherton, it was a lovely thing to play there and follow in the footsteps of those talented undergraduates.”
Cambridge has been one of the most influential nurseries in Test match history. Ivo Bligh, the man who famously regained “those Ashes” in 1882/83, was the first Cambridge University graduate to captain in Test cricket.
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Since World War Two alone, 10 future Test captains played for Cambridge University – including Atherton, Dexter, Peter May and Mike Brearley. Two men to captain other Test sides – Deryck Murray, from West Indies, and Majid Khan of Pakistan – also played for Cambridge. The university side used to play first-class matches against County Championship sides, with the last such game taking place in 2000.
Leg glance pioneered at university venue
Fenner’s greatest impact on Test-match cricket came in the late 19th Century. Ranjitsinhji – “the Midsummer Night’s Dream of cricket,” as he was termed by the cricket writer Neville Cardus – moved to England to study at Trinity College, beginning in 1889.
Facing fast bowling, “Ranji” tended to back away. In intensive training sessions at Fenner’s, Ranji’s right leg was pegged to the ground, to stop him from moving away from the ball. This led him to hit straight balls to the on side – inventing the shot that became known as the leg glance. The shot helped Ranji enjoy a brilliant career with Sussex and England, and transform the game.
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The leg glance “has the advantage of not wasting the batsman’s strength and energy” and “is a very safe stroke, because the ball can easily be kept down”, Ranji wrote in The Jubilee Book of Cricket in 1897.
On the claims that access to the ground has become harder, a spokesperson for Hughes Hall said: “There is no new policy and the arrangements for spectators to watch the cricket, which they are always welcome to do, have been in place for many years. The Fenner’s gates are opened for matches; if they are closed for any reason, our porters open them for spectators.”
The college also directed Telegraph Sport to its statement in August 2024. Laurie Bristow, president of Hughes Hall, said: “The land is not part of the cricket field and there will be absolutely no impact on the playing of sport at Fenner’s, which will remain the home of university cricket and tennis.”
“Our development plans will not only meet the needs of our college community, including accommodating a higher proportion of our student body, they will be environmentally friendly, following best practice in sustainable development and will, of course, be compliant with local and national planning policy.”
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Nick Brooking, director of university sport at Cambridge, said: “It has been important to collaborate with Hughes Hall on this venture. Fenner’s is the home of university cricket and tennis, but is an increasingly expensive ground to run. Selling a part of the ground that will have no detrimental effect upon the playing of cricket is mutually beneficial, preserving our fantastic ground, and securing the playing of sport at Fenner’s for many years to come.”
Hughes Hall added to a further statement in October 2024, saying: “The land purchased is not part of the cricket field and there will be absolutely no impact on the playing of sport at Fenner’s, which will remain the home of university cricket and tennis. Both parties ensured that the terms of the sale specifically included a ‘no-build zone’ over much of the acquired land, ensuring that land toward the boundary is preserved and can never be built on. This was agreed to protect the future playing of sport on Fenner’s.
“The aspect of Fenner’s is very important to the college and our neighbours, and plans will take this into account ensuring designs are sensitive to our environment.”
Cambridge University has also been contacted for comment.
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