More history

This article appeared in the Crawley Observer some time in the early 1960's. It is interesting reading and many parallels can be drawn between now and then

Crawley, the cricket club that almost died! Did the powers that be knock them down, kick them and then turn their backs, hoping the club would expire with as little fuss as possible. Many members think that they did
If this was the aim it almost succeeded and there could have been no finer attempt at a coup de grace than to send them to Goffs Park. A year without a ground, a second year without players or fixtures because of the first year and Crawley were well on their way to the bone yard writes Alan Pedan
Few cricket fans realize that not so long ago Crawley held their own with Three Bridges and Ifield as one of the leading sides in the area. Local rivalry led to many a spirited clash and both three Bridges and Ifield have been known to have their colours lowered by the Town side on more than one occasion. 

Crawley were literally kicked out of the Memorial Ground when the development corporation needed part of it for the road construction and other development. They were informed of this in 1956, their 40th year as tenants- but were promised alternative accommodation. Little did they know the fate in store or the long hard road back which lay before them. True they were not alone. Crawley Bowling club and the now non-existent Crawley Tennis Club were all victims of that all devouring monster- progress. While those clubs lucky enough to be situated outside the town thrived, those nearer the centre of things were not so fortunate. 

So the club, which once had its roots at the old Victoria Ground now the LTR Garage moved to Goffs Park a white elephant of a cricket ground if there ever was one! I remember the first time I went there to watch a cricket match. I was so busy beating away the myriads of Insects setting course from the pond nearby that I failed to notice that I was ruining a good pair of shoes in the unbelievably muddy surroundings. That was five years ago but there has been little change. The pitch itself was dead as a doornail and is only just coming right thanks mainly to the attention given to it by the club officials themselves. Only a couple of weeks ago I visited the ground to watch Crawley play Burgess Hill in the Pritchard-Gordon cup. The pitch was like pudding and the outfield needed cutting.

But Crawley officials are made of stern stuff. Said chairman George Cressey: “Indecision by the authorities put the skids under us at the beginning. But the tide is turning”. Hard work by the club members and co-operation from the present Crawley urban council is at last showing results.  “We have a playing strength of 30” he continued. “There has been an influx this year but our batsmen outnumber our bowlers”. “All rounder Ken Lake is our sheet anchor on the pitch but with only four games under our belt this season it is a job to judge how we shall come out”. “The club is at least solvent and we have a 21 year lease on the ground at Goffs Park” said Mr. Cressey. “But it is rare for us to get a game in before the end of May”. “Vandals have been our biggest bugbear” he said holding up an eight inch length of 2 X ¼ inch iron post which had been deliberately broken off the fence surrounding the pitch and left in the ground. Last season vandals were responsible for moving the heavy roller half a mile across the Park to the road. The next night after it had been brought back it was found sunk in the unsightly pond next to the clubhouse.
But the clubhouse itself has been worst hit. Windows have been repeatedly broken until club members had to make steel shutters to cover them. Instead of homely beauty the place looks like a desert fort from ‘Beau Geste’ Inside this ‘fort’ I found the worthwhile results of a clubs hard labour. Alterations at a cost of ₤500 to the club were allowed after much soul searching by the Crawley Council. A comfortable bar, a cheery crowd, what more do you want-The Crawley Cricket Club can offer all this to prospective members.

“Few people know that we once had one of the best youth policies in the district”. said George Cressey. “Roger Hilder, Billy Webb and Eddie Miller all started with us but we do not blame them for leaving us when there was little we could offer them”. 
Saturday captain Ivan Makey was also emphatic that Crawley are on their way back. “Until now” he said ”we have been consolidating but we are going ahead with leaps and bounds. Fixture Secretary John Church is strengthening the list and we have a number of promising players coming to us”. “We have heard,” continued Ivan Makey ”that an old Club member, Dennis Park is returning from Australia next year. He has been captain of a side “down under” We hope he will be playing for us next season”
“Another promising youngster is Jamaican Ransford Lewis who is really a batsman but has been known to bowl a bit”

Club stalwarts during their times of trouble have been George Cressey, Dennis Bicheno, John Church, Ken Lake, Bill Eldridge, umpire Oscar Thomsett, scorer Bert Blundell and of course Vic Pellen who emigrated to Australia. Oscar Thomsett I am told has been a tower of strength to the club. One time Chairman and also a player he last played for Crawley against the RAF on the County Ground at Horsham. With a twinkle in his eye he said “I made ten runs but the scorer got mixed up and gave them to someone else. I was only accredited with a single”. Crawley Cricket Club have had their share of troubles. My hope having met their members and talked to them is that they will go forward from strength to strength