Rushden and Higham Town Cricket Club is an amateur cricket club based in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England. Rushden have 3 senior XI teams in the Northamptonshire Cricket League,[1] and an established Junior Section, who compete in the Higham & District Youth League.[2] Rushden also field a Sunday XI team who play friendly matches in and around the region.[3]
Rushden and Higham Town's First and Second XI teams play their home matches at the Town Ground in Rushden, rated as 'Good' quality ground by the East Northamptonshire Council (ENC).[4] The Town Ground was used by Northamptonshire County Cricket Club for 22 first-class matches between 1924 and 1963,[5] but has been the home ground for Rushden since 2003.[6] The Third XI team use the Saffron Road Recreation Ground,[3] in Higham Ferrers, Rushden, rated as a 'Standard' quality ground by the East Northamptonshire Council.[4]
Evidence shows that cricket has been played in Rushden since the middle of the 19th century, with a record of a match being played as early as 1868.[7] One of the earliest known references to a cricket ground was mentioned in a match report dated 1 August 1874, in the Northampton Mercury stating "Pikehills" to be the location[7] and by the 1880s, reports show Rushden Cricket Club winning their second County Challenge Cup in 1884.[7] By 1889, Rushden Cricket Club amalgamated with both the local Football and Rugby club to become the 'Rushden Cricket and Football Club'; and the club moved to their current ground in the same year.[8] By the 1920s Rushden were competing in the Rushden and District League and after the Second World War, they joined the Northamptonshire County League; becoming league champions in 1959 and 1960.[9] Further success was achieved in the Bedford and District Cricket League with the club becoming league champions in 1966.[10][9] In the 1970s, the club played for the Bedfordshire Millman Trophy and continued competing in the Northants County League up to the turn of the millennium, when the League became a designated ECBPremier League. It was at this time when the club's 120-year-old pavilion was destroyed by fire, along with most of the club's material history in 2000.[11] However, a few years into the millennium saw the club bounce back with the addition of two senior teams (3rd XI side in 2007 and a 4th XI in 2012) and a cluster of division wins leading up to the club becoming Premier League Champions in 2015.[1] After the 2018 season, Rushden Town entered into a merger with its neighbouring club 'Higham Ferrers Town' and became Rushden and Higham Town Cricket Club.
