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Norfolk v Essex - Opening of the Cricket Season

Two East Anglian county cricket teams warm up at the start of the season, hoping to take home the third Gillette Cup in 1965. Regional news.

Sport 1965 1 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for East Anglian Film Archive

Overview

In 1965, at the start of the cricket season, Norfolk warm-up alongside Essex at Norfolk’s home ground in Lakenham. The two teams emerge from the ground’s pavilion, unmistakable by its distinctive thatched roof; Norfolk get in some fielding practice meanwhile Essex bat. Unfortunately it was not a great year for either team – both Norfolk and Essex lost their first round matches in the Gillette Cup, neither making it to the second round.

The 1965 Gillette Cup was the third Gillette Cup, an English county cricket competition. The County Ground in Lakenham was a cricket ground for over two hundred years, with Norfolk County Cricket Club its most regular users. The Lakenham Pavilion seen in this footage was officially opened by Russell Colman, Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk in June 1936, built as a memorial to Captain Geoffrey Colman, Russell’s son, who had left a sum of money to be spent for the benefit of the employees of Colman’s Carrow Works. Since 2001, Manor Park, Horsford has been the home of Norfolk cricket. Sadly, Lakenham's historic pavilion had its last innings in 2013, being completely destroyed and the ground redeveloped for housing.