West Bladon Cricket Club

What is now West Bladon CC is the nomadic chameleon of Sunday cricket in West Oxfordshire. Founded in 1996 by Clive, Tom,  and Stephen in a pub in Woodstock, we played our first (rather unsuccessful) matches at the Marlborough School ground under the name of the Woodstock pub the Queens Own.

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By 1998 the club had moved to the grounds of Blenheim Palace and based itself at the White House pub in Bladon and changed its name to match that of the pub. It was here that the first wave of youth was talent spotted having a kick about next to the cricket pitch on a Sunday afternoon and swiftly recruited. When the pub changed its name to the Bygone Inn (Green king marketing department at its finest) the club decided to not follow suit and simply became Bladon CC. After several very enjoyable years at Bladon, foot and mouth disease closed the park for the summer in 2001 forcing the club to relocate to the village of  Wootton on the other side of the park. Sadly, this also resulted in the Duke of Marlborough taking back the cricket pitch and pavilion and so the move to Wootton became 'permanent'.

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With the move to Wootton came another name change to Wootton and Bladon CC as the club continued to find new players from its new home village. As the club picked up a new batch of very useful players and the second wave of youth materialised in to very adept players too, the club enjoyed several very prosperous years in Wootton and enjoyed the hospitality of the Killingworth Castle. Sadly all good things come to an end and village politics and youthful exuberance did not see eye to eye so the club continued on its nomadic path and went back to the Marlborough School ground in Woodstock where it all began.

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After moving on from Wotton, the club changed its name once again to West Bladon CC as the club logo with WBCC seemed a perfect match and the club enjoyed a decade of 'gazebo cricket' at the Marlborough Oval. In 2017 politics once again got in the way of Sunday cricket but turned out for the best this time as and the club was invited to relocated to Cassington, a ground we knew well as we used to play here against Cassington when they had a Sunday team, which had far better facilities and was very welcoming. 

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And seven years on and after considerable investment of both time and money in the facilities by both the club and the Parish Council, it is here that you will still find us most Sundays in the summer, enjoying a few beers, a good laugh and some very mediocre cricket!

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