The Antelopians Cricket Club

The year was 1991. England was playing the West Indies led by Graham Gooch. Michael Atherton, Robin Smith, Mark Ramprakash, Alec Stewart, Phil Tufnell and even Ian Botham were in the squad. Beefy’s heroics in his final Test at the Oval helped to draw the series. Inspired, a group of pub regulars formed The Antelopians Cricket Club.

In the early days recruiting players for the weekend game was done in the pub on a Friday night. It was random in terms of selecting any cricketing talent. And that’s the way it remained. Antelopian cricket is for enthusiasts of all ages and abilities.

More than 350 players have worn Antelopian colours over the years. We celebrate playing the game in the true spirit of the game, enjoying comradery and friendship on and off the field with all, and all are welcome, friends, supporters, and players of all abilities with the simple principle of enjoying the game and to bring enjoyment to others involved.

The Honours Board lists H. Golightly as the inaugural Player of The Year. It’s a subtle reference to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and a link to Holly, the resident antelope pub dog at the time. Ever since it has become a tradition for the Antelopians to hold a black-tie dinner to hand out coveted Awards for best batting and bowling performances and immortalise one player who contributed most during the season. Their name immortalised forever on the honors board unveiled in gold leaf to the cheers of their fellow Antelopians, friends and supporters, especially the time honoured tradition that follows with the Player of the Year is made to drink a pint of ‘The Knowledge’.

Some traditional Antelopian games are played on idyllic grounds in the heart of the English countryside. Overseas tours have also created special memories – to Ireland, Scotland, Malta, France and even Iceland.

Antelopian cricket is a huge team effort. The cricket tea is an important ritual. WAGs often come along to support. Scorers keep a tidy book, so that the season’s averages are correctly tallied, and even accumulated over the years – every Antelopian has a record of his or her career achievements for the club.

Finding like-minded teams to play against, year after year, led to some friendly rivalries. Famous among these was the annual contest with The Churchill, Fuller’s other flagship pub in Kensington.

Although some Antelopians have been team regulars for over twenty years, many have moved on – grown older, started families or relocated to the other side of the world – but new youngsters have been drawn to the Club to keep its spirit alive.

They say that the camaraderie of cricket, and the friendships formed on a cricket field, last forever. The Antelopians Cricket Club is proof of that.