

Over the course of British Cricket history many Wandering clubs have come and gone. Some became Wanderers with the loss of their original ground while others went from Wanderers to securing their current ground and some of these still kept their original description “Wanderers, Nomads, Ramblers” in the club name. Others failed when no new officers of the club could be found as incumbent men retired or died.
Some Wandering Clubs find excellent homes after many decades of Wandering. Hampshire Hogs CC 1877 settled at Wheely Down Warnford in 1966. Pelicans CC 1964 settled at Nag’s Head Meadow Great Missenden and added the name 1996. Armadillos CC 1987 settled in 2009 at the historic Sheffield Park ground. There are more like this.
Among those that seem to have disappeared are- Concert Artistes CC, The Ducks CC, Carmelites CC, Caterpillars CC, Putney Eccentrics CC, Acenarians CC, Lazarusians CC(Peter O’Toole’s XI), Hampstead Itinerants CC, Dragonflies CC, Hampstead Mercenaries CC, Fencibles CC, Pratlers CC, Thames Valley Gentlemen CC, El Vino’s CC(Reg Hayter’s XI) and many others.
There have also been wandering sides raised by notable men from varying backgrounds like Bertie Joel XI, Vic Lewis XI, Tom Pugh’s XI, etc which thrived in their lifetime.
If we have missed out a current Wandering Club please let us know and we will update the list. There are some Wandering clubs which are definitely active as they appear in other clubs fixtures lists but do not seem to have a Facebook Page nor a Website. There is a slight Southern and England bias to this list.
Many of the London Gentlemen’s Clubs have cricket teams which wander such as East India, RAC, Saville, Carlton, Groucho and more. Parliament has its own Wandering Club Lords & Commons CC founded 1849. Indeed may pubs and wine bars have nurtured wandering cricket clubs which thrive for a period the most renown being El Vino’s CC. the Royal Opera House has a cricket team as does the ENO.
Hot Press a Wandering Cricket Association (WCA) is in formation striving to promote and support Wandering cricket throughout the United Kingdom.

Leaving School & ‘Wandering’ About Your Cricketing Future?