Fenner's

Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground.

Fenner's

Ground information
Location	Cambridge, England
Establishment	1848
Owner	Cambridge University Cricket & Athletics Company Ltd
End names
Pavilion End Gresham Road End
Team information
Cambridge University Cricket Club (1848 – present)
As of 5 May 2023 Source: CricketArchive

The indoor cricket school

History

Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orchard from Gonville and Caius College for the purpose of constructing a cricket ground.^[1][2] In 1848 he sub-let the ground to Cambridge University Cricket Club.^[3] Fenner's first hosted first-class cricket in 1848, with Cambridge University playing against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).^[4]

A 40-foot wooden pavilion, painted blue, with a slated roof had been erected by the 1856 season.^[5]

Since 1894, Fenner's has been owned by the Cambridge University Cricket and Athletic Company; a private limited company whose Members comprise the full members of Cambridge University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Athletics Club.

Facilities

As well as the cricket ground, there is a 3-lane indoor cricket school.

The groundsman pioneered the art of mowing grass in strips to create patterns, a technique now common in sports stadiums around the world.^[6]

Land deal

In August 2024 it was announced that the University had sold land on the edge of Fenner's to Hughes Hall.^[7] Subsequently a petition was launched against development of that land.^[8]

See also

• The Parks, Oxford § Cricket ground, where first-class cricket is played in Oxford
• University Ground, Barnwell, a former Cambridge University cricket ground