Cricket has been played in the West Sussex village of Storrington for centuries, but it wasn’t until 1771 that the first recorded match was played. The ground in those early days was west of the village on the common, near the pond on the Pulborough Road. According to Chris Winter, the local expert on the history of Storrington Cricket, it is now thought that the Storrington Cricket Club officially started in 1791. It was during the 18^th century that cricket became more organised and by the end of the century many clubs were officially named, proper rules established and other innovations put in place to create a recognisably modern version of the game. These included the addition of the third stump, an LBW law, the bowler pitching the ball rather than bowling it along the ground, a standardised bat design and the requirement for protective clothing to prevent injuries. The 19^th century was in many ways a golden age for the Storrington club, although the game was more muted during the Napoleonic era. The local newspapers have proved a wonderful source to follow the fortunes of the local team through the course of the century.¹