Founded on 4 November 1870 following a meeting at the Derby Guildhall, Derbyshire County Cricket Club has grown from a small county side into one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. The Earl of Chesterfield, who had played alongside and against the All England Eleven, was elected as the club’s first President, with Walter Boden – who had spent three years campaigning for the club’s formation – appointed as Secretary. The club’s home is the County Cricket Ground in Derby, historically known as the Racecourse Ground.
Early History and First-Class Status
Before the club was formally established, an informal Derbyshire team travelled to Kent and London in July 1870, defeating the Gentlemen of Kent at the Angel Ground and then beating Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord’s. The club’s inaugural first-class match took place on 26 and 27 May 1871, against Lancashire at Old Trafford. First-class status was held from that first match until 1887, when poor performances and a lack of fixtures caused Derbyshire to lose that standing for seven seasons. The club was eventually invited back into the County Championship in 1895. Cricket in the county has an even longer history – the earliest recorded match dates to September 1757, when Wirksworth played Sheffield Cricket Club at Brampton Moor, near Chesterfield.
Grounds, Limited Overs Cricket, and Recent Years
Beyond the County Cricket Ground in Derby, Derbyshire has played first-class matches at a range of venues over the years, including Queen’s Park in Chesterfield, Buxton, Heanor, Ilkeston, Blackwell, Abbeydale Park in Sheffield, Wirksworth, and three grounds in Burton upon Trent – which sits just over the border in neighbouring Staffordshire. One-day matches have also been staged at Repton School, Trent College, Darley Dale, and venues in Staffordshire including Leek and Knypersley. In 2006, county cricket returned to Queen’s Park, Chesterfield for the first time in eight years. The club has held List A status since 1963 and has competed in Twenty20 cricket since 2003. Its limited overs team is called the Derbyshire Falcons, a name chosen in reference to the peregrine falcon that nests on Derby Cathedral – the side was previously known as the Derbyshire Scorpions until 2005, then the Phantoms until 2010. In 2017, more than 24,000 people attended home Twenty20 fixtures across the campaign, a record for a single season, and the local derby against Yorkshire at Chesterfield now regularly sells out well in advance.