By 1972 the new ground was ready and the pavilion had been moved (on rollers) some two hundred yards to the present position, pulled by tractor.
Mr. Day very kindly agreed to release the ground from his tenancy and the Club agreed a twenty eight year lease with the Church Commissioners. This enabled the Club to qualify for a grant from the Sports Council, which was used to extend the pavilion, provide showers, toilets and a separate room for the ladies to prepare the teas; from this time the ladies became an integral part of the Club providing teas, and envied by visiting Clubs.
This tradition has been carried on through the years with wives, mothers, girl-friends of all the players in the club.
In 1971 Cyril Coombe who was a staunch member of the Club and umpire for many years, was the instigator in the formation of a ‘200 Club’ to raise funds for improvements to the pavilion. Briefly, the scheme was for the Club to enrol 200 people to subscribe half-a-crown (2s/6d) each per week to a lottery; the prize for winners in the eleven monthly draws was £15, and on the major 12th month draw prize was £500 or an Austin Mini Car!
This major draw was made every year at a dance held at the Memorial Hall where the last number drawn being the winner. It created great excitement towards the end of the evening, when on one occasion the winner, who was not at the dance was dragged out of bed to receive his prize.
This lottery was a very successful money raiser, running for several years and providing a regular source of income and capital for later improvements to the pavilion.
Cricket was played on the newly made (current) ground from 1972 with great success, being more accessible from the road, with everybody very enthusiastic. The extensions to the pavilion were completed in time for the 1973 season, comprising a new changing room, toilets, shower and a new room for the ladies to prepare teas. The official opening of the new facilities was made by Mr. John Shaw on 11th May 1973, when he was presented with a silver salver in recognition of his services to the Club. John Shaw played for the Club in the “thirties” when his father was Vicar of Thorverton. He had been President for five years and left the village to live in Cornwall.
The Club was also indebted to Spencer Petts who then became President for five years. Mr. Petts was responsible for all the planning required for the extensions organised for 1973, and for further ones in 1984, after he had left the village. All these improvements heralded a very successful era in every respect; the Club spirit was exceptional and playing strength was formidable.
Haig Whiskey sponsored a National Village Club Competition, the early rounds played in each county. Thorverton were Devon Champions in 1973 and 1975. In 1973 they travelled to Cornwall
play Troon in the regional final, to lose by 16 runs.
Thorverton Cricket Club first played League Cricket in 1975; this was a revolutionary move as people thought that the friendly spirit would go out of the game and matches would become more “cut throat”.
The North/East Devon League was formed by eight Clubs, four from East Devon, Thorverton,
Bradninch, Sandford, Heathcoat, and four from North Devon, Bideford, Victoria Park, Barnstaple Nondescripts, and Barnstaple Raleigh.
The Club played in this League until 1982 and during this time performed well, being Champions three times. The scoring of points in this league was simple, two for a win and an extra one if your opponents were”all out”. All the players enjoyed being in the North/East League, as the friendly atmosphere was maintained.
Another member who proved to be an outstanding player was Mike Denford, who since he joined has taken over 1400 wickets and scored nearly 10,000 runs. The highlight as far as he was concerned was in 1984 when he scored 1,153 runs and took 114 wickets; he also took 26 catches in that season. He became captain of the 1st X1 in 1986, has since served as Secretary and is an honorary life member.
In 1977 a “Colts” division was formed by the efforts of Frank Selley who was a player with
Heathcoat, but came to live in Thorverton. The Colts teams, playing matches mainly on Sunday mornings against local Clubs, are still an important part of the Club and when Frank retired as Colts secretary after eight years, they were ably managed by Mike and Simon Gray, then Richard “Dick” Vooght.
In 1983 the Club decided to leave the North/East Devon League and join the ‘C’ division of the Devon Cricket League. This proved to be a very successful move, not only from the playing side, but the Club decided to extend the pavilion further, by installing a licensed bar, another changing room and increasing the size of the main room. The profits from the bar have since
provided the income for running the Club.
The improvements to the pavilion were officially opened in July 1984 by the Somerset and England cricketer Vic Marks, who took part in a special match that day.
The 2nd XI was introduced in 1985 and started playing League Cricket in 1986.
Thorverton were performing well around this time and in 1986 were promoted to the ‘B’ or 2nd division of the Devon League; this meant playing a much better wicket when playing away from home.
In 1988 thanks to the generosity of Mr. John Day, tenant of Yellowford Farm, the Club acquired an extra strip of land on the south side of the ground.
A post and rail fence was erected by R. Gratton, a playing member. The extra land provided a longer boundary on that side of the ground and was a great improvement.
In 1991 a further extension of twelve feet on the road side, was made to the pavilion; this provided a a new kitchen and a storage shed for the groundsmen.
Taken from “A History of the Club 1860-1996” by John Carter
Thorverton Cricket Club 