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So...just who are the 'Strongroom'?
The name 'Strongroom' is derived from the
Shoreditch-based recording studio/bar which gave birth to our Cricket
Club. The founder and owner of both Strongroom Studios and the cricket club , Richard Boote (pictured below), is also the Cricket
Club's Life President and has been so since 1984.
Strongroom CC play 'friendly', non-league cricket. We
are based in Highgate Woods, North London, where we play Saturday
fixtures every fortnight. On the alternating weekends we play an
away match, again on a Saturday (occasionally Sundays). We play both to win and to enjoy
the game. As for our 'standard', we are of mixed ability like most
friendly teams, but we generally win more games than we lose! If
your club is interested in playing us, please email our Fixtures Secretary.
The Strongroom Story
by Rich Woolhouse
Formed in 1984, we were then know as the Bank Cricket
Club (as the Strongroom HQ building was called the 'Bank'). We
originally played in Finsbury Park against an assortment of thrown
together teams, largely for 'fun'. After a couple of seasons several
of the players were deemed not bad and generally we enjoyed playing
on a Saturday afternoon. One of the teams we played against was the
Rivington All Stars and in about 1988 the Bank and The Rivington all
Stars got together and formed the Bank Rivington All Stars CC, and
Richard Boote secured a much more desirable pitch at Highgate Woods,
where we have played ever since. The Bank Rivington All Stars had
somehow by the time the season started changed its name to
Strongroom CC. The organization of the club and several of the
players were based at Strongroom and this coupled with a very small
sponsorship helped Strongroom CC on its way.
Our original captain was Colin Challenger, a man from the legal
profession (Barrister) with a very good grasp of the game and a keen
eye for judging the state of play and getting the best out of the
limited players we had. Colin led the team for its early years and
then moved out of London and the reins were duly handed over. He is
now an Honoury Life Member, and is retired to the country. Richard
Boote reluctantly took over the captaincy and subsequently handed
the responsibility over to someone else while he concentrated on
what he enjoyed doing best i.e. staying in for hours without
troubling the scorer, and offering advice to the Captain as vice
captain. Adrian Horne, the former Captain of the Rivington All
Stars, then took over and proved very successful in moulding our
motley crew into a force that started to win games. He later moved
to Brighton but still turns out for Strongroom CC when ever he can
and is affectionately still referred to as 'Skip'.
Many players have come and gone over recent years,
with a variety of captains, but the team has now matured into a
winning group of talented and keen members turning out for about 20
matches in a season. Highgate is now firmly established as our home pitch,
having played there for 20 years, and must be one of the most
idyllic settings for a cricket match in London at this level.
Although low and slow in bounce, the track is now a lot truer than
of old and has resulted in many exciting and close games.
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