The Downside Wanderers, initially founded in 1885, were refounded in 1921 and one of the first fixtures in 1922 was against the Old Wykehamists. For many years a two-day game was played as part of Wanderers Week at Downside, which occurred shortly after the Summer Term was over. Many wonderful games of cricket were played, with ferocious evenings in between. There were skittles in a pub called the Fire Engine, now long gone, which served only beer. This was then followed by football in the main hall, the prize for which was a chamber pot called, for some unknown reason, the Leeming Trophy. It was noted that at the fiftieth-anniversary match in 1972, both original captains, Robert Walker (B19) for the Wanderers and Eddie Awdry for the Wykehamists were in attendance.
Nowadays the fixture is a one-day game played either at Downside or Winchester. In 2022 the two clubs celebrated the centenary of their first match and to mark the occasion a special match (narrowly won by the OWs) and lunch was held this year at Winchester. The Wanderers presented the Wykehamists with a Taxodium Disticum or to the less botanically trained, a Swamp Cypress tree. It has been planted at the side of their main cricket ground near the river.
A plaque soon to be attached will read:
“This tree was presented by the Downside Wanderers to the Old Wykehamists Cricket Club to celebrate 100 years of great cricket matches, friendly rivalry and goodfellowship.”
1922 – 2022
Anthony Pontifex (S60)
President DWCC