Cricket club hunts for new home ahead of eviction

One of Oxfordshire's largest cricket clubs has launched a campaign to find a new home, after finding out it would be evicted from its current ground at the end of this season.

Oxford Cricket Club has played at the Oxford University Press (OUP) Sports Association Ground at Jordan Hill, in the north of the city, since 2016.

But the club has now been told it must be out by the end of September, with OUP saying it was "no longer viable" for it to "continue to upgrade and maintain" the site.

The club - which has nearly 350 playing members - said it was "naturally disappointed" by the decision and that its "immediate focus is on securing a new home".

Chair Rupert Evans said: "While we are saddened to be leaving Jordan Hill, our focus is firmly on the future."

"This is an opportunity to secure a permanent home that will allow the club to continue serving the Oxford Community for the next hundred years."

Oxford Cricket Club is one of the county's largest clubs, with both its men's and women's first teams playing in the Home Counties Premier Cricket Leagues.

It has existed in one form or another for 130 years, and had played at sites across the city over that time before relocating to the OUP ground a decade ago.

The Romans currently field four men's teams, two women's XIs and 13 youth teams - with some home fixtures played elsewhere in the city, at Marston Sports Ground.

In a statement announcing the closure last week, OUP said "core facilities" such as changing rooms and toilets would remain open "until the whole site closes at the end of September".

"Those who regularly use and access the site, including external parties, have been informed," it added.

Evans said: "We are determined to preserve what has been built here, but also to create something even stronger, turning challenge into opportunity."

"That is what we coach all our players to do every day both on and off the pitch. Now it's our turn," he added.

The club said it was working with the England and Wales Cricket Board, alongside the Oxfordshire equivalent, to "explore future options" for a home ground.

It also called on local authorities, community leaders, businesses and landowners to "help identify opportunities that could provide a sustainable long-term base for cricket in Oxford".

The closure is also set to impact other sport groups using the site, including the OUP Bowls Club - who have been contacted for a comment.

The sports ground is next door to the site of the former North Oxford Golf Club - which closed in 2025 to make way for a housing development.