Following Sunday's cricket match in Biniparrell, which saw the M.C.C. make 133 in 25 overs and the President's Select XI fall 14 runs short of the target, spectators and cricketers enjoyed a paella and live music from Nick in celebration of the Menorca Cricket Club's Silver Jubilee.
Founded in May 1985 by a group of cricket enthusiasts, the Club played their matches for the first five years on a small football ground in S'Algar but, even so, managed to attract visiting teams from the U.K. from 1987, the Somerset Nomads opening the international fixtures. Matches against the other Balearic Islands then followed, with Ibiza leading the way.
The M.C.C. then moved to another football ground in Es Castell before buying the ground in Biniparrell in 1991. The land needed a lot of preparatory work, including the removal (by club members and with the help of ASINPROS) of over a million stones of varying sizes, and it was not until the following year that it was fit for matches, with a 'chiringuito' in the copse acting as the bar until members built the clubhouse in 1993.
Lord's Taverners Visit
One of the highlights of the early years in Biniparrell was entertaining the Lord's Taverners in 1995 and playing two matches against a team which included such famous cricketers as John Snow, John Price, Faroukh Engineer, David Bairstow, Mike Denness and celebrities such as Nicholas Parsons, Richard Stilgoe, Gavin Campbell and Richard Kershaw. The two matches played on that occasion raised a substantial amount of money which was split between the Lord's Taverners' own charity and the A.E.C.C. (the Spanish Cancer Association).
In 1996 the cricket field was completely taken up so that an automatic watering system could be installed which has greatly improved the quality of the ground. Further improvements were carried out last winter when club members voluntarily built an extension to the clubhouse.
Successful and popular
The Menorca Cricket Club is the most successful club in the Balearic Championships and, for the first time in several years, won the title on home soil in May this year.
Many requests are received from U.K. teams wanting to visit, and even sides from Holland have journeyed to the island to play against the M.C.C. However, the latest request is unique, coming from a Spaniard who attended college in England and, together with some friends, has founded an all-Spanish cricket club in Madrid, Puerto de Hierro, which hopes to come to Menorca in the near future to take on the local club.
Over the years the club have entertained many well-known cricketers, most of whom have been spectators, including Frank Tyson, Allan Lamb, Clive Rice, Jim Parks and Roland Butcher, not forgetting the famous cricket commentator, Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, who has visited on more than one occasion.
In addition, Club President David Sheffield, Chairman Andrew Manners and the members can take pride in having provided so many enjoyable days out for the thousands of residents, visitors and their families who have visited the Menorca Cricket Club over the years.
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