Oakham Cricket Festival to Return in 2023

Leicestershire CCC is excited to announce the return of the Oakham Cricket Festival, with first-class cricket set to head back to Rutland for the first time in 16 years.

Oakham School will become the Foxes’ home for four days in the height of the summer, with the outground to host the Club’s LV= Insurance County Championship fixture with Worcestershire, starting on Wednesday, 19 July.

Cricket festivals, such as Cheltenham and Scarborough, have proven to be hugely popular in recent summers, with the Club keen to offer a similar experience to cricket lovers in Leicestershire and Rutland.

The Foxes last visited the idyllic outground in 2018 for a Royal London Cup fixture against Lancashire, while the Club’s previous first-class appearance at the school came in a thrilling draw with Nottinghamshire in 2007, during which current Head Coach Paul Nixon scored 98 and 20 not out.

The latest fixture will welcome Worcestershire, who shared the spoils on their last red-ball visit to Leicestershire, after Hassan Azad and Beuran Hendricks staged a heroic, final-wicket stand spanning more than 25 overs to salvage a heroic draw during 2022’s season opener.

Oakham holds a rich heritage in housing LCCC fixtures, with the picturesque venue facilitating their first of nine Championship matches in 1935, when Leicestershire played Kent, while ten List A fixtures have followed since.

The Doncaster Close ground has seen the creation of some special moments in the Club’s history, including former Oakham School pupil and England seamer Stuart Broad taking his maiden County Championship wicket against Somerset in 2005.

Connections between LCCC and Oakham run deeper, with former Foxes Josh Cobb, Matthew Boyce, Greg Smith, and Alex Wyatt also among the school’s cricketing alumni.

The facility has undergone significant developments in recent years, with the new BAF Smith Pavilion opened in 2014, helping Oakham to host prestigious fixtures including warm-up matches for the 2017 Women’s World Cup.

CEO, Sean Jarvis, said: “We’re really excited to take Leicestershire CCC to Oakham. Other county clubs host highly popular festivals, and we think now’s the right time to bring it back ourselves.”

“I’ve chatted to several members and other parties who are really keen to see it return. It enables us to offer something different to our members and attract a new audience of cricket fans across the county.”

Plans for the festival, which falls in the middle of the domestic summer and at the beginning of the school summer holidays, will be developed throughout the winter and announced in due course.