Luton Town & Indians Cricket Club

b did and honours were soon to follow at all levels, with the 1sx XI becoming a premier club in the Home Counties and surrounding areas for an extensive period of time. The ground hosted several List-A matches from the 1960's onwards, including a continuous relationship with Northamptonshire CCC who played a host of County Championship and Sunday League games regularly at the ground in the 1980's and 1990's. International touring teams from Pakistan in 200x and India in 1996 showcased their stars by also playing tour matches at Wardown against an England Amateur XI and Northamptonshire CCC respectively, drawing large crowds in the process. Local cricket followers have been privileged to watch talents such as Vivian Richards, Curtly Ambrose, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-Ul-Haq, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Gordon Grenidge, Mark Waugh, Geoffrey Boycott and David Gower ply their trade at Wardown over the years. LorFounded by a group of likeminded friends in 1961 with an initial base at Popes Meadow, clubbing together to buy some kit and forging relationships with other local clubs to arrange friendly matches. From these humble beginnings the club realised a talent base that could move forward and take part in more competitive league based cricket. With interest in the club growing amongst the community, the clubs support structure developed, creating a more organised outfit that was competing in the local midweek league, national tournaments and subsequently weekend leagues. The level of success on the pitch was probably unexpected and unprecedented, in a period between the mid 1970's and mid 1990's, the club had a stranglehold on the local Midweek cricket scene, with honours aplenty between Midweek Premier Division Titles, Pre-Star Cup and Ralph Oliver Shield triumphs. At one point the club had four teams participating in the Midweek league at all levels. The clubs finest moment on the pitch came in 1989 where the club won the elusive "treble" of league title, cup and shield, which considering the high standards of local midweek cricket will always be remembered fondly, and as a vintage year for the club. As a forward thinking the club, it was soon realised that investment in the future was necessary to maintain success on the pitch, the wheels were put in motion to structure and build a colts section soon after. The dedication shown by senior players at the club to pass on their knowledge to youngsters soon began to bear fruit as a vibrant colts section grew and in turn success was realised on the pitch by the colts at all age level, proving to be a strong force in Bedfordshire youth cricket. Off the field the club organised various events to raise funds to re-invest into the club and the colts section in particular, in a bid to provide facilities conducive to bringing talent through wherever possible. The club subsequently established a base at Lancaster Avenue. This investment be it financial, coaching expertise and time, has led to many of the clubs youth representing Bedfordshire successfully at all levels. The highest compliment that can be paid to the colts section efforts at the club is the success of Monty Panesar in representing England, Northamptonshire and Sussex, and also Kiran Patel who had gone on represent England at Schoolboy level. Luton Town & Indians Cricket Club.. A successful merger was completed in 2002 between Luton Town Cricket Club and Luton Indians Cricket Club forming Luton Town & Indians Cricket Club. Both clubs brought their strengths together to form a partnership and to build upon their rich historical cricketing traditions. The club is focused on becoming the leading club for cricket in the region going forward. With four adult teams playing on both Saturdays and Sundays the new club is now fully established, the teams are all in a position to challenge for honours and are giving good accounts of themselves. A flourishing colts section now with over 100 colts, that is consistently challenging for honours has built a formidable reputation in the local area after the continued success stories. The club encourages a safe family environment for people from diverse backgrounds to enjoy and feel at home. There are many social events organised throughout the year to encourage the use of the clubs facilities. The focus is on continuous improvement throughout the club, building upon the standards set, the clubhouse, scoreboard, ground and nets have been modernised. Bedfordshire regularly play at Wardown now and enjoy the facilities at their disposal, complementing the club on their experiences. Northamptonshire played a 20/20 fixture against Worcestershire in 2004 at the ground, which brought a real buzz to local cricket fans, with the added bonus of seeing the first 20/20 hundred, scored by Graeme Hick.