Following discussions in the village early in 1932 the first meeting to establish what was to become Down Hatherley Cricket Club was held on 30 May. This was obviously much too late to set up anything like a full fixture list for the season but the seeds had been sown.

Permission was obtained to use a field behind the newly built village hall. This had recently been re-seeded after ploughing and contained much more clover than grass. Only one pitch was used and this had to be rolled with a borrowed garden roller and cut with a push hand mower. The standard of the pitch can be judged from the first two games played. Down Hatherley scored 52 and the opposition Southgate were all out for 28. The second game also ended in a win for Down Hatherley, scoring 25, of which 13 were extras, but managing to dismiss Legal and Estate for 19. Eight other games were played in the season but as the only transport available was bicycles away games were restricted to neighbouring villages.

For the start of the 1933 season the club were offered the use of part of a large field in Wood Lane to the north of the present ground. As a result of fund raising the club was in a position to buy a roller and this meant that two fairly suitable pitches could be maintained. There were however problems with the outfield as this was still being used for haymaking and decent scores were hard to obtain until sometime in July when the grass had been cut. In the early stages it was not possible to afford any sort of pavilion and the only means of shelter was a tall hawthorn hedge. Eventually money was found to buy a sectional wooden hut which survived moves to three different locations and ended its days at the present ground.

The club continued to make progress and performances improved until outbreak of the war in 1939 but at this point all cricket ceased until 1946. However by this time the field in Wood Lane had been sold so the search for a ground started all over again. This was solved by the offer of a small field in Sandhurst Lane, Twigworth. However it was not available until the end of June once haymaking had finished. It was possible to prepare a few good pitches but as the field was still used for grazing a barbed wire fence had to be placed around the square between matches. The presence of the cows kept the outfield short but it meant a lot of work with a bucket and spade to clear the worst of the droppings before a game. Younger members were expected to do this if they had any hope of playing at some time in the future.

The field was required for mowing the following year so it was necessary to move yet again for a short period to another ground off the Tewkesbury Road in Twigworth. We were able to return to Sandhurst Lane in 1949 and remained there until moving to the present ground in 1955.

The six-acre field in Wood Lane was actually bought in 1953 as a joint venture by the Cricket Club, Men’s Social Club and the Boys' Club. A board of trustees was set up to manage it on behalf of the three clubs. The Social Club withdrew from the scheme in 1956 and their interest was taken over by the two other organisations.

It was necessary to rotavate and seed a square and carry out extensive drainage work before using the ground but this was achieved so that the move in 1955 was possible. Even so the state of the field left a lot to be desired and so we did not make many friends among visiting teams. However, continued hard work by members over the years has produced a ground with facilities on and off the field which are the envy of many.