Back
About Us
AZTECS CRICKET CLUB - A Brief History
Aztecs Cricket Club was formed in 1986 by two great friends, the Late Mr Jayesh Lalsodagar and Mr Yogesh Vichhi, who both wanted to play social cricket on Sundays. Hence, the club was formed and included amongst its initial members a group of common friends some of whom were able whilst others were encouraged to play cricket.
The early days were full of fun and a great team spirit quickly developed. Sundays were eagerly awaited not only by the players to showcase their cricket skill but also the wives and girlfriends who came out to support the club both during and after the games bringing with them style and sophistication. As a result of this very enjoyable and friendly atmosphere encouraged by the club, new players and members always continued to join the club. Therefore, in those first few years, the club expanded and grew stronger until it was necessary that a second team to be created particularly to ensure that those players not selected in the first team should have an opportunity to play in a second team.
In 1993 Mr Irfan Cheema, despite being a top all-rounder and mainstay in the first team, took up the challenge by captaining and set about establishing our second team. Later that year the challenge was passed on to others in the membership of Aztecs all of whom played their part in making the second team successful.
Of course, this meant that the first team had the opportunity to play competitive cricket and duly obliged by playing knockout cup cricket in competitions such as Clive Lloyd Cup, Victoria Mutual Cup, Bertie Joel Cup, The Evening Standard Challenge Trophy and the National. Our first notable trophy won was the Clive Lloyd Plate in 1997 under the captaincy of Mr Adnan Khan Lodhi, arguably the greatest all-rounder to have played for our club to date.
Our Chairman Mr Baljinder Singh Kalyan, together with his two sons Lakhdeep and Randeep, joined the club in 2001 and has provided fantastic leadership to drive the club forward ever since. In this time the club has gone through unprecedented success and expansion including over 90 playing members and six teams on match day.
2014 saw another milestone in the development of this great club, in the form Saturday League Cricket. The club was invited to and accepted to join the Essex County Cricket League in Division 1 which is the middle division in this league. The invitation was mainly a recognition of the position, standing and strength of the club. These were indeed exciting times to be a member of Aztecs Cricket Club and it did not disappoint. In the first year of participation the club finished second in the league and was promoted to the Premier Division. In 2015 the club added a second team and in 2018 we established a third team, meaning representation in each of the three divisions of the Essex County Cricket League.
2019 sees our fourth team in competitive league cricket and the start of our youth development program…
This wonderful adventure continues and YOU are part of it..
Good Luck all Aztecians!!
Aztecs Cricket Club was formed in 1986 by two great friends, the Late Mr Jayesh Lalsodagar and Mr Yogesh Vichhi, who both wanted to play social cricket on Sundays. Hence, the club was formed and included amongst its initial members a group of common friends some of whom were able whilst others were encouraged to play cricket.
The early days were full of fun and a great team spirit quickly developed. Sundays were eagerly awaited not only by the players to showcase their cricket skill but also the wives and girlfriends who came out to support the club both during and after the games bringing with them style and sophistication. As a result of this very enjoyable and friendly atmosphere encouraged by the club, new players and members always continued to join the club. Therefore, in those first few years, the club expanded and grew stronger until it was necessary that a second team to be created particularly to ensure that those players not selected in the first team should have an opportunity to play in a second team.
In 1993 Mr Irfan Cheema, despite being a top all-rounder and mainstay in the first team, took up the challenge by captaining and set about establishing our second team. Later that year the challenge was passed on to others in the membership of Aztecs all of whom played their part in making the second team successful.
Of course, this meant that the first team had the opportunity to play competitive cricket and duly obliged by playing knockout cup cricket in competitions such as Clive Lloyd Cup, Victoria Mutual Cup, Bertie Joel Cup, The Evening Standard Challenge Trophy and the National. Our first notable trophy won was the Clive Lloyd Plate in 1997 under the captaincy of Mr Adnan Khan Lodhi, arguably the greatest all-rounder to have played for our club to date.
Our Chairman Mr Baljinder Singh Kalyan, together with his two sons Lakhdeep and Randeep, joined the club in 2001 and has provided fantastic leadership to drive the club forward ever since. In this time the club has gone through unprecedented success and expansion including over 90 playing members and six teams on match day.
2014 saw another milestone in the development of this great club, in the form Saturday League Cricket. The club was invited to and accepted to join the Essex County Cricket League in Division 1 which is the middle division in this league. The invitation was mainly a recognition of the position, standing and strength of the club. These were indeed exciting times to be a member of Aztecs Cricket Club and it did not disappoint. In the first year of participation the club finished second in the league and was promoted to the Premier Division. In 2015 the club added a second team and in 2018 we established a third team, meaning representation in each of the three divisions of the Essex County Cricket League.
2019 sees our fourth team in competitive league cricket and the start of our youth development program…
This wonderful adventure continues and YOU are part of it..
Good Luck all Aztecians!!