Stevens Cup

Grayshott Cricket Club - the home of I’Anson Cricket

The Stevens Cup takes its name form A.J.Stevens who had a long association with the competition. He was President of the competitions from 1936 until 1968 when at the age of 90 he died.

The Stevens Cup was first introduced in 1953 as in effect a second division of the I'Anson Cup. The competition lasted only three years.

Following the death of A.J.Stevens in 1968 the stewards of the I'Anson Cup Competitions felt it was right to commemorate the contributions made by AJ and the idea for an evening knockout competition was decided upon of which the winners would be presented with the old trophy.

The first contest for the Stevens Knock out cup took place in 1969 and fittingly it was Grayshott who were also I'Anson Cup winners, became the first winners of the Stevens Cup.

Harold (Spud) Murphy was the winning captain in 1969 and the Shotts went onto to win the cup again in 1970.

This feat of winning the cup in succesive years has been repeated on four occasions, but Grayshott have never been able to produce a hat trick of victories.

This feat has only been achieved by Rowledge who dominated the competition throughout the 1980s. Following their departure from the league, however, it has been Grayshott who have dominated the competition winning it five times in the 1990s.

Grayshott have now won the Stevens Cup on twelve occasions in 1969, 1970, 1978, 1981, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2002.

Of all these games the 1998 final was probably the most exciting and unlikely. Played at the Bourne against Tilford who batted first and scored 144-6 with Matt Barnes scoring the first century in a Stevens Cup final.

Grayshott required 28 runs off the last eight ball over. Mark Sobey hit four sixes off the bowling of Stuart Mitchell. Graham Sampson brought the scores level with a single, but this was insufficient for Grayshott as they had lost more wickets than Tilford. Mark Sobey managed to get some bat on the last ball as both batsmen scurried home for the winning run.