Play to resume at 19th Century Woolwich cricket ground

A 19th Century London cricket ground which had fallen into disrepair is set to host regular matches once again.

The ground at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich was once home to record-breaking teenage batsman A.E.J. Collins when he was a trainee soldier at the site.

As part of a £50m regeneration of the Academy, the ground has been restored and leased to Blackheath Cricket Club.

The cricket ground was first used in the early 1800s.

After being vacated by the military, the Grade II*-listed Academy was sold to developers Durkan Estates, which is converting it into new homes.

Robert Clark, managing director of Durkan, said the company was keen to keep the site's cricketing tradition alive.

"The pitch looked like a meadow when we came along," he said. "We were looking for a club who would restore it and include the local community".

Blackheath Cricket Club won the bid and will use the ground for its second and third teams.

The club will work closely with local schools and communities, providing them with cricket facilities which were previously lacking in the area.

Blackheath were offered a long lease of the ground for a "peppercorn" rent, and received grants from Sport England, the Mayor's Fund and Blackheath cricket trustees to get the pitch back in working order.

Jon Taylor, chair of the club, said the ground would be a "wonderful advert for cricket in the area".

"Surprisingly, there are no grounds in SE18, SE28 or SE2 that are available for public hire, and this is in an area of high population growth which is currently home to some 150,000 people," he said.

Residents in the new development will also be invited to participate in the cricket, with evening games scheduled during the year.

The quality of the pitch will soon be "good enough for premier league cricket", said Mr Taylor.

"An old colonel told me this used to be a wonderful wicket," he added.

A.E.J. Collins, who scored the highest ever recorded innings - a colossal 628 not out - as a 13-year-old schoolboy, later trained at the Academy and would have played at the ground.

Nick Raynsford, the MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, said the ground was an "important part of local history".

"My grandfather trained here in the 1890s, and he would have played on that ground," he said.