History
At the end of the nineteenth century, cricket at Sparsholt was an informal affair, with grounds at Balldown and towards Farley Mount being pressed into occasional use. The pavilion in those days was a thatched open shelter, three sides being furze branches woven into wooden uprights- scores were kept by notches cut in a stick. In the early 1900's the team used a pitch near Lock's Lane, but moved on, to the north side of Lainston House. In the 1920's, the "Club" played in the field adjoining the village memorial hall, and also on a site near the Woodman inn.
In 1929, the Sparsholt Athletic Club, which primarily looked after the interests of the football section, initiated a cricket section, and began the search for fixtures. In the 1930's the present ground at Lock's lane was given to the Club by Mr Samuel Bostock, and Sparsholt CC in it's present form was born shortly after the 1935 AGM, when the cricket club seceded from the Athletic Club. The first pavilion was a chicken hut with an attached stable for a horse, erected in 1935 at a cost £6.37p. Fixtures were uncertain and fitful, especially during the war, but the club was revived in 1946 and by 1949 the members themselves had designed and built a pavilion given to the Club by Mr Bostock.
The early 1970's saw the advent of Hampshire League cricket, and Sparsholt joined up in 1975. In 1979 Sparsholt won the South West Division 2, and then in 1982 the South West Division 1 title. During this period the need for a brick built pavilion was turned into a reality with the construction, largely by craftsmen club members, of the existing pavilion, at a cost of £8,000.
In the 1980's the club grew rapidly, fielding a second eleven in the league in 1983. In the same year the first team were runners up in HCL Division 3, and promoted to division 2 for the following season, and then promoted to Division 1 where they remained until 2000, with the exception of the 1994 season in the Southern League after winning promotion in 1993. The Club gained admission to division 3 of the newly formed ECB Southern Premier League in 2000, and promptly gained promotion to Div 2 as runners up.
The second eleven was promoted into HCL West Division 1 for the 1992 season, the year in which a major extension was added to the pavilion. The second were relegated in 1998 however, gained promotion to Div 1 in 2001, the year in which another major extension was completed at the Club.
In 1991, the Third eleven was created, and entered into The HCCL. In 1992 the junior section was formed, expanding over recent years to today's level, where by a full junior programme is offered for 9-17 year olds.
Fast forward to 2017; The club are runners up in the Southern Premier T20 competition; the First XI are in division 2 of the Southern Electric Premier League, the Second XI are in Hampshire Cricket League Division 4 North and the Third XI are in the Regional Division 2 North East.