Brymbo
Cricket
Club
A famous local cricket club with an impressive track record – county captains, Wales internationals and a 138-year history of supporting the community. Howzat!
Invited to meet Club Captain and Chairman.
When we exhibited at and supported Wrexham University’s Freshers’ Fair last month, we met some of the team behind Brymbo Cricket Club. They saw the work we have been doing to champion other great local institutions across Wrexham, so invited us along to their clubhouse in October to meet with their club captain and chairman, Jason Underwood.
A Proud
History
Brymbo Cricket Club was founded back in 1888. It originated as part of the Brymbo Steelworks, which had begun steelmaking as long ago as 1796. The club initially played on the steelworks' working men's social club pitch before moving to a new sports complex in Tanyfron in 1978, where we start our story today.
Welcomed
To Wrexham
Jason is originally from Cape Town, South Africa, moved to the UK in 2017, and then to Wrexham in 2024. He has been playing for Brymbo since 2023.
Jason specifically relocated to play at this famous club as an overseas amateur. Now First Team Captain, Jason plays as batsman, and now has a number of seasons under his belt with the club. He has taken on the added responsibility of Chairman for the past 2 years.
Family Ties
Now firmly established locally with a growing young family, he conjured up an emotional image of one of his greatest moments, when he posed with his father and his young son all wearing matching ‘Underwood’ Brymbo Cricket Club shirts, such is the love of the club throughout the whole family.
“My success is the growth of the club. And we do this in a number of ways...
“Our ageing clubhouse is in need for overhaul, and we are investing in new changing rooms. We also do a lot of charity work and fundraising which work for both the club and the local charities. This year’s charity has been Hope House Children’s Hospice, and the club raised over £1000. Last year we raised funds for Coppafeel Youth breast cancer awareness charity and do what we can to support different local charities each and every year.”
“A big part of our annual match calendar are our charity days. This summer we held an International – South Africa vs Wales. We had players travelling from all over the country to be here to play for one day only. Some travelled from as far as Devon and Scotland, such is the popularity of this popular international. Wrexham City Radio broadcasted from here in support and it’s become a major social event with hundreds in attendance.”
Many Teams
One Mission
Incredibly proud of the history and the pedigree of the club, Jason has made it his personal mission to grow both the success of the club on the field as well as off it. The club now fields 4 senior sides and a ladies team with 16 players. Growing the next generation is immensely important and they have built up an enviable junior section close to 90 members.
Following
In The Steps
Of Former
Greats
Raising the bar and standards on offer, keep growing the club and footprint are the guiding principles behind the plans Jason and the team have today at Brymbo Cricket Club. Supported by famous former players and older statesmen, there is a long and proud history of the club on show and Jason kindly prepared some feedback and stats for our meeting.
Footballing Connections
When their new grounds opened in 1978, they held an historic game. Brymbo CC v Liverpool FC containing players such as – Bob Paisley, Steve Heighway, Mr Wrexham himself - Joey Jones, Steve Ogrizavich, Alan Hansen, and Terry McDermott.
Cliff Lloyd was also noteworthy as he held honours with both North Wales and Denbighshire, and was also the Former Secretary of Wrexham AFC.
Steel Power
Golden Era
Brymbo's Golden era was between 1981 and 2002, when they won four national trophies, and three Senior Welsh Cup titles;
Welsh Senior Cup Champions 1987, 1988 & 1992.
Appeared in 4 Senior Cup finals 1983, 1986, 1993 & 1994.
Welsh Intermediate Cup Title 2002.
North Wales Competition Champions in 1981, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 & 1990.
On return to the North Wales League, Brymbo were crowned champions in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 & 1999.
Nige Roberts was also a noteworthy player - he represented Wales from '78 - '91 and played against the West Indies in '84 and '91.
A lot of the club successes were powered by local steelworkers - men who’d finish a shift at the works, and head straight out to the pitch. Today, with the steelworks long gone, their efforts are honoured in the nearby Stori Brymbo visitor centre.
With such important history, Jason firmly believes there is a compelling duty to continue the great tradition of cricket locally.
With serious aspirations to become a North Wales leading facility cricket academy, there is already the silverware and the history to back up the ambitions.
“One hand washes the other”
The teams play for 7 months of the year but have outgoings for 12 of every year, so they are always open to welcoming new ground sponsors and working with local businesses who want to support the noble game and do their bit to help keep it going.
Jason is keen to connect with and work with other local businesses who not only love cricket, but love helping their local community. With a brand new website and a new clubhouse in the works, now is a great time to connect with, support and get behind this only growing club. Come on Brymbo!
