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Canterbury Cricket Week was founded in 1842. It is the oldest cricket festival week in England and involves a series of consecutive Kent County Cricket Club home matches, usually held in the first week in August. Since 1847 it has taken place at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, before that it was held at the Beverley Ground in the east of the city. In addition to hosting cricket matches, it also includes several other events and ceremonies. As of 2016, there have been 165 Canterbury Cricket Weeks held.
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The politician and journalist Bill Deedes wrote in 2000: "while the Second World War was on, I consoled myself by thinking that Canterbury Cricket Week, founded in 1842 with its tents and famous lime tree, unchanging in a changing world, was the sort of thing I was in business to preserve."
Traditions
Every Canterbury Cricket Week, Kent hosts a Ladies day with prizes being awarded for the best hat on the day. Another tradition is that a wreath is laid at the Colin Blythe memorial. The Kent supporters club also have their own tradition of laying a wreath commemorating those who played for the county and died during the First and Second World Wars.
The Old Stagers amateur theatre group has close links with Canterbury Cricket Week, originally being formed to perform at the festival.
Impact
Canterbury Cricket Week usually has Kent's highest attendance at the St. Lawrence Ground. It was once considered a major commercial and cricketing highlight of the year. There were concerns that it could be eclipsed by the growth in popularity of Twenty20 but is still considered unique in cricket and is not expected to change.
2012
In 2012, the 161st Canterbury Cricket Week was scheduled to clash with the second week of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London leading to fears of a reduced attendance at the Cricket Week. However, Kent Chief Executive Jamie Clifford stated that he believed that it would bring in larger crowds, mainly from people who didn't have tickets to the Olympics.