Cricket had probably reached Bedfordshire by the end of the 17th century. The earliest reference to cricket in the county is a match in August 1741 at
Woburn Park between a Bedfordshire XI and a combined Northants and Huntingdonshire XI. Woburn Cricket Club, under the leadership of the
Duke of Bedford, became prominent in the 1740s and took part in a number of "great matches" against opponents such as
London Cricket Club. A county organisation has been traced back to May 1847 and a Bedfordshire team competed in the first Minor Counties Championship in 1895, with six other teams: it finished fourth. The county then missed the next four seasons before the current Bedfordshire County Cricket Club was founded on 3 November 1899, at which point it rejoined the competition in 1900. It has not missed any seasons since.
Honours The county has won the
Minor Counties Championship twice, in 1970 and in 1972, and shared the title in 2004 after drawing the title playoff match against
Devon. The
MCCA Knockout Trophy was won in 1999. •
Minor Counties Championship (2) - 1970, 1972;
shared (1) - 2004 •
MCCA Knockout Trophy (1) - 1999 ==Notable players==