One of Wales’ top cricket clubs are hoping to make the best of an unplanned move from their home of 150 years to make way for regional rugby side the Ospreys. Swansea Cricket Club are to play on home soil at St Helen’s rugby and cricket ground this summer and then relocate to the Bishop Gore School playing field off Sketty Lane. It’s where Swansea Civil Service Cricket Club play.
Swansea Council, which owns both grounds, is investing in St Helen’s, subject to conditions, to facilitate the Ospreys’ move from the Swansea.com Stadium for the 2025-2026 rugby season. The council is also funding improved cricket facilities at Sketty Lane.
Mike Hayden, chairman of Swansea Cricket Club, said it was important that a new square was laid at the Sketty Lane pitch and given at least 12 months to bed in before league matches got under way in 2026. There is also the question of a potential merger between Swansea Cricket Club and the civil service club or a ground-share arrangement.
READ MORE: Pair hit and killed by car after being seen lying and kneeling in road
READ MORE: Driver dies in M4 crash that shut road for over 12 hours
Mr Hayden said there were still “a lot of hoops to go through”. He said he was grateful to remain at St Helen’s this summer in what is a landmark year for the club . “I hope that everyone will respect that,” he said.
Mr Hayden said the Sketty Lane ground wasn’t currently suitable for top-level club cricket – Swansea won the South Wales Premier League in 2023 and came fourth last summer – but he hoped it could become a good venue. “St Helen’s is our spiritual home, an iconic cricket ground, and it’s a big wrench,” he said. “But it’s really exciting potentially for us. If we can get it right, it could be a fantastic result in the long term, albeit not one what we would have chosen.”
Mr Hayden said the two cricket clubs had six senior teams between them and also ran several junior sides, plus an outreach programme for five to 13-year-olds. He acknowledged the support of the council in the planned relocation. “There is an awful lot to do in a short timescale,” he said.
The Bishop Gore playing field, off Sketty Lane, where Swansea Civic Service Cricket Club play, pictured on January 10
A council spokesman said it was working with a range of groups towards establishing St Helen’s as the Ospreys base for the 2025-26 rugby season. “There remains work to do and our discussions with all stakeholders continue to be positive,” he said. “We thank all of them for their ongoing work with us.
“Swansea Cricket Club are working to create a new home nearby, suitable to allow them to continue playing at the highest level in the South Wales League. They’ll be able to play the 2025 season – their 150th anniversary at the ground – at St Helen’s. If plans go ahead, the cricket club’s new home will be at the Bishop Gore School playing field at Sketty Lane. It would be a partnership agreement with the club that plays there – Swansea Civil Service Cricket Club.”
He added: “We’re working with the school to ensure that a new school rugby pitch would be created on the main school site. Pupils would continue to have access to the improved Sketty Lane facilities but the new school facilities would reduce the occasions when they’d need to cross a busy main road.
“Cabinet has approved a funding package in order to cover the work at Sketty Lane and Bishop Gore. Any changes will be in a manner agreed by all the organisations involved.”
Steve Porter, chairman of Swansea Civil Service Cricket Club, said they’d been in existence for around 135 years and had played at Sketty Lane for the last 30-plus years. He said it would be up to members to decide at some point whether the club continued to compete as they do currently or potentially merge with Swansea Cricket Club. The main focus, he said, needed to be on developing a ground which was fit for purpose.
“The drainage needs sorting, and the dressing rooms are old,” said Mr Porter. He also said that a new square needed a 12-month minimum bedding in time, and that he understood it would be moved slightly further away from the adjacent Swansea West fire station. If work gets under way on a new square before May this year, Mr Porter said the civil service’s first and second teams would share the ground at St Helen’s all this summer. “With anything new there are opportunities,” he said. “We will do the best that we can.”
The Ospreys are finalising the proposed layout of St Helen’s before submitting the designs for planning approval. Phase one of the proposed development would include a new, relocated 4G pitch, refurbishment of the clubhouse and terrace, and new stands. Phase two would see the installation of a state-of-the-art training facility, including gym and office space, plus a training barn also made available for community use.
Speaking last month, Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley said: “We remain on course to commence construction of phase one in spring 2025, with the aim of taking the field by that winter. While that means we’ll be playing our first block of games of the 2025-26 season elsewhere, we know it’ll be worth the wait for our supporters.” He added: “This redevelopment will also be great news for both Swansea RFC and Swansea University, as they will both be continuing to play games at St Helen’s.”
Glamorgan used to play some cricket matches at St Helen’s but stopped in 2019. They have played a small number of fixtures at The Gnoll, Neath, since 2022.