Pub history

The Wicket Gate

Chester-le-Street Cricket Club has played here since 1866. Also nearby is the new Riverside ground, home to Durham County Cricket Club. The first first-class match was held at ‘The Riverside’ in May 1995. The ground hosted its first Test Match (between England and Zimbabwe) in 2003 – all a far cry from the early days of cricket, when the target was usually the wicket-gate of the sheep pasture which was defended with a bat in the form of a shepherd’s crooked staff.