Events

Frank Higgs Day

Three days of junior cricket at Warnford. The future of the Hogs, playing at their home.

Every great cricket club knows that its future walks onto the ground in whites that are slightly too big and with a bat grip that needs re-taping. The Hampshire Hogs have known this for nearly 140 years — and Frank Higgs Day is the day we celebrate it most loudly.

Named in honour of one of the most beloved figures in the club's history, Frank Higgs Day is the Hampshire Hogs' junior festival: three days of competitive, joyful cricket for the Hoggets — our Under 11, Under 13, and Under 16 sides — played on the same ground that has shaped Hampshire cricketers for generations.

2026 Programme

Monday 25 May · Fixtures from 10.30am

Under 16s — Girls & Boys

The oldest of our Hoggets take centre stage first. Players who have grown up at Warnford, who know the slope on the square and the pace of the outfield, and who are beginning to ask whether there might be a place for them in the senior Hogs side. There usually is.

Tuesday 26 May · Fixtures from 10.30am

Under 13s — Girls & Boys

The heart of the Hoggets programme. The Under 13s combine the enthusiasm of youth with a developing cricket intelligence that never fails to surprise. These are the players who will be wearing Hog blazers in ten years' time — and they already carry themselves like they know it.

Wednesday 27 May · Fixtures from 10.30am

Under 11s — Girls & Boys

The newest arrivals. The Under 11s bring an energy to Warnford that is entirely their own — entirely unguarded, entirely joyful, and entirely what cricket is for. Many of them are playing at Warnford for the first time. None of them will forget it.

All three days are open to spectators. The pavilion bar will be open. Teas served throughout each day.

Who Was Frank Higgs?

Frank Higgs was a Winchester man to his core. Born and raised in the Hyde district of the city, he spent his working life at Winchester College before serving sixteen years at Police Headquarters and retiring to a part-time role at the Hampshire Chronicle.

From 1957 to 1982, Frank was the principal umpire for the Hampshire Hogs — a tenure of twenty-five years that coincided with some of the finest cricket played at Warnford. The Laws of Cricket require an umpire to call “Play” to begin a match. Frank Higgs had other ideas. At the start of every game, he would draw himself up, survey the field, and declare:

"Gentlemen — Cricket!"

Those two words said everything about what Frank believed the game was for. He was utterly impartial, impossible to fluster, and entirely immune to vehement appeals. In 1953, Frank travelled to London for the inaugural meeting of the Association of Cricket Umpires, where the president-elect was Douglas Jardine. On learning Frank had come from Winchester, Jardine mentioned that he had recently been dining at the College with the Warden. Frank listened politely. “I know, sir,” he replied. “I was the butler.”

He loved telling that story for the rest of his life. Frank Higgs died at the fine age of ninety-five. Every May, when the Hoggets take the field at Warnford and the umpire calls play, Frank Higgs is somewhere in that moment.

Joining the Hoggets

The Hoggets welcome players of all abilities from across Hampshire and the surrounding counties. You do not need to have played before. You need to want to learn, to play hard, and to enjoy yourself — which, at Warnford on a summer's day, is not difficult.

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