We’re delighted to offer Surrey Members and supporters an exclusive chance to ring the iconic five-minute bell at the Kia Oval and sound the start of a Rothesay County Championship fixture this summer!
All you need to do is nominate someone who you believe has a special reason for taking the honour of ringing the famous bell from HMS Illustrious at the People’s Home of Cricket.
The story and motivation of your nominee can be broad and far-ranging, but it should explain why they are the perfect person to carry on the tradition of bell ringing. Just for example, it could be that they are celebrating their 10th anniversary as a Surrey Member, or perhaps it is their first time attending a County Championship fixture. It could even be that they are a Surrey fan from overseas and have made the trip to south London, or they volunteer at the grassroots level to grow the game in Surrey and south London and want to spotlight the work being done.
For a long time now, the iconic bell has taken centre stage at the Kia Oval before the start of each day of international cricket in south London. This long-standing tradition will now extend to the County Championship as well.
Recent years have seen people such as Club legend Ebony Rainford-Brent, former President Trish Garrard, former Surrey Chair Richard Thompson, Graham Thorpe’s wife Amanda and daughter Kitty, international commentator and former Australia and Surrey player Mel Jones, sound the five-minute bell at the Kia Oval.
The bell, which has been loaned to the Kia Oval from the Royal Navy, was one of two bells on the HMS Illustrious 1982 – the second of three Invincible-class ships constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A former flagship with affiliations to London, the aircraft carrier retired in 2014, and one of its bells eventually found its way to Kennington.
