More than half of Mitcham’s pubs have shut down in just over a decade, with the head of a drinkers’ group blaming mismanagement and tough trading conditions for the closures.

The call of last orders at the Cricketers, which could be replaced with a housing development, means the number of locals has dropped from 20 to nine since 1997.

Paul Kirsten, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) Mitcham representative, said a range of pubs was vital to any community – but warned crime and disorder by drinkers had led to some of the closures.

He said: “It boils down to the people who use them, and the management losing control – the owners not having a hands-on approach.”

But he also blamed high taxes on beer for damaging the pub trade, and leading more people to drink at home.

He said: “You’ve got decent pubs that strive to do their best.”

Developers hope to replace the Cricketers in Cricket Green, which closed earlier this month, with shops, offices and 24 flats. A planning application for the development, which is in a conservation area, was lodged with Merton Council on July 27.

In a letter opposing the planning bid, Alexander Mags of the Mitcham Society said the pub was built on a site given by a landowner for community use.

He said: “Housing does not strike us as being for the good of the whole community, it is for the good of a few specific individuals only.”

In the 19th century, the historic pub served as a changing room for cricketers playing on the pitch across the road from the building – and in 1877 landlord James Sutherton turned out for England against Australia in a Test match in Melbourne.

The pub was sold by the Young’s brewery last year, which said no buyer was willing to take it on as a pub.

Drinkers and residents have come together to try to resurrect another victim of the closures – the Morden Tavern in St Helier, which shut on August 8.

For more on their campaign, see next week’s Wimbledon Guardian.