Yes Braithwaite did have a cricket team. My father who is now 96,was the secretary for many years. They actually played in the Craven & District Leugue.They hired a coach for all their away games but this became too expensive as they had to travel for what was considered quite long distances in those days. So in 1939 they quit the Craven League for the Keighley & District League. At that time the Keighley & District was a lower standard and many players left. This was the start of the demise, but the real crunch came when the farmer who owned the field and leased the ground for a peppercorn rent, found out that they had changed their name from Braithwaite St Matthews to Braithwaite. The farmer, a chap called Joe Wilkins, being a religous man, didn't like this so they got evicted. They did try to get other grounds but eventually the team disbanded in the early 40's.
My father tells me that their first pavilion was burnt down by a disgarded cigarette from a courting couple using the veranda of the pavilion. The pavilion was replaced by one donated by a fellow called Newsholme who was the secretary of the defunct All Saints Church cricket club. They played on one of the many fields adjacent to Keighley CC down Lawkholme. They dismantled it and transported it by cart to their field near the tarn.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 59-64

Current location (optional) Keighley

The Ashes are getting nearer. In the expectation of victory and revenge I have no doubt the Aussies and their broadcasters will advertise this as the greatest test series ever. England's injuries mean we will go into the maelstrom less confident than last year. But a new England is emerging....

Safe predictions : England will not win one Test; Aussies to win 3 or 4 to zero;Ponting to knock about 700 runs in the series; Monty to be hit out of the series early on;Warne(if fit) to get bagful of wickets again. England have lost the plot.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

Well, if you're to be proven correct Alan, the Aussies might need Gillespie to do a damn sight more than he did for Yorkshire this summer!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58 - 65

This Ashes series will go to the wire. England will treat it as a military operation irrespective of injuries. And no ball tampering crap.

"Military operation"? Interesting.You mean in thestyle of the bodyline series? I don't see the South African Pieterson being military material, nor Fintoff for that matter. Rather I believe, as with the last England series win here, most of England's success will depend on the fitness and performances, especially bowling, from Flintoff.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

Much was said earlier about the old West Bradford League. Whatever its called now, it was the final of the Cup competition at Keighley CC on Saturday. My parents went.
Oakworth (favourites) were defeated by Cullingworth.

Does the use of the passive mood in his report indicate a preference (BIAS) on Brian's part?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

I have no objection to that.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

By 'military operation' it was meant 'well prepared' with an England 'second string' playing in the Perth League. Also psychological 'war games' will be calculated. England will still have to perform above the call of duty but nothing will be left to chance.

Incidentally, I don't think an All Black win in the next World Rugby Cup is a racing certainty.

Yes,no stone unturned.However, I would question the selections of Giles and Anderson. The former has played no cricket this year, is still unfit, and one can only assume he is one of the top batsmen in world cricket.Anderson to my mind has always been a liability.For one reason or another he hardly plays any first-class cricket, but he's off to Australia.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

The poet explains the batsman’s repertoire to his grandson


Now, come on, show me how you stand.
Good! Feet slightly apart, pat the crease.
Shoulder forward. Good! Head facing full to the front.
Good, you have it.
Now watch me! Stand well back!

The forward defensive stroke
is a Trojan gate denying access
to the venomous and spiteful Greek.
It should be vertical to the second and impregnable.
It is a barn door, a bulwark, a bastion;
a Yorkshireman's inheritance.

The back defensive stroke
is Custer's last stand, a Thermopylean stroke,
Spartan defiance.
The red beast, snarling at the gate, repulsed,
bails still intact.

The off drive, back past the bowler.
dominant, dismissive and arrogant.
The magnificent riposte!
A shot of grandeur and gesture.
The stroke Imperial!
A statement, a challenge, a taunt!

The on drive
should be as elegant as an Euclidean theorem.
Balletic!
A princely stroke, apparently effortless
but eloquent and enobling.
Aah! The crowd sighs with deep pleasure.

The cover drive
is a gentleman's shot
smoothing its way to the boundary,
bisecting floundering fielders.
Poetic!
O, that final flourish! The glory of that follow-through!

The square cut,
( not to be considered until after April),
is a scythe, a scimitar,
smacking of Flynn and Fairbanks.
A flashing Saturday-morning-pictures shot.
A vibrant pulse of satisfaction through the forearms.
The rich crack of wood on leather.

The late cut
is a shot that is all eye and wrist.
A shot that smuggles runs from the stumper's gloves.
An after dinner liqueur for the connoisseur;
a master's stroke;
a flickering baton conducting applause.

The leg glance,
off the back foot,
is Oriental wizardry. A stroke for a wand!
A sleight of hand! An illusion!
Victory plucked from defeat.

The pull.
A bully's shot, a cudgelling shot!
The Executioner's shot, blade and block.
A roundhouse punch!
Brutish backstreet thuggery
but played by a Bradman, four.

The hook.
A thump! A clout! A heave!
High over despairing hands.
A swirling shillelagh of a shot!
A breaker of windows, a scatterer of ladies!
A six!

Terry, I have no bias toward Oakworth or Cullingworth, I was Knowle Park Congs! Didn't like that David Atkinson ('owzat Dad) though, even if our mother's had us in hospital within a day or two of each other.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-64

Current location (optional) Wirral

Arthur, we are of course grateful for your literary contributions on non-academic subjects. But who is the poet who describes the art of batmanship in such elegant terms. They are masterly and relevant today.

I can almost hear that Barnsley maestro Geoffrey Boycott echoing them verbatim. Especially the defensive shots!

Thanks, Arthur, a comprehensive summary of the batsman's weaponry and a wonderful melange of imagery - ranging across most of the areas of man's finest and bravest achievements - but not overlooking the Yorkshireman's self-belief that he could do it all. Could I commission an ode to the wily bowler - someone with the talent, guile and variation of a Bob Appleyard - the like never seen before or since - and a West Riding lad to boot.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Ask him to submit ,'For Freddie', for your delectation and delight. A little something he 'knocked together'after watching Flintoff hit a century against the Aussies last season. I can read it over and over again and it still gives me great pleasure- as most of his poetry does.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 45-50

Current location (optional) Keighley

The upcoming Ashes series should be interesting on a couple of counts. One is that we were cruelly robbed at the last meeting - in fact we dropped the series by just two runs with Kasprowicz given out when his hand was clear of the bat - and the second is that for the first time in a number of years the Poms have several players who would fit neatly into an ideal Australian side.

There have not been many of these over the years; players whose ability is matched by their attitude to the game and crowd. Ian Botham was such a player; one of the alltime great allrounders in the mould of Keith Miller. Trueman, of course, would have been an archetypal Australian player. Darren Gough was half a chance but unfortunately was not a great bowler. But today Flintoff and Petersen would walk into our side. Each has the fine disdain for the situation and opposition that stamps an exciting and entertaining cricketer. I wish players would remember that they are highly paid and that their job is to put on a show. Garfield Sobers, the greatest cricketer of all time (note I didn't say greatest batsman) was a consummate entertainer in the days when cricketers were paid peanuts.

On the other side of the coin are batsmen such as Boycott who had great technical ability but little regard for anything other than his wicket - and, on occasion, his head. He didn't fancy Thomson and Lillee one little bit, and poor old Colin Cowdrey, all 430 kilos of him, had to try to do the job. He tried with all the grace that a fading, fat legendary cricketer can muster and his courage was never in dispute. Edrich and Close were other brave players,and had Derek Randall been more consistent his exuberance would have won him a spot in an Aussie team - we liked him. But for a number of years until the last Ashes series the priority of the England side has seemed to be avoiding defeat rather than forcing victory. To be fair there have been a number of senior Australian players who also have not honoured the true symbolism of the baggy green cap.

I suppose having spent 41 of my 64 years in Australia I have acquired a degree of bias but I am confident that with the exception of a few wicket-protectors Australia - win or lose - have adhered more closely to the spirit of the game than the old enemy. I trust both teams will focus on what cricket is all about in this series, in which case we should have a great summer for our autumn years.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-57

A good response Paul. I like that reference to the gargantuan Colin Cowdrey of Kent. A toff from the South alright. He was once knocked out by Sylvester Clarke a lightening quick bowler from the West Indies in the eighties. Anyway, it took six men to carry him off the pitch.

The Slug, as we used to call him. Still, his timing was impeccable and his cover drive a joy to behold.

Yes, IW, Cowdrey was very underrated - particularly in Yorkshire. Probably because he batted as though part of him was sitting in a deep leather armchair sipping port and lemon. But he was an accomplished batsman and one of the best slip catchers I've seen - up there with Phil Sharp and Ian Botham.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) Leeds

That reminds me of John Arlott's 'There's Cowdrey, in the slips, legs apart, waiting for a tickle'

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-64

Current location (optional) Wirral

Despite his physique, he was also a county standard squash player, which speaks volumes for his hand/eye co-ordination. Good at dominating the T, as they say in squash circles. Probably dominated the tea as well

You have asked for it -- and you are going to get it.

Arlott at his best: 'The batsman's Holding, the bowler's Willey'.

And that famous cricket statistic:

'Lillee, caught Willey, bowled Dilly.' It's true!

Nice one(s) - but didn't "Johnners" fit in there somewhere?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

The bowlers Holding etc was I think Arlott, but the other one was Johnners.
Another Johnners one was when Botham lost balance and caught the stumps with his leg. He said Botham tried , but failed to get his leg over.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-64

Current location (optional) Wirral

One more from that way over the top David Coleman at a long ago Olympics:

'The big Cuban has opened his legs and is showing his class'!

That was Alberto Juantarena!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-64

Current location (optional) Wirral

Didn't the late Ron Pickering once say, of a rather large and suspect eastern European female shot putter, that she was about to enter the ring and pull out a big one.?

Who said: 'You are nothing but a bunch of suet puddings and cream puffs?' Not Jonners, not Arlott, not Coleman, but whom?

First one gets a squeeze from Miss Riley. Alright a quicky from Silsden's finest Marilyn Cannox!

Sounds like something from Monty Python and the Holy Grail ..... anyhow, my favourite was from Jonners. Botham was out hit wicket in an unusual fashion - hooking, I believe, and then trying to leap over the stumps as he knocked a bail off. Jonners comment was that Botham had "not quite managed to get his leg over". Cue fits of hysterics in the commentary box. Mind you, it must have been the only time in Botham's career.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) Leeds

'Cream Puffs' -- it was Gilbert Swift who verbally chastised those who refused to play rugby and preferred cross country running.

As requested by Terry Marsden.

In Memoriam: Frederick Seward Trueman

There was summat honest
about the way he walked back to his mark
rubbing the ball on the front of his thigh,
the red smudge there for all to see.
Mark of his trade, that was.
Nowt picked at in corners,
no muck rubbed in,
no bloody Brylcreem-
just good honest sweat
and the constant polish
of a thewed thigh,
owt else was, well.
just not cricket.

There was summat honest
and above board about the way
he walked back to his mark
the black forelock swept back,
the legs bowed,
the toe of his right boot scuffed with drag,
then the turn
and that sweet unleash of stride,
the gathering pace, poetry of muscularity,
the unleash, perfection
the follow through, lyrical power,
the result, glory.

‘Tha knaws,
if it wuh one of those days
when there wuh nowt in’t wickit
Ah’d get through mi overs,
tryin’ summat new,
oddin’ t’ ball different,
deliverin’ wider of t’crease,
that sort o thing.
Ah found mi off –cutter that road
one Satdi aftunooin at Old Trafford
in a Roses game of all places.
Tuk mi three hundredth Test wickit wi’ that wun.
Neil ‘awke that was.’

There was summat honest and defiant
about the way he clamped his pipe into his jaw
and looked out from the pavilion balcony
across all those green and shining years.

Watching Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga taking four wickets in four balls recently in the World Cup in the West Indies, reminded me of an even more remarkable feat of bowling during a match in which I played when in in the RAF at Drifield in 1954(I think).A new arrival at RAF Driffield was an up-and-coming Yorkshire, left-arm fast bowler called Mike Cowan. He was fast, accurate and could really swing the ball. Needless to say, he was a cut above anything we would likely to meet at RAF Camp Team level, and so it proved one particular sunny afternoon. I had the doubtful honour to be stumping that day as our previous 'gloveman'(Johnnie Parfitt-Norfolk 2nd XI)had been demobbed and no-one else put their hand up, so I 'volunteered'.They were put in to bat. Cowan opened with a maiden and after a few more overs, did a 'four-in-four' dismissing the first four batsmen in the opposing team. Our Captain, an officer,of course, sensing an early finish, 'rested' Cowan and the batting side then managed to score a few runs whilst losing a couple more wickets to other bowlers. When Cowan finally returned, he did another 'four-in-four', clearing out the tailenders. Mike Cowan went on to play for Yorkshire and I believe toured with the M.C.C.in India with limited success. Injuries caused him to retire early from the game but he became known as popular after-dinner speaker in later years. I'll always remember him for playing hell with me for stopping the ball with with my stumper's pads, from poor throw-ins. 'It takes all the shine off the ball',he said. And he was right,of course.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 45-50

Current location (optional) Keighley

Hello David.
I might be able to help out with your dates. It would have been before 1954 I think, because I left Keighley for Australia in Jan '54,and I saw Michael Cowan play I think his first game for Yorkshire against the 1952 Aussies at Park Avenue. He opened the bowling with Coxon (Arthur or Alan?)and I think it was the 5th over before they scored a run off Cowan. The openers were Arthur Morris and boy wonder Ian Craig. Later in the innings, the great Keith Miller hit a straight six back over the bowlers head and cleared the football stand.
It must have been a great experience for you playing with such a good bowler.Cheers.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 47-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ

I saw Mike Cowan open the bowling for Yorkshire at Bradford with FST. I also saw him at Harrogate. His disappearance from the Yorkshire line-up was a disappointment as replacements were needed for openers like "Alec" Coxon. I think you will find, Bill, that the Aussies toured in 1953 and lost the Ashes at the Oval to an England team captained by Len Hutton. Incidentally the best six I ever saw for sheer power was one straight drive hit by DB Close at Park Avenue from the football end to the pavilion. It passed the umpire at the bowler's end at head height and kept at that until it crashed into the white-painted pavilion wall. A foot or two higher and there would have been at least one vacancy for membership.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Thanks for that Terry-I suppose I could have looked it up--after 54 years the memory is not bad but slightly imperfect. Cheers.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 47-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ

Terry, regarding powerful hitting. The story goes and it is a story I repeat, for I was not there, that during Learie Constantine's first tour of this country with the West Indies' team he hit a six that reached the boundary fence one foot up. It was still rising!! when it hit and shattered the fence paling.
Probably apocryphal but personally I believe it.
Arthur

Mmmm, I take it that physics was not one of your better subjects at KBGS Arthur.

Sir Leary Constantine played at Lawkholme in a benefit match for Eddie Paynter,probably very early '50's.I think he was a High Commissioner in those days. It was a Keighley invitation X1 v West Indies and Lionel Skirrow,the Keighley capt.won the toss and sent them in.The W.I. were something like 4 -20 something with two of the three W's gone and the third,I can't remember which one,put up a dolly to Skirrow at mid off,which he promptly put down.Cheers all round.A most enjoyable day for us youngsters. Cheers.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 47-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ

Trevor I an not sure what law of physics is transgressed by the story but nevertheless it is a story I read and which I repeat. He was a remarkable cricketer and man and as I say I believe it.Arthur

I'm just being a bit pedantic.
When the ball leaves the bat, particularly in yours and Terry's examples where the ball appears to be initially travelling parallel to the ground, there is only one force acting on it - gravity (and maybe some wind resistance), and the ball will immediately begin falling to the earth in a curve - it can not possibly begin to rise. It will only rise if it is hit upwards in the first place but the same rule applies, gravity will slow it down before it begins its inexorable path down to earth.

I'm just being a tad pedantic.
Once the ball leaves the bat parallel to the ground, as it appears to do in both examples, there is only one force acting on it - gravity - and the ball will immediately start to fall in a curve to the ground - it can not possibly begin to rise.
The ball will only rise if it is hit upwards in the first place but the same laws apply and gravity will slow it down until it begins its inexorable fall to earth.

Ooops - kept rewriting the message as I thought it wasn't being posted - not trying to force the message down your colective throats!!

Not wishing to be pedantic, Trevor, just a smidgen contentious, shouldn't that read "collective throat"?
I have always maintained that the teaching of the sciences in grammar schools deflected pupils from the study of grammar.
May I respectfully suggest that any subsequent hate mail or disputatious tracts arising out of that belief be posted under another subject and maintain this author's posture of "tongue in cheek".

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Trevor, you would be right but only if when the ball was hit its path was parallel to the ground, however, from your explanation of the effects of gravity the ball can never be hit to travel parallel to the ground. Gravity is ever-present and its effect upon the flight of the hit ball, that had no upward component and only a forward component, would be immediate in which case the track of the ball would be instantly downwards, however imperceptible that downward track may appear to the naked eye.
However, if both upward and forward components were present in the initial force then gravity would act upon that upward component until that became zero, its upward path being slowed during the process, and then the ball would be accelerated by gravity in a downward direction and this together with the remaining forward force, diminished only by air resistance, would bring the ball to earth eventually.
In either case, upon hitting the ground gravity would continue to act, through friction, diminishing the forward component of the force and the ball will slowly roll to rest, this assumes that there is no wall, tavern, car, fielder, spectator or fence to halt the path of the ball as was the case with the hit in question.
When the ball in case, the Constantine six-hit, hit the fence it was attested to be 'still rising' and since
as demonstrated above it can never have been travelling parallel to the ground we must assume that the ball had been hit upwards and forwards.
We would like to assume the ground be absolutely level, which it is not at Lord's, and if the ground was falling away where the ball impacted with the fence then the ball would appear to be ‘still rising’ when it was, in fact, not. This apparent ‘still rising’ effect may have been thought to be factual when it was, in reality, illusion. If the ground was rising, however or indeed if it were absolutely level then we enter a different frame of reference.
If a body hurled into trajectory, by whatever means, and under the influence of only the initial force and gravity, where the initial force is applied in an upward and forward direction, as it seems was the case with this shot, then, allowing for some air resistance, that body will trace an asymmetric parabolic path.
In the case of the said Constantine ‘six-hit’ the initial force would have been predominantly forward and only slightly upwards, combined with the downward pull of gravity the resultant vector path would be an asymmetric parabola. A study of this particular parabola would have shown that the early path of the ball would be perceptibly upward until such time as gravity nullified the upward component of the initial force and, if we are to trust the eyesight and veracity of the original storyteller, we must assume that this turning point, and the assumption of the body of a downward and forward vector path, would have occurred later in the ball’s flight if its flight had not been interrupted by the said fence.
None of this is intended to be pedantic, of course, and neither will I swear to the truth of the story since I was not there, but it does show that it is physically possible, unlike the fence no physical laws appear to have been broken in the achievement of the hit and hence it remains believable by the gullible.
I must go now for I am expecting a huge pink rabbit at the door with a chocolate egg-just for me.

So - the ball was hit upwards, if ever so slightly, and it hit the fence before reaching the peak of its travel - your extended description simply repeats what I said. Over the assumed distance (I have no knowledge whatsoever of cricket pitch dimensions but I'd say 40 or 50 metres?) and the height of the fence I think the key word here is gullible.
Incidentally, you discounted any wind resistance so why is the curve asymmetric?

Terry, thanks for picking up on my grammar, or lack thereof, but even hiding under the cover of tongue in cheek I feel hate mail is a bit strong.

As for rabbits, poink or otherwise, a woman opened her 'fridge and there was a rabbit inside. She asked the rabbit what it was doing and it asked - 'this is a Westinghouse isn't it'? She answered 'yes, so what' and the rabbit said' well, I'm westing'.

Cheers all, have a wonderful chocful Easter. Oh dear is it chocful or chocfull?

Hi Trevor. I can't find where I discounted air resistance but if I did I meant not to.
My extended description is a bit of fun really but I love stories like this.
The same writer described how LC while bowling noticed that the batsman was dead batting his bowling. Imagine the batsman's surprise when he played dead bat and found LC laying in front of him catching the ball as it dropped lazily to the ground.
Or Duleepsinji 'doiting' in the field at backward square leg one hot afternoon suddenly saw out of the side of his eye a flicker. Thinking it was the ball he went for the catch - and caught a swallow in flight.
BTW that dratted rabbit failed to show up with my egg. Never mind- maybe next year.

Sorry, Trevor. I was only trying,with rare disingenuity, to provoke the old arguments about Arts v Sciences. Alas, cover blown and no takers!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 52-60

Thanks Guys,
I was hoping I hadn't set off something too serious there! I thoroughly enjoy this site and the Forum and have no intention of deliberately upsetting anyone, but it is fun to try and remember all that science stuff after all these years. A bit of a debate now and then is stimulating.
Pleased to say the Easter Bunny did visit me this morning with some very nice, quality chocolates.

Cheers

During a visit to Keighley I went for an evening walk.I noticed a hut in the distance.On closer inspection I came across a field bounderied by stone walls, an even smaller hut in one corner which I imagine was the score-box..I unlatched a gate and wandered out to the middle of the field : two strips were cut.The boundaries were short.Two segments of opposite stone wall were white washed.The boundaries were very short.When out " in the middle" I couldn't help but childishly miming a flick to leg for six.Nostalgic reverie. I thought I had stumbled upon the cricket field I referred to earlier, but that was Morton, I believe.On one wall of the changing room it said " Balls aponsored by Willis Walker".The setting was idyllic.Can anyone guess which local cricket pitch this was?It was a name I had not encountered since school days.But an idyllic setting, and discovered by chance while walking over open country.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

Don't know which field that was - but nice to see you back posting after such a long absence! Where you bin?

Good grief Al. It's more than forty years ago. Haworth Baps is my best shot but I guess it's way off the mark.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-65

Current location (optional) leeds

Not far off the mark. I recommend anyone to seek out this little paradise if in the area. It's a gem.I also went up to The Tarn. That brought back a few memories.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

Wouldn't be Cullingworth, would it?
A

................ or Crossroads?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1945 - 50

Current location (optional) Norfolk

hi Dennis-it won't be Cross Roads-the Pavilion is long gone and you can JUST make out CRCC faintly on the wall at the top of the field.at least you could a couple of years ago. Cheers.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 47-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ

Thanks for that information Bill. It must be over fifty years since I last visited Crossroads Cricket field. I should have checked it out on Google Earth before I responded. There's no sign of it ever having been there!

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 1945 - 50

Current location (optional) Norfolk

I believe Shaun was indeed correct : confusion over the name.From its own website, would you believe :
"The Club was formed in 1900 from the Young Men's Class at the Sunday School as the Haworth West Lane Baptist Cricket Club. Amongst those who played a prominent part in its formation was Mrs Angus Crowther (ex-Deputy Lady Mayoress of Bradford), who, at the time, was a teacher in the Sunday School.

The first season, the Club played in a field behind Hoyle Farm. In 1901 and 1902 they played at Long Bridge before joining with Mytholmes Mission and playing on the Springfield ground alternate Saturdays.

In 1906, through the kindness and generosity of Mr Kershaw Barrett, the Club moved to the field at West End which has been the Club's home ever since.

For many years the Club played in the Keighley & District League, winning the Championship in in 1913. The 1914 - 1918 War came and took its toll of the leading players, and it was a tremendous task getting two teams together again. Some really willing workers raised, by voluntary subscription, £170 to build a pavilion, which was opened in 1921 and can be seen in the photographs at our Gallery page. In 1923 the Club made an application to enter the West Bradford League and was successful.

The Club continued to grow steadily over the years and in 1969 it changed its name. Because of the ever increasing costs in running a club fund raising was of primary importance. One of the most favored and most successful methods of raising funds was the Christmas Raffle, however the Baptist Church opposed this as a form of gambling and it was this that forced the Club to relinquish its connections with the Church, and later that year the Club was renamed Haworth West End Cricket Club.

In 1970 and in much need of repair, the old pavilion was pulled down and a new wooden pavilion with veranda put in its place. The Club had many successes during the 1970's, not least a young lad by the name of Peter Hartley. This youngster was so good in the juniors that he was soon showing the senior players how to Bowl. The rest is history. Peter was lucky enough to have been spotted by talent scouts and was soon on his way to play Professional Cricket with Yorkshire where he proved to be one of their most successful bowlers in recent years before heading off to Hampshire where he retired from the game at the end of the 2000 season.

In 1979 Haworth West End came out of the West Bradford League after 56 happy years and entered the Craven & District Cricket "

On the pavilllion it definitely said "Hawoth West End C.C."I think evven I could have missiled the ball over the wicket into the keeper's gloves from those short boundaries.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

With reference to Cross Roads C C
My father was a committee member for many years and my brother Malcolm played along with all my cousins
When they put new drains in they unearthed lots of ceramic knurr and spell balls ,the game was played there in the early 1900s
Bill Walsh played there along with his relatives
Sadly the field is once again rough pasture and no traces of the pitch can be seen
Here in Cumbria village cricket is still alive and well is this so in Yorkshire ?

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 59-66

Current location (optional) Gilsland -Cumbria

I certainly played for Knowle Park Congs at both Haworth Baps (high up on the moor) and Cross Roads. memories of Cross Roads include the awful stink that , depending on the wind direction, emanated from Robertshaws tallow rendereds nearby.
At Wilsden's ground you also invariably got the farm manure smell.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-64

Current location (optional) Wirral

After stumbling across (literally) Haworth West End's ground I ventured to the Lake District, a wonderful place to revisit for me. It even rained. Anyway, I came across a village cricket ground at the end of Kirkstone pass, just before Ullswater.The hills provide a breathtaking backdrop. Being put at long on and told to move to deep third man ( or even back-stop!)at the end of every over would be worth it just to play there.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-66

A couple of years ago I discovered a cricket ground at an old gold mining village, Walhalla in Victoria, Australia. level ground is at an absolute premium in this area, the local grave yard is so steep that people are almost buried vertically. Such is the draw of cricket that the top of a hill was sliced off to form the cricket ground. Take a look at it http://www.walhalla.org.au/p4.htm

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-61

Current location (optional) Blue Mountains via Haworth

Brian you are too polite------------- It is known locally as Robertshaw's Fat Shop !!
David-I remember your dad Willie and uncle Norman very well. They were indeed tireless workers for CRCC in the late 40's through the 50's.I have regular contact with your cousin Geoff. who married my cousin and now live in Christchurch NZ. .Cheers.

Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 47-51

Current location (optional) Auckland NZ