Manchopper at the Cricket….(Monton CC)

Result: Monton CC 111ao (34.2 overs) LOST TO Glossop CC 207ao (49.5 overs) by 96 runs. (Greater Manchester Cricket League Premier Division 2)

Venue: Monton Sports Club; Quaker’s Bridge (Saturday 24th April 2021; 1pm)

Att: Peaked over 100.

Week number two of the return of live sport on these pages saw me heading back over the bridge and into Salfordian territory once again. This time, though, I’d be a little closer to home, with my short-term home being the Monton Sports Club where, perhaps unsurprisingly, Monton Cricket Club play out of. Of course, as a clear huge name in the press ranks, I had no issue bypassing the members only rule, and was able to gain entry!!

Once again, as most will be during this period, a bus trip via the Trafford Centre seeing me cross the old swing bridge that crosses over the Manchester Ship Canal and links the two cities together at this juncture. I hopped off the bus at the foot of the village of Monton itself, before taking some of the former rail-line footway down towards the ground. Well, that was the plan anyway, but it soon became clear that works on an old rail bridge (that I overheard locals complain has been going on for quite some time) would put paid to this somewhat.

Follow the right track…

Walk the line…

As such, a divert via the backstreets and up and around the bridge area saw me re-join said trail just short of the site of the Sports Club itself. Both lacrosse and football were in full-flow for kids under the balmy morning sun, while the cricketers began to arrive in dribs and drabs from Glossop.

Monton is a suburb of Eccles, within the City of Salford. Historically a part of Lancashire, Monton was administered by the municipal borough of Eccles, prior to its abolition in 1974, when it became part of the wider Metropolitan Borough of the City of Salford. Its name is of Saxon origin, coming from the name of Anglo-Saxon warrior Mawinga (who likely lived and owned the area in the 1200’s) and later being named Mawnton, prior to the current name being taken on.

Monton is home to a conservation area including Monton Green, the Unitarian chapel, an old schoolhouse, plus a lodge and clubhouse built for the Earl of Ellesmere’s estate in 1875. 1930 saw the construction of the Veterans Shelter – locally known as “Old Man’s Shelter” upon the Green, where ‘Veterans of Industry’ could meet if the weather wasn’t up to scratch…which was probably more often than not, knowing the usual weather in these parts! Monton Green is now largely a laid out area of gardens and lawns, surrounded by roads. 

Monton Green

After the act of Uniformity in 1662, Edmund Jones, Vicar of Eccles, was an ejected minister, but both he and his congregation continued to meet and hold services around the Eccles area. This was until they were found out and he was imprisoned, with his congregation reported to the local magistrates. Crazy times…you’d never get anything like going against silly, unsubstantiated rules nowadays now, would you…oh.

In 1715, during the Jacobite Rebellion, over 100 supporters of the “Old Pretender”, James Stuart – son of King James II (VII) of England – ransacked the local chapel, having already destroyed Cross Street Chapel in Manchester. Not too much came from this though, with locals gaining compensation for the government to repair it. The local parishioners eventually became Unitarians, via the Non-Conformists Act of 1844. Their church lasted to 1875, when the present building was constructed. 

Monton

There was once a railway station within Monton, known as Monton Green. This stop stood on the Tyldesley Loop Line, which ran through Eccles, Roe Green and Worsley and through to Leigh and was joined by tram services in 1905. It was closed during the Beeching Cuts of 1969, having been in service for over 80 years. The station itself was situated on an embankment, just off Monton Green and ran alongside the Bridgwater Canal – though all traces of the stop have long gone, although the canal does now have a lighthouse, a later addition. The loop-line itself is now a part of a cycleway. Monton is now served by stops at Eccles and Patricroft, (the canal and railway holding the honour of being the first and first passenger commercial respectively) as well as the Eccles Interchange Metrolink and regular bus services.

Arriving at Monton Sports Club

Monton Sports Club

Having ensured I could see the game, just in case my entrance didn’t go to plan for any reason, I entered the ground, bypassing the members only whiteboard, before introducing myself to the lady running the bar itself, and the hospitality surrounding it. I was warned that the ground would likely become busy at some point, and so I’d likely be moved across somewhere to allow for the bigger tables to be used by bigger groups (only up to six, of course!), which was all fine with me…but, blimey, I didn’t quite expect what was to come!

I was also introduced to Dan, who runs the Monton twitter account for the cricket arm, who gave me free roam of the cricket ground as “official club press”. Ooh, I’d not felt so important for a long, long while and said as much!! Anyway, having been given a very warm welcome by both the staff, members and weather, we were ready to go for the start, as I got my first drink of the day in – a Carlsberg Pilsner did the job for the time being.

Nice…

Well, I said we were all set, but an accident en route affected the Glossop side, so the start was pushed back by half-an-hour to one-o’clock. No issue for me, but had it been overcast and drizzly, I may have been more affected! Soon enough though, the Glossop stragglers, and the second umpire, did arrive and we were finally set to get playing – much to the chagrin of the Monton side, who’d just began a game of Top Trumps. They weren’t impressed…

History Lesson:

Monton Cricket Club was first formed in 1903, with an area around Ellesmere Park and the Quaker Bridge – that at the time was being used by the local lacrosse team (of which was a stronghold sport in the area at the time) – soon to become its home. The area, known as the Quaker Bridge Ground, had a small wooden pavilion building added by the lacrosse outfit in 1911 and this remained in use for the next 65 years, being used moreso when the cricket side joined up with the lacrosse team to secure a lease on the ground.

Despite improvements being regularly made to the ground, he lease was only for fifteen years though and attempts to buy the ground outright were soon put into action. These were successful and the ground was now under ownership of the club. Improved changing facilities and a  bar and kitchen area was added during the 1930’s, whilst the new pavilion was opened by Lancashire legend Ernest Tyldesley in 1936, although its usage would soon be lightened by the outbreak of WWII.

This might swing nicely!

Intermittent cricket was played during wartime, with the 456th Anit-Aircraft Royal Artillery Battery stationed within Ellesmere Park and so they made use of the facility for their recreation. In 1953, the club’s jubilee year just so happened to coincide with the Queen’s coronation and on the day of the crowning itself, Monton overcame local rivals Worsley – another local club I’ve visited, just last year in this case. The railway that ran alongside the ground (now the aforementioned walkway) closed that same year, after a tragic event that saw the “Black Harry” tunnel collapse in Swinton, swallowing three houses and killing five as they slept.

The area became derelict until 1971, when a deal was struck to allow for extra space and a levelling off for the ground – benefitting both the council and cricket club respectively. The flattening of the land saw the removed soil and the like used in the creation of the M62 motorway. Recycling! During the 1960’s financial problems began to surface somewhat and a restructuring was thought as the best way to deal with these. A grant allowed for better facilities and a name change to take away the impression of a “secular” club. As such, Monton Cricket Club (as it was) was no-more, with Monton Sports Club coming into being from 1968.

A different view…

Yet more new facilities were built during the mid-1970’s, with these being opened in 1976, whilst the most recent improvements to the ground took place in 2011. During the intermitting period, Monton merged with Weaste CC (the latter having been nerfed out of their ground) with the newly-named Monton and Weaste CC taking up Monton’s place in the Manchester and District Cricket Association. Monton had been a member of the league since 1937, when they replaced Stockport CC (who I incidentally visited a few years back now), who had departed to join the Central Lancashire League. Unfortunately, checking the 1980 handbook that’s available online, it seems honours evaded Monton throughout this whole time, though 1979 did see them end runners-up in the 2nd Division.

Think the Munich player got the wrong directions!

Amazingly, upon Stockport’s 1998 resignation from the CLL, Monton and Weaste were again chosen to take the vacant spot left by the club, and remained there for the next decade or so, having a golden couple of years in 2008 & 2009, when the club won the CLL’s Wood Cup in both years, the 2008 Burton Cup and the league title in 2009. Having had South African star Simon Harmer in their ranks for 2015, the club left to be a founding member of the Greater Manchester Cricket League in 2016. By this point, the club had reverted back to being simply known as Monton Cricket Club once more and finished as Division 1B runners-up in 2018, before winning their Covid-affected mini-division in 2020, the Division ‘G’.

Here we go!

The action got going with Monton’s Ben Chapman and Ali Nawaz starting well, their opening spells causing a few issues for the Glossop openers and being unfortunate with a few nicks through the slips. Indeed, it took them an eventual nine overs or so to make the breakthrough, Chapman breaching the defences of Dave Wilde (16), who’d looked in good touch. Chapman wasn’t finished there and, in his next over, he had the scalp of the second opener, Glossop skipper Oliver Kenyon too, as he nicked behind for five. However, I’d somehow managed to miss both wickets, so was indebted to the live stream for allowing me to catch-up. This was some unwanted skill I’d keep up for some time!

Joe Moss and Adam Hayes got together upon the loss of Kenyon and batted for ten overs, advancing the score from 26-2 to 60-2, whilst surviving a dropped catch and a extremely high-pitched lbw appeal from Nawaz(!), before the latter was dismissed by Monton dangerman Chapman – a decision to kick the ball away not being the best he’ll make this season. He was gone for twenty, as was Ruman Ahmed, whose attacking knock was ended by Will McAvoy, who had him caught at mid-on.

Digging it out

On yer toes!

At that point, the score was 96-4 and Monton would’ve felt they may have been gaining something of the upper hand in the game; and this feeling would have been strengthened when the other set batsman, ‘keeper Joe Moss, was bowled by medium-pacer McAvoy for a well-made 32. However, a good partnership of 43 between Alex Coates and James Ayre aided in the Glossop recovery, as they guided the visitors to just short of the 150 mark, before Ayre (23) was ousted from the crease by spinner Ben Marsden. Marsden enticed Ayre down the track, but he was defeated by the delivery and the bails were duly whipped off by Joe Kershaw. Stumped.

And when Coates (27) played a fairly ugly-looking stroke not too long afterwards and was given lbw to give Marsden his second wicket, the score stood on 154-7 and Monton may have held hopes they’d be able to wrap up the innings in somewhat short order. But a partnership of 44 in just seven overs between Will Hargreaves and Matt Kells again helped them out of the situation, before the former was trapped in front by the spin of Aamir Riaz for 25. 

Doing a bit of sweeping…

‘OWZAAAATTTT!!!

Nawaz returned to wrap-up the tail, taking the wickets of Kells (nine) and Mark Usher (three) caught cover and bowled respectively, as Glossop’s innings came to a close just one ball short of their 50 over allocation. They had set Monton a challenging score of 207, especially considering the home side had been skittled for just 47 in their opening game of the season, the previous week. My mid-innings break consisted of switching to JW Lees’ bitter and enjoying a piping hot portion of “proper” chips, which were very decent, at just a couple of pounds a pop. It looks like not too many, but the size makes up for the lack of numbers, if you get me!

Anyway, food-based confusion notwithstanding, we were soon all set for the Monton response, with the batters having something to prove…but it didn’t begin all too well. The first ball of the second over saw their first wicket to go down, as keeper-batsman Joe Kershaw was castled by Oliver Kenyon’s first delivery. A golden duck. Ali Nawaz came out at number three and lasted eleven balls, but nor did he score during his time at the crease, before Kenyon snaffled him, caught and bowled. The skipper was leading from the front!

Ben Chapman was looking good at the other end though and had advanced to a run-a-ball 18, until he was adjudged lbw to Mark Usher. He wasn’t best pleased with the decision though and seemed to indicate he’d got an inside edge on the ball, prior to it hitting his pad. However, the decision stood and he had to go. After that wicket, Monton seemed to get a little stuck somewhat, only adding 14 runs in nine overs, until the fourth wicket went down, that of Marsden (one) who became Kenyon’s third victim, having seemingly been beaten for pace and missing an attempted pull-shot.

Hittin’ out!

Drinks board?

At 39-4, things didn’t look all too good again for the hosts. Captain Josh Lenihan hung around for 56 balls for his ten, alongside the aggressive Aamir Riaz, but he would be the fifth man to fall, Will Hargreaves getting in on the wicket-taking act. This was when Riaz began to try and open his arms up a bit more and when Tom Coe (five) was bowled by that man Kenyon, he began to set his sights on the clubhouse area, a couple of sixes raining down around the tables, before his bat had enough and snapped!

In the end, it was too much of a task for one man and his battling match-high innings of 47 off just 45 deliveries was ended somewhat fittingly by Kenyon, whose impressive spell of 15-3-57-5 was completed, wicket-wise anyway, by a second c&b. This was actually another wicket that I missed live at the time, being too busy saying “hello” to giant puppy Merlin and Dan’s smaller companion, Hetti! The two young girls taking Merlin for his walk around the park were doing an impressive job of keeping him under wraps!

Solid.

MCC

Back on the field, the score was 99-7 and it looked over bar the shouting. Indeed it proved, as Dan Collins (one) was given out caught behind off Adam Hayes’ medium-pacers (another decision a batsman wasn’t overly impressed with!), before spinner Hargreaves grabbed the final two wickets; firstly trapping Jordan Bromley plumb in front for nought, before ending the match a couple of overs later, when Will McAvoy (eight) was snapped up at mid-wicket, leaving the second of the Monton Riaz’s, Junaid, stranded on four not-out. Monton were all out for Nelson and that was that.

Late on…

Looking at the sides in the brief time I’ve seen them, Monton certainly seem a stronger bowling line-up, but, having said that, they’re certainly not an ‘on-the-regular’ 47 all out batting side; a score Aamir Riaz, of course, matched by himself in this one! If it clicks, they’ve got more in the locker, that’s for sure. Glossop look a strong outfit too, as their steady scorecard, and strong bowling performance, showed.

I bid a goodbye and a thanks to Dan and made my way back to the main road for the bus trip back from whence I came. Happily, on this occasion, the bus actually did stop for me and I was able to get back and onto my connection nice and smoothly to end off another fine weekend’s cricket, which included the first 5-wicket haul of my season, having already seen the first century last time out! Monton is a nice club and a ground that’s well worth a visit, if you’re out and about in the area. Just tell them the press man sent you…

RATINGS:

Game: 6

Ground: 9

Food: 9

Beer: 7

Value For Money: 8