Result: Little Hulton CC 150-8 (25.4 overs) BEAT Radcliffe CC (31.2 overs) by 2 WICKETS.
Venue: Old Vicarage Ground (Saturday 10th June 2023; 12.30pm)
Att: 15 (hc; peak)
For my last planned weekend of local ground ‘ticking’, I headed back along what had become a rather well-trodden track over these past few weeks. After visits to Kearsley and Farnworth Social Circle over the previous two Saturday’s, this week’s venue would be in the same geographical area. Yes, instead of heading into Little Hulton on the bus, only to walk on out of it last time out, this time I’d be remaining within the town borders and visiting its cricket club’s home at the Old Vicarage Ground.
Heading on the same bus route I had seven days earlier, I was dropped off nigh-on outside the ground just around ten minutes before play was due to begin. After heading inside and taking up a spot on one of the benches which line the near side of the ground, I awaited the batsmen’s arrival – what with the fielders and umpires already having taken up residence upon the parched grass.
Little Hulton is an area within the City of Salford and lies just to the south of Bolton. Historically within the county of Lancashire and the hundred of Salford, it is bordered by the neighbouring towns of Farnworth to the north, Walkden to the east and Tyldesley to the south…only the latter’s shared club (with Astley) is still on my ‘to-do’ list! Little Hulton was historically a township and chapelry in the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Deane and the chief manor was held by the Hulton family of Hulton Park, Over Hulton.
There has been archeological evidence found during a 2008 dig which suggests that the area that Little Hulton now takes up has been inhabited since the mesolithic era, with flints and fire pits found. In addition to this, a later bronze age roundhouse was found, with this dating to somewhere in the region of 1480-1080 BC, as well as a medieval bloomery and furnaces and windbreaks dating to the between the 12th and 14th centuries.
Moving forward in time, the ancient district of Hulton was made up of three townships: Over Hulton, Middle Hulton and Little Hulton. The district itself has been known by the names Helghton and Hulton in 1235 and Hilton in 1278 and 1292, when the current name of Hulton became the primary name for the area. However, the Hilton name was still used in places up until the 17th century. In 1837, Little Hulton became part of the Bolton Poor Law union and remained there until the establishment of a Local board of health in 1872. In 1894, the Little Hulton Urban District was created and this ran until 1933 when it was abolished and Little Hulton became part of the Worsley Urban District.
Little Hulton
Peel Hall was built in Little Hulton during the mid-1800’s and replaced an older, moated stone-built hall. The Hall later became a sanitorium to treat victims of tuberculosis and later morphed into a ‘geriatric hospital’, before closing its doors in 1990. It was sold on to a redevelopment company after its closure but after vandalism and other damage was caused to the building, it was demolished in the mid-1990’s, despite it being Grade II listed. However, some parts of the overall property do still stand today, including the ice house which is also a Grade II listed building.
In 1870, the London and North Western Railway opened a station at Little Hulton, lying upon the line from Roe Green on the Eccles, Tyldesley and Wigan railway. During the cutting of the railway, a ten-foot wide Roman road was discovered to have passed through Little Hulton during their time in the British Isles. Back to the line itself and it was initially used to serve the collieries at Little Hulton and, in 1874, was extended to Bolton. Passenger services commenced in 1875 and the line remained in use for some 90 years until being closed in 1965. The path the line used to run upon is now an urban cycle route.
Most of the collieries (Madam’s Wood Pits, Brackley, Wharton’s Hall, Ashton’s Field and Peel Hall) around Little Hulton were served by mineral railways, with most of the spoil being dumped locally during the mines’ early history. In the 20th century, though, the Cutacre tip developed in the valley of the Cutacre Clough and became the dumping ground for mine waste out of the Brackley and neighbouring Moseley Common Collieries. Central Workshops were built nearby by the Bridgewater Collieries in 1878, as to aid in the transportation of coal from the mines by upkeeping the locomotives and other engineering pieces used in doing so. It closed as a British Coal workshop in 1986 and the site is now a housing estate.
Heading into the ground… (ft. bus)
The village expanded quickly after World War II, with land surrounding it being developed into council housing by the Worsley Urban District Council. Many residents who moved there were displaced after the removal of the slum areas, with over 1,000 settling in Little Hulton by 1956. Over 2,000 more houses would be built by 1962 as Little Hulton looked to be made into a suburb of greenery and private space for its ever-growing community.
Notable people to come from Little Hulton include the likes of the Ryder brothers, Shaun and the late Paul, of Happy Mondays fame, fellow musician Mark Berry, footballers Jimmy Hampson (record scorer for Blackpool FC) and George Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur, Hull City), Olympic javelin competitor Shelley Holroyd, locomotive engineer and colliery owner James Roscoe, whilst actor Christopher Ecclestone spent much of his youth in the town after his family moved there when he was seven months old.
The ground itself at Little Hulton is one which feels old – but in a good way. It’s old and breezeblock wall along the near side block out said winds, whilst a ton of foliage surrounds the playing area to the rear and far side. Benches are largely focussed down the near side, whilst the large clubhouse, its roof resplendent in the sky-blue paint takes up the majority of the near end, alongside the usual lock-ups, and the like. There is a nice decked area out to the front of the club/pavilion building too, which I was rather excited to try out at some point over the coming hours. For now, though, let’s delve into the history of Little Hulton’s cricket club…
History Lesson:
Little Hulton Cricket Club was founded in 1876 and the club played out of the Bolton and District Cricket Association in 1890 before leaving after one year. They returned in 1897, but again only competed for the single season in the Association before departing once more. However, the club’s third attempt would see a far longer tenure, as the club remained in the Association from 1907 right on through to 2015, when the league came to its end.
During the club’s time in the Bolton and District Cricket Association league, Little Hulton won the title for the first time in 1931 and added a second success in 1950, three years after the club lifted their (seemingly) first Cross Cup success (having been beaten finalists the year prior and again in 1953). Their third league triumph came along in 1955, but it would take another eleven years for title number five to arrive at the Old Vicarage Ground – this coming in 1966.
Inside the bar area
However, this period would see the club go on to see a good amount of Cross Cup success, as they would lift the silverware on three successive occasions between 1960 and 1962. They would be runners-up for a third time in the competition in 1971 and again in 1974, but would come out on top in both the 1976 and 1979 editions. They would continue to be regular finalists in the Cross Cup but continued to have mixed results, losing out in 1983, 1988 and 1994, but winning in 1987 1993 and 1999. They would also be runners-up in their two Vimto Trophy final outings in 1986 and 1987.
League success proved harder to come by, though, with the gap between the club’s third victory and their sixth lasting the best part of three decades, with 1995 finally seeing the club’s league championship drought come to an end. After winning two further Cross Cups in 2008 and 2009 respectively, Little Hulton would lift their seventh, and what proved to be their final, Bolton and District Cricket Association title in 2010 before they would join the Bolton Cricket League for the 2016 season, upon the Association’s folding.
Pavilion building
They would remain in the BCL until the end of last season, experiencing little in the way of success in their tenure there, when the league joined the Ribblesdale Cricket League to form the North West Cricket League. However, instead of joining the ranks of the new league, the club instead decided to move into the Greater Manchester Cricket League for this season, playing out of the Division 3. The club currently sit 10th out of the 12-team strong division at time of writing.
We were soon underway with the visitors beginning their innings in decent fashion, surviving the first over cure I seem to have acquired this season! But Radcliffe didn’t get too far without any damage, as opener Martyn Coates nicked the seam bowling of Zakir Bashir behind and into the gloves of wicket-keeper Sarfaraj Bhochaka for 14. This saw Coates’ fellow opener Usman Malik joined at the crease by #3, Jay Dimitrov and the two swiftly advanced the score onwards and up towards the 50-run mark.
But they would lose their second wicket ten runs short of that milestone, as Dimitrov was bowled by the rather quick Amaan Afzaal for 10, before Afzaal then took the scalp of Malik (14) in the same over, having the opener caught smartly at 1st slip. This led to the pair of new batsmen, #4 Shahzaib Mazhar and #5 Ashu Ashraf having to rebuild somewhat and they went about this in good speed, advancing the score from 41-3 to 89-3 in good time, before Ashraf fell in the 14th over to the medium pace of Azharuddin Bandukiya for a sprightly 30 off just 23 balls.
Match Action
Match Action
‘Keeper-batsman Jake Lockett was next in at #6 and he too added his runs in quick fashion, but his attacking instincts eventually led to his end when he nicked Afzaal behind for 14 – with all his runs coming in boundaries. Radcliffe weren’t quite in strife just yet, but a clatter of wickets in the next few overs certainly left them in that type of quandry. Shahzaib Mazhar was the fifth man to go, as he was trapped leg-before by the impressive Afzaal for 16, whilst the newer Mazhar at the crease, Jahanzaib Mazhar was just beginning his stoïc innings.
At the other end, wickets continued to tumble somewhat, with #8, Jordan Booth, adding just the seven runs alongside Mazhar, before falling to that man Afzaal for four, hitting him straight to mid-on and securing the quicky a deserved five-wicket haul. Jawad Intezar then became Afzaal’s sixth scalp, as he top-edged one to Bhochaka behind the stumps without troubling the scorers, with his loss leaving Radcliffe reeling at 126-8 and seemingly somewhat short of what looked to be a defendable score.
The final two wickets would add a further useful 20 runs with #6, Mazhar, making just nine in facing 48 deliveries, with young Jake Kelley hanging around gamefully in making two from 20 balls. The latter would be the ninth to go, eventually being caught by the man stationed at fine-leg off of Javid Patel’s bowling, but did receive some pats on the back for his efforts – which were well-deserved. The technique is solid, so I’m sure he’ll be moving up the order in time!
Match Action
Match Action
Patel then ended the innings by bowling Steven Francis for a three-ball duck, to leave the home side requiring 147 to secure victory. Jahanzaib Mazhar was left unbeaten on his nine, whilst Ammad Afzaal ended with the fine figures of 6-58 from his 12 overs. His opening bowling partner Zakir Bashir took 1-24 from three overs, whilst Azhardduin Bandukiya (1-37 from 5) and Javid Patel (2-2 from 1.2 overs) also chipped in with wickets. The wicketless duo of Wadiwala Yusuf (0-7 from six) and Afzal Tariq (0-11 from four) were highly economical, going for just eighteen from their combined ten overs.
Dan and I headed for the bar during the interval and watched the early stages of the reply from within as well, with the windows to the front giving a good view of the action from just to the side of the bowler’s arm. The Little Hulton reply began in good, attacking, positive fashion, with openers Shahzad Ahmed and Jamroze Khan swiftly knocking 35 off the deficit within five overs. But the latter would be the first to go after a few words surrounding something or other beforehand, knicking Jay Dimitrov’s medium-pace behind to ‘keeper Lockett for 20.
View from the deck!
Match Action
Wadiwala Yusuf entered at #3 and he, alongside Ahmed, advanced the scoreline to just short of 50…49 to be exact. Ahmed would fall on that score though, being dismissed in similar fashion to his opening partner, only this time to the other opening bowler, Jordan Booth, for 15. But Yusuf and #4, Salman Younis, went about knocking off a good percentage of the target in getting their side to 91-2 and just fifty-six short of their required total. But Yusuf would fall at that point for a quick-fire 35 off 27 balls, as he nicked one from Usman Malik to slip and, despite his protestations, he had to go. To the majority, if not all, of us watching from the balcony, it certainly looked out.
Malik and new man ‘keeper-batsman Sarfaraj Bhochaka kept knocking off the runs and it looked like the home side were home and hosed and victory being secured was just a matter of time. Bhochaka (10) would fall with Little Hulton requiring just 13 more runs, as he hit one straight to long-on off the spin of Jahanzaib Mazhar, but it still looked like a simple task for the home side to get over the line. But, as well all know, cricket is a funny beast and it looked to try and implement a twist in the tale…or should that be tail?!
A decent duo!!
Match Action
With just the eight runs needed, Younis (43) needlessly and rashly smashed one out to deep square-leg, where he was pouched on the boundary to give spinner Martyn Coates a wicket – one which seemed to be somewhat unexpected when looking at the reactions of his team-mates. But Coates became the dangerman in the latter stages as he then grabbed the scalp of Amaad Afzaal (four), caught and bowled, to book-end the over with a wicket at each end.
Things got even more nervy when “Unsure” (yes, that is really what is noted down on the CricHQ scoreboard!) became the second wicket to fall with the score on 139, as he became Mazhar of the Jahanzaib variety’s second wicket, falling for just the sole run. The man of mystery was the seventh man back in the pavilion but, Afzal Tariq saw off most of the worries in guiding the side to just a single run short of their opponent’s total. But there was still time for a little more drama, as Coates grabbed the wicket of Javid Patel, lbw for no-score, to still leave all results on the table, as we headed into over number 25.
But it would be too little, too late for Radcliffe, as Tariq (7*) brought the sides level before Zakir Bashir (4*) cracked away a boundary to ensure that Little Hulton would run out as victors in a game which ended up being far closer than it ever looked like it would be! The bowlers for Radcliffe put in a good shift, with the openers taking the brunt of the early barrage – Dimitrov ending with 1-44 from five overs and Booth taking 1-31 from six. Usman Malik ended up with 1-25 from the five overs he sent down, whilst Jahanzaib Mazhar (2-12 from 3.4 overs) and Martyn Coates (3-6 from 2 overs) put the pressure on late in the day. Ashu Ashraf (0-12 from 3) and Jawad Intezar (0-18 from his one over) were the unsuccessful members of the attack.
The sides shake hands after a tough contest.
As the match reached its early conclusion and with the windscreen seemingly having escaped any horrendous damage, myself and Dan headed just to the foot of the ground’s access road where we’d grab our respective buses homewards. I did originally plan on hopping off en route and getting a few pics of the local area (especially the old station site), but I couldn’t be arsed when it came around to it and so stayed on board as to ensure that, hopefully, nothing could go awry!
I soon found myself being dropped back at the Trafford Centre’s bus station and after a swift visit to the neighbouring facilities here, I exited to find a late-running bus home awaiting departure. I jumped on just before it backed out and this just put the cherry on top of the day’s cake…even moreso as it was the same retro-liveried one which had dropped me off on the way during the morning. It’s at times like these I realise just how boring/easily pleased I am! Onto t.he next week and a visit to somewhere a tad further afield…a county ground, in more than one way..
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