Bowdon | Manchopper's Ventures

Result: Bowdon Vale CC 160-4 BEAT Frodsham CC 159ao by 6 wickets. (Cheshire Cricket League Division 3)

Venue: Priory Street (Saturday 18th June 2022; 1pm)

Att: 29 (peak)

My cricketing season enters its third week and it was back to the ‘local list’ to tick off one of the two grounds that are most local to me, but had still to be visited. Indeed, the other of these two would be following on next weekend, giving a nice fitting finish to this shortened sojourn to the leather and willow. For this one, I’d be returning to Bowdon for the second season running, but for a different club and ground on this occasion.

Bowdon Vale CC’s Priory Street ground was the next cab off the rank and so I grabbed the bus down to Altrincham – along with a very friendly driver – and over to the stop at the top of the road down to the ground – the penultimate stop you can get to when on an ‘any bus’ day ticket in and around Manchester. Also, I didn’t expect to share this local bus trip back around towards Sale with a few Spanish tourists, whose highlight was passing by a Spanish food and wine place, which got one fairly excited!

Stepping off at the top of the street and walking down to a small, kind of village centre of sorts, Priory Street is located at the far end of the road from which the ground derives its name. The street looked to be a real throwback, lined by houses on both sides and being criss-crossed by bunting from the Jubilee weekend, which had been left up. You could really feel that war-time atmosphere that you can see in pictures and film-reels from around that time…well, if you ignored the abundance of modern vehicles, anyway!

Bowdon Vale

Bowdon Vale

Heading down Priory St.

I arrived at the gates of Bowdon Vale’s scenic, rather rural, home with around five minutes to go until the beginning of play, this being a 1pm start. There was a slight threat of rain throughout the day, but we’d end up getting pretty lucky on the whole, with only a couple of brief cloudbursts hitting the ground during the hours of play. For now, though let’s get into the history behind the club just down the road from the ‘big’ Bowdon club, Bowdon Vale CC…

History Lesson:

Bowdon Vale Cricket Club was founded in 1873 and lies within a neighbourhood of the larger town of Bowdon – in the southwest of the town. It came into being inside a cottage on Priory Street, being the brainchild (somewhat) of the Vicar of Bowdon, Archdeacon Pollock, who founded the wider Bowdon Vale Church Institute in 1871. As such, it is possible the club was actually formed a year earlier, but there is no game data to support this.

Indeed, the first record of a Bowdon Vale Cricket Club match came in the 26th July 1873 edition of the Altrincham Guardian, where it was detailed that the club played away to a Lymm side – a game which Bowdon Vale CC won. Unfortunately, details on the remainder of the club’s pre-war years details are very thin on the ground, but the club had been playing in the Altrincham & District League around that time and continued doing so into the 1920’s. Indeed, the club did win some silverware around that time – likely a championship winning trophy.

BVCC

At this time, the club still played out of their original ground, which was located on the opposite side of the nearby bowling green on what has since become a school playing field. However, the club did move to their current home in the early part of the 1930’s, with Bowdon Vale continuing to play within the Altrincham & District League, at their new home, until the outbreak of World War II, when the ground was given to agriculture, as to aid the country through its wartime struggle.

However, after the war came to its end and cricket swiftly got back on its feet, the club returned to Priory Street and, for a number of years, played in friendly contests against fellow Cheshire cricket clubs. Indeed, a notable piece of club history took place in these times as, in 1950, Alan Emery took 10-0 against Heaton Mersey Parish CC. That’s rather fitting, considering where I was to head the following weekend!

Welcoming signs…

In 1957, nine Cheshire clubs – including Bowdon Vale – were responsible for helping to form the Cheshire Cricket Association. Along with the other founder members (Barnton, Lostock, Sale Moor, Stretford, Toft, Weaverham, Winton and Wythenshawe), the clubs got playing competitively from 1959 and Bowdon Vale won their sole championship title in 1966, two years after their new pavilion/clubhouse building was opened.

In 1975, overs cricket was introduced into the league, as was the splitting of the league into a divisional system. The Association was split into two divisions, and the club remained in the league through to 2011, when they were relegated to the Cheshire Alliance. They remained in the Alliance until its merger with the Cheshire Cricket Association in 2017 – a merger which birthed the Cheshire Cricket League, in which the club have continued to play until this day.

Memories…

At the end of their first season here, Vale’s 1st XI finished 2nd in the Division 5 and were promoted to the Fourth Division. After the disruptions of the previous year-and-a-bit, cricket again came back in quick fashion and Bowdon Vale finished 7th in the regionalised competitions in 2020, when they were in the Division 3-4 NE. Last season, they finished bottom of the Division 4 table but, upon some re-organisation of the league, they were actually promoted to Division 3, a decision which has seen them thrive so far this season, with Bowdon Vale challenging for promotion and sitting in the second promotion place at time of writing.

The visitors from Frodsham would be batting first and their two openers made their way out to the middle, along with our one official umpire and the fielding Bowdon Vale team. Their innings didn’t get off to the best of starts though as, at the beginning of the second over, Jaymie Smith was trapped leg before by spinner Nigel Halsall’s first ball to be out for a golden duck.

#3, Matt Williamson, then joined Richard Watt out in the middle and they went about trying to recover from this early set-back. Unfortunately, Williamson wouldn’t quite have the same run-scoring success today as his Kiwi namesake has done over his time, as he was bowled for 12 by the seamers of Tom Ollier. Watt was still there, though, and was looking in fine fettle, passing a well-earned half-century whilst alongside Leon Pietrzak, with the number 4 providing some solid support in making 20.

Match Action

Match Action

But Watt (54) would be dismissed by the probing spin of Halsall, but not before a bit of heart-in-the-mouth juggling by the big man, as the ball was chipped back to him! But he held on to claim the big wicket of the opener. Pietrzak followed not too long after, missing a big drive against Rick Gandy and being bowled comprehensively. #6 fell leg-before to dangerman Halsall without scoring, before #7, keeper-batsman Criscoli, nicked Gandy behind to record the third nought of the innings.

This wobble could’ve been even worse, had Roger London not been dropped mid-celebration when lobbing one back into the hands of the bowler, but the orb slipped from the hands of the bowler and gave the #5 a big let-off. As it was he and #8, Jack McGrogan, went about adding some much needed runs to their side’s total, before the latter was bowled by a fine yorker for 21, courtesy of Jack Halsall. London would be the next man to go, with the latter Halsall claiming his wicket too – though the batsmen would’ve been disappointed in his dismissal: a weak chip out to the point fielder, Rick Gandy, to fall for 31.

Match Action

BVCC

Skipper Matt Deakin (10) was trapped lbw by Halsall. J, who was having some fine success against the middle-lower order, before the last wicket, that of Nick James, fell to the returning Ollier, who had the #10 caught at mid-on for five. Jamie London was left not-out without scoring, with Ollier taking 2-34 from his 8.2 overs. Nigel Halsall ended with 3-41 from 11 overs, Gandy 2-42 from his set of 11 and Jamie Halsall 3-39 from 8. As for me, it was back into the clubhouse to spend the mid-innings break.

Soon enough, it was time to return out towards the potting corner and watch the Bowdon Vale reply, as they looked to chase down 160 for victory. They got off to an almost perfect start too, as opening pair Ben Langley and skipper Alex Power went about knocking off the bulk of the runs and putting any semblance of real nervousness to rest. Having said that, Langley was given a life when he was seemingly put down by the Frodsham gloveman, but this was the only true scare.

Potted plant central!

Not a real Carlsberg!

Eventually, though, the opening stand was broken by Jamie London, with the medium-pacer getting Langley caught at mid-wicket by Jaymie Smith for 31. Power then followed but, on this occasion, the grab at mid-wicket was all the more spectacular, as he was grasped one-handed by the diving Smith. Power bemoaned his luck as he made his way back to the pavilion, just five short of what would have been a well played half-century.

But, as I said earlier, the two openers had largely done the work that was required by them and their good work was backed up by #3, Alby Stevens, and #4 Jack Ryan. The third-wicket pair saw their side to the brink of victory, but Ryan wouldn’t be there at the end – being caught ball-watching somewhat and being caught short of his ground – run out by Matt Williamson for 26.

Match Action

Late on…

But the job was all but done by that point and despite the late loss of #5, John Ollier – caught at mid-on for four – Stevens and Jack Halsall (0*) saw their side over the line and secured the win for Vale and the 13 points that came with it. Stevens ended up unbeaten on 37, and the sides shook hands just as a heavy and slightly more persistent shower hit the Priory Street ground. As it was, Frodsham took two points from the game, with their bowling figures seeing London taking 2-43 from 8 overs, McGrogan 1-25 from 5 and Palliser 1-26 from 3.4 overs. Matt Deakin (10 overs; 0-35), Nick James (6 overs; 0-25) and Matt Williamson (1 over; 0-5) went wicketless.

Post-match, it was to the club for a last pint whilst the ground staff rushed about outside to get the covers on, as a more substantial shower arrived just as the players exited the field. A second San Miguel was had, whilst a friendly dog came and said ‘hello’, before doing the puppy bite thing that those of that kind of age do. As I was leaving to make a return back up the road for the bus back into Alty, I was wished goodbye by the Bowdon group in the pavilion, which was a nice touch. I hope the blog is entertaining enough?!

Got a bit artsy for once!

Back to here again!

I arrived at the stop just in time for the last service of the day, before grabbing a bus back towards home – although I had been surprised to discover the old direct service which used to run into the night now ends early. As such, a stop-off half-way was required, with one lady already on the bus being tricked by said change, as she was looking to go back in the opposite direction. Just what Arriva were/are thinking on this front, I don’t think it’s a great call. Anyway, we’re not here to discuss bus timetable are we? Although it does fit in with the excitement of my life…!

So ends a fine penultimate cricketing day out for this season, unless something else crops up later in the year. Bowdon Vale’s ground is a true club ground, surrounded by fields and trees and a multitude of old, rusting equipment under the foliage. It really does remind me of nearby Hale Barns. The pavilion building fits in tremendously within the surroundings too, making the ground one of those that really ought to be on a hit-list, if you’re so inclined to join these kind of ‘cricket-hopping’ paths I follow. So onto next weekend and my final planned trip. Heaton Mersey Village, you’re tasked with ending it in fine fashion…