Cricket | Manchopper's Ventures

Result: Edgworth CC 237-5 (43 overs) BEAT Roe Green CC 236-5 (50 overs) by 5 WICKETS. (Greater Manchester Cricket League ECB Premier League)

Venue: The Barlow Grounds (Saturday 8th June 2024; 12.30pm)

Att: 140 (approx.)

A second weekend straight of accomplishing the goal of re-visiting a cricket club I’ve been to for a pint, but where I’ve never seen a full game. I visited Edgworth Cricket Club a few years ago now when visiting these parts to watch nearby Turton Football Club and always thought that the ground was a nice one, despite the somewhat dodgy weather that day. I guess it was time to find out if my memory served me correctly!

I grabbed the train into Manchester and back out to Salford, from where I’d catch the service up to Entwistle station – no longer a request stop, I might add – which is well-known for being a setting in the series Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere. Luckily, though, the road would lead to somewhere for me today, with the narrow country lane spanning the nearby Wayoh (Waayaayayayoh) Reservoir eventually taking me into the village of Edgworth itself.

Arriving at Entwistle

Heading over the reservoir

The second half of my walk was both soundtracked and highlighted by a bi-plane doing loop-the-loops and other aerobatics above the rooftops of Edgworth, before it pulled back off to base just as I returned to the Barlow Grounds, Edgworth Cricket Club’s home. Thanks to the not overly great transport links in these parts (there’s only two buses a day that serve Edgworth itself it seems), I would have a fair wait for the game to get going – arriving some 40 minutes prior to the first ball being sent down. Still, better to be early!

Edgworth is a village in the civil parish of North Turton, in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire. It was formerly a township in the parish of Bolton, before becoming a civil parish in its own right in 1866. This was abolished in 1925 and Edgworth Civil Parish was merged with that of Turton.

Edgworth lies between the waterways of the Broadhead Brook to the west (which leads to the Wayoh Reservoir) and Quarlton Brook to the south-east. Its name derives from the Anglo-Saxon meaning ‘village in the hills’ and has had numerous spellings over the years including ‘Eggwrthe’ in 1212, Egewurth in 1221, Eggeswrth and Edgeword in 1277 and then Eggeworth in 1292.

Edgworth

By the 19th century, the village had become almost universally known as Edgeworth, although the post office name of Edgworth soon superceded this and became the name it would be known by henceforth. The village is home to many “folds”, with these having been formed in the 17th century. This title usually indicates an enclosure around a farmstead and its associated cottages with many small lanes locally still having ‘fold’ in their names. Indeed, where Lancashire’s oldest football club – the aforementioned Turton FC – play at Thomasson Fold, is one of these examples.

In 1795, an Act of Parliament was passed for the enclosing of around 400 acres of land on Edgworth Moor, taking in most of the area surrounding today’s village – including five small hamlets also make up the village’s wider area. These hamlets are namely Quarlton, Turton Bottoms, Round Barn, Whittlestone Head and Entwistle, whilst the enclosure did stretch as far as the northern part of Bromley Cross at its southern end and just to the south of Darwen at its northern end.

During the 19th century, the rural surroundings of Edgworth were joined by a number of small textile mills which popped up around the village. Most of these and other industries had left the village by the mid-2oth century with extending housing developments springing up around the village in more recent years, seeing it swell in size. The Edgworth area is also notable for having been home to the first National Children’s Home in the UK – being located at Crowthorn.

Edgworth

The Edgworth Home was openedin 1872 by the industrialist and Mayor of Bolton James Barlow. The Barlow family had long funded many additions around the village, with James also opening the Methodist Church in Edgworth too. The children’s home remained in use through until its closure in 2002. James’ son, Sir Thomas Barlow, was also notable for being the physician to Queen Victoria and King Edward VII and he was created a baronet in 1902, also.

The Barlow Institute was opened in 1909 and housed a coffee shop, village hall, library and recreation grounds, upon which today’s game was to be played. Also, the Barlows’ family home at Greenthorne was used as a conference venue during Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Lancashire in 1931. Today, Edgworth is popular with walkers thanks to its reservoir walks and hosts a couple of pubs/bars to feed and water those who venture to these parts – including yours truly, once upon a time!

The time eventually ticked around and the sides began to enter out onto the pitch, with the visitors’ batsmen representing them out in the middle after their skipper had won the toss and elected to bat first. Roe Green sat in 4th place in the Greater Manchester Cricket League’s Premier Division and looked to set a score which would secure something of an upset against their table-topping hosts. For the moment, though, here’s a look around the ground…as I’d had a fair amount of time to look at it!

Arriving at the ground

There are numerous seats available around the ground, with some of these being set back into a brick surround within an area of banking out at the far end of the ground, with these also spanning around the far corner. The usual park benches can be found along the far side and near end, whilst pub garden-like tables are located around the front of the pavilion building, with a fair amount more surrounding a pizza oven outlet, which I didn’t partake in despite it doing a fair trade and looking and smelling good. I didn’t want to feel properly fat after all! That’s the ground in short and this is the story behind Edgworth CC…

History Lesson:

Edgworth Cricket Club was founded in 1902 as Edgworth Recs and began life playing out of their current ground immediately, with the pitched looked after by Barlow Institute groundsmen. The club joined the Bolton & District Cricket Association upon their founding and played in the league’s Division 2A.

The club continued to play throughout World War I and this led to the club becoming a fairly strong presence in the mid-war years. Edgworth would win the Isherwood Cup in 1927 to lift the first silverware in their history and would triumph in this competition for a second time in 1934 to double the entries upon their honours board. They would also add the Father Leighton Shield to secure a double winning campaign that year, prior to successfully defending the trophy in 1935.

The Barlow Institute building

I saw the signs…

The club became members of the Bolton & Districe Cricket Association’s First Division in 1936 and would sign their first professional player, Bob Taylor, in 1938. This signing led them to their first championship success that very same campaign, although Taylor would depart the club during the years of World War II, before returning to Edgworth upon the end of hostilities ahead of the 1946 season. His return led to further success, as Edgworth would win the Cross Cup for the first time in that year, but he would again leave as ex-county player J.Briggs instead took on the role.

Briggs’ arrival saw the club strengthen their position even moreso as they would win the 1947 Bolton & District Cricket Association title with Briggs taking no less than 120 wickets that season. However, success would soon prove harder to come by and the upkeep of the club became the responsibility of the club too in the late 1940’s. Financial difficulties would ensue too, driven largely by the ever decreasing income from the closing local textile mills.

ECC

Fortunes would change for the club during the 1950’s and 1957 saw them lift a third League title. 1958 a second Cross Cup triumph came their way prior to the club achieving their fourth Bolton & District Cricket Association Division 1 success in 1961, the first of an eventual hat-trick of titles between then and 1963. Another Cross Cup was lifted in 1964 before a double-winning season in 1969 saw them win the title for an eighth time and the Cross Cup for a fourth time respectively.

Three straight Cross Cup wins would follow in the early part of the 1970’s, with these coming between 1972 and 1974 – the middle of these wins being the club’s first under the Edgworth CC name. This followed the 1971 lifting of alcohol sale restrictions on the club’s grounds by the Urban District Council – thank God for that!! As such, a new clubhouse/pavilion building was built to replace the stalwart tea bar within the Institute itself which had been utilised by the club for many years. The new pavilion building was eventually opened to replace the old, rustic one which was falling apart by that point.

In the pavilion

Further ground improvements would follow over the years to come, despite the club not actually owning the ground themselves. These efforts would be rewarded with yet another championship success in 1984, with a Halliwell Shield win capping off another double-winning season. The Shield would again be won in 1997 and 1998, whilst the “Vimto Trophy” was also won in the former of those two seasons.

In 2005, the club building was knocked down and replaced with the one which is in use today. This was opened in 2006, with the club ending that season as league runners-up, but win yet another title the next season. They would lose out in the 2009 Isherwood Cup final to Darcy Lever, but would manage to go one better in 2010 in defeating Little Hulton. 2012 would see yet another success in the Isherwood Cup come around via victory over Atherton CC, whilst 2014 saw Cross Cup disappointment suffered in the final at the hands of Bury CC.

History

The last season of the Bolton & District Cricket Association saw Edgworth finish 2nd in the 1st XI Section ‘A’, as the league was played in a different format for that final campaign. 2016 saw the club move into the Greater Manchester Cricket League for its first season, where they were placed in the Premier Division. This new start proved tough for Edgworth as they were relegated come the end of that 2016 season to the Division 1, which became the third-tier of the GMCL pyramid.

Due to the above re-organisation, Edgworth’s 4th placed 2017 finish was enough to secure them a spot back in the Premier League for 2018. They would finish second-bottom that season, though, and so were relegated to the Division 1 ‘B’ for the 2019 campaign. Here, they would end the season in 3rd spot, and after the interruption of the 2020 season which saw them play in the regionalised Division ‘K’, 2021 saw Edgworth in the Premier League ‘2’, where they finished 2nd and were promoted back to the GMCL’s ECB Premier League.

ECRC

Back in the league’s top-tier, Edgworth made a forward step in finishing 5th and 2023 saw a runners-up spot secured as the club continued to go from strength-to-strength. This season sees the club currently topping the table at time of writing and looking to take their first Greater Manchester Cricket League title.

Roe Green’s innings got off to a more-than-solid start, with the side’s openers, Jordan Stephens and Joe Ball scoring pretty freely, although Stephens did have a couple of shouts against him for lbw turned down. Ball, meanwhile, looked the more fluent of the two on the whole and the opening pair passed the 50 partnership mark without much more in the way of issue.

First ball…

Match Action

But, then, Stephens would chip one back tamely into the hands of spinner Tom Rogers for 31 – the opening bat throwing his head back in disbelief at what he’d just done. The door was thus ajar and it was pushed fully open soon after when Ball was sent back to the pavilion having made the very same score, with seamer Chris Brownlow opening his afternoon’s account in trapping him in front of his stumps. Having been 68-0, the visitors now found themselves 68-2.

And this quickly became 76-3 when #3, ‘keeper-batsman Joe Brown (three), was the second man to be sent on his way via the dreaded raised umpire’s finger, with Rogers securing his second scalp of the day. Roe Green needed someone to steady the ship and #4, the club’s pro Tilaksha Malshan, aided in the cause alongside #5 Luke Williams. The pair added 43 for the fourth wicket, before Malshan was trapped in front by the pace of young Edgworth quick Finlay Testa for 29. You could say it was a ‘testa’ of a ball…sorry.

Match Action

Match Action

Williams was then joined in the middle by fellow Luke, this version being that of Roe Green skipper Norris. The two Luke’s began a little watchfully together, before well and truly opening their shoulders – especially so in the case of Norris. The pair would strike four sixes between them, in adding 80 for the fifth wicket before Williams (44) would be caught off the former Lancashire seamer Adnan Ghaus – firing one high into the Lancastrian sky and eventually, after gravity took effect, into the waiting hands of Luca Williams-Denton who took a good catch.

But Norris was still there and reached a fine 50 off better than a run-a-ball, which would eventually end up an unbeaten 52. Dan Jones had entered the fray at #7 and, with a fair bit of license, decided to pepper the benches surrounding the ground and nigh-on reached the cows in the field beyond the sightscreen in striking 25* off just 11 deliveries, including three sixes. Roe Green ended their innings on what looked to be a challenging score of 236-5, but it still felt like Edgworth must have something in their batting ranks, given they were leading the way in the table.

The beers begin!

Edgworth’s bowling attack saw Tom Rogers come away as the pick of the bowlers, as he ended up with figures of 13-1-75-2. Opening bowlers Adnan Ghaus (15-0-58-1) and Chris Brownlow (15-4-46-1) were more economical, whilst the young Finlay Testa was a tad erratic in his 1-34 from five overs, although he does seem to have something there within him – possibly a name to watch out for in the future if all goes well. George Kelly was the only man to go without a wicket, his two overs going wicketless whilst conceding 21 runs.

After the tea break was spent within the pavilion alongside a number of the players taking up the offer of tea inside, it was soon time for the reply to begin. Roe Green also had a former Lancashire CCC bowler in their ranks in the form of Toby Lester and he would be opening up the attack from the “cow end” (not its official name as far as I know, unfortunately!).

Edgworth openers Joe Smith-Butler and Will Turner (not the fictional pirate fella, I’d imagine) got their side off to a solid start, with Turner being the more aggressive of the two before he’d be the first of the home side’s wickets to go, as he drove the pace of Luke Williams to cover for 20 off 23 balls. He’d be replaced at the crease by Chris Brownlow at #3 who continued on the steady run chase and the two added 65 for the third-wicket prior to Brownlow (33) being the second man to go when he was well stumped by ‘keeper Joe Brown off the spin bowling of Andy Hough.

Match Action

Match Action

It looked like Edgworth could be in a spot of bother when Smith-Butler was the third man to fall not too long after Brownlow had returned to the pavilion. On this occasion, Hough managed to graze the edge of the home side’s opener’s bat and the ball was well snaffled at slip by Joe Ball. Smith-Butler was gone for 38 and Edgworth found themselves 103-3 and things could have easily gone either way.

But Tom Rogers and Luca Williams-Denton had ideas cemented about the way they wanted this game to go. It was Rogers who well and truly took the game by the scruff of the neck as he crashed no less than 13 boundaries in his knock, with this total including four sixes. Williams-Denton was happy to play the accumulator role overall, though also stuck a few boundaries, with these numbering two fours and a six.

Match Action

Another one in…

The fourth wicket pair took their partnership beyond 50 and then brought up their 100 partnership, with Rogers notching himself a personal half-century en route to an eventual 83. Having taken his side to within a five runs of victory, he would be cleaned up by Williams (2-60) and took his leave to deserved applause. His eventual 83 came off just 59 balls – some knock!

Even then the drama wasn’t over as #6 Amaan Broughton, was run-out having scored just the single run off his two balls faced, before Adnan Ghaus (3*) came out to notch the winning runs and secure a good win for the hosts in what proved to be a fairly comfortable chase. Andy Hough was the pick of the Roe Green bowlers, ending with figures of 12-2-49-2. Luke Williams took his 2-60 from 10 overs, whilst Toby Lester (0-55 from 10 overs) Justin Kenyon (0-19 from three), Tilaksha Malshan (0-40 from seven) and Stephen Bliss (0-11 from one over) were the unsuccessful members of the Roe Green attack.

I’d watched the final few overs of the game from the roadside, as I wanted to get away quickly to try and squeeze in a quick visit to the Entwistle station neighbouring Strawbury Duck (yes, that’s how it’s spelt) on my way back. But the late wickets kind of delayed this. Nevertheless, after eventually returning back out of Edgworth and down the tree-lined lane between it and Entwistle, I arrived at the door of the Strawbury Duck in time to grab a bottle of Corona and prop up the bar with it.

From the road, late on

Strawbury Duck

I did end up having to needlessly rush it a tad as the train I was waiting on was shown as on time when leaving Darwen, the stop prior to Entwistle, but I didn’t know that it would be kept waiting by a late-running one coming from the opposite direction – this being a one line part of the route. Still, it wasn’t long until the line was clear and the train could come around the curve to pick up the few of us waiting, including one character who took pride in letting us all know on the platform which train was due and when.

The remainder of the trip back was easy and not much else occurred of note ahead of a return home in decent time, all things considered. So it had been good to get to Edgworth, despite my lazy side trying its best to get me to call it off and go somewhere with a bit less walking surrounding it!

The game was a good one and looked in the balance for a while until the late acceleration from the Edgworth batsmen put paid to any ideas of a tight end to the contest. Thankfully the trains ran pretty well too and the game ended in good time – whilst the beers I took in were all decent too. So that’s that and it’s onto the fourth weekend of this six-week cricketing sojourn and a visit out to one of the more local teams I’d yet to do, in a town where I’ve already watched a game at the ‘other’ side…