Page 28
| The final after this had to be something of
an anti-climax, Adams, Wallwork, Sharrocks, Hobson and Worsley, all
scoring runs, before Little Lever, after a reasonably good start, lost all
10 wickets for 29 runs. Duncan Worsley loosening up for the first six of
his 13 overs, before ruining the game as a spectacle with 7 wickets for 15
runs, six of these runs a defiant blow off the penultimate ball of the
match. His final figures of 7 for 31, no way detracted from Stuart Adams's
3 for 18 in his 13 overs. Bradshaw now became Hamer Cup holders for a
record seventh time.
Again Bradshaw batted second on only 5 occasions in the season, winning four of these matches. The other 14 completed fixtures in which they batted first brought only four victories. Chairman Arnold Hamer had not let these two magnificent playing seasons deflect his aim of continuing the ground improvements, and a tarmac path now enclosed the ground from the tennis courts to the club house. Progress was also made by a small committee formed early in 1976 when a fund had been started for a new scorebox. Concern was still being shown at the general lack of supervision over bar matters, resulting in Mr. & Mrs. Denis Hobson taking charge on a percentage basis about Christmas 1976. Satisfaction of this arrangement was reported by mid-1977. All Club members were greatly saddened in that otherwise happy and successful season by the death of Club President, Mr Thomas Markland. His regular, and at times overwhelming (but never at all obtrusive), generosity to the Club in his twelve years in office had been so much welcomed and appreciated. On a May day in 1978, a dismal run of results at the Tyldesleys, home of Westhoughton Cricket Club, was ended when Bradshaw won there for the first time in nine years, an isolated victory when the 5 performances of 1982 are taken into consideration. Denis Hobson took 7 wickets for 23 runs, which earned him the League award for the best bowling performance of the year and he was still at the wicket with 19 not out when Westhoughton's total was passed. No-one could have guessed then that such a distinguished career was almost at an end. Only a handful of games remained. Perhaps though the writting was on the wall when he was unable to play the next day on the same ground, Westhoughton's revenge in his absence being the 207 they scored to be the first club to defeat Bradshaw in a Hamer Cup tie for three years. |
In July came the shattering news that the
Club Chairman had died on holiday. Bradshaw Cricket Club aside, the hearts
of everyone who had had the privilege of knowing Mr. & Mrs Hamer, went out
to Margaret and their son Stephen. From the day Arnold played for the
third team in 1932, through his times as captain of the first and later
the second teams, when he served 13 years on the committee before taking
over as Chairman, and onto his becoming Chairman of the Management
Committee, and so to the final honour of Trustee, Bradshaw Cricket Club
had had one of its best-ever servants. It would be too difficult to write
an adequate tribute; suffice it to reproduce Mr. Harry Coupe's record of
the events at Bradshaw that sad evening.
"The meeting due to be held on the 12th July was cancelled due to the sudden and tragic death of the Chairman of the Club, Mr. Arnold Hamer. Mr. J. B. Taylor, Vice-Chairman, gave a moving address to the committee members present, in which he paid tribute to the character and personality of Mr. Hamer, who was dedicated to the welfare and well-being of the Club. One could not look around the ground to find a project with which he had not been connected, and it was due to his energy, inspiration and leadership that the Club enjoyed its good name and high standing in the League. Bradshaw Cricket Club had suffered perhaps the greatest loss in the history of the Club, but nevertheless the club must go on, and Mr. Taylor called for renewed determination in completing the work commenced by Mr. Hamer, notably the new scorebox on which he had so actively been engaged, and to maintain the high standard set by Mr. Hamer before his untimely death." The scorebox on which Arnold had been working so assiduously, was completed, and dedicated to his memory, at a ceremony at the ground, and bears the inscription.
|
Hamer Cup Winners and League Champions 1977
Back row: B. Senior, J. B. Taylor, D. H. Farnworth, C. J. Isherwood, S. J.
Adams, P. Sharrocks, B. A. Wallwork, D. R. Worsley (pro), I. Senior (scorer)
Front row: D. Morris, B. Clossick, B. H. Cole (capt), M. J. Hardcastle, J.
Forrest, D. Hobson.