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| So in this first decade of their existence, a
hazy picture emerges of games in the first year of 1884 being played under
the title of Bradshaw Victoria Cricket Club, on the land adjoining the old
Bradshaw School, before a move was made to a plantation somewhere on the
Bradshaw Road side of Bradshaw Works, for a brief stay, perhaps only one
summer. Then onto the aforementioned Top and Bottom Cottages, maybe for
two or three years. Again, to quote Andrew Kay: "Later on Thomas
Hardcastle allowed the club to play on a large piece of land known as 'the
piggy field' at Bradshaw Works, where one boundary was the river bank".
This was the bank on the Turton Road side of the brook. There they
remained until 1893, during which time they became just Bradshaw Cricket
Club. Bradshaw Sheet Metal Company now stands on part of this one-time
cricket ground.
At this time the club applied for and were admitted to Division E, then the bottom section of The Bolton & District Cricket Association Junior League. From now on the picture becomes clearer, with all subsequent results recorded. It is the ten year pre-league period that is so sketchy.
In 1894, now on a ground near Meadow Barn Farm, Adam Field, "where the farmer's roller was pulled over a quarter of a mile to make the playing area playworthy". Bradshaw C.C. began its climb to senior league status in Section E of the Bolton & District Cricket Association. The northern most houses of the present Bradshaw Meadows now occupy this land, nos. 254 and 256 if not on the actual wicket must be centrally positioned on the old field of play. Bradshaw's adversaries, in the order in which they finished behind them in the final league table were St. Bartholomews, All Souls, Blackburn Road Congregationalists, Bolton Osborne, Folds Road Independent Methodists, Holly Trinity and Neville Jones Jubilee. Promoted to Section D in 1895, along with Blackburn Road Congregationalists and Holy Trinity who had finished 4th and 7th respectively, Bradshaw left Meadow Barn to play on the land situated between Bradshaw Brook and the Royal Oak Hotel. Just for this one season the conventional scoring of two points for a win and one for a draw was abandoned, and a novel system of awarding two points for a win but deducting two points for a loss was introduced. The three promoted teams took the first three places with Bradshaw again champions, above Bee Hive Mill Horwich, Bolton Parish Church, Bolton Combination, St. Thomas's Farnworth and Hanover, who finished minus 22 points. In an attempt to capture the spirit of that bygone age, an article in St. Maxentius Church Magazine in September 1923, related the events of a match played on July 13th 1895, read: |
CRICKET MEMORIES: The first was many
years ago when our cricket team was playing in the Junior Section of the
league. We played on the ground which is now occupied by the District
Council for the filter beds; in those days it was better known as the
Shooting Butts. The crease was just a well-rolled piece of turf of the
required length and the out-field was in its natural state; the tent was a
small wooden hut with just sufficient room to allow the teams to undress,
or should I say dress, and with a couple of seats and a shelf for the
scorers to sit at, but we got good cricket in spite of adverse
surroundings.
The day was bright and hot and the trees were in their beauty, but as the previous week had been wet, the ground was soft and distinctly a bowlers paradise. The conditions which are suitable for trees and grass are not so good for batsmen. Our visitors were a team from Blackburn Road Congregational Church, captained by the Rev. Mr. Burrows, then a young man but now high up in the ranks of the Congregationalists. Some of our players on that day were Jack Greenhalgh, Andrew Kay, Tom Smith (our crack bowler) and his brother Frank. We won the toss and batted first, but the wicket helped the bowlers to such an extent that we were all dismissed for 27 runs, much to the delight of the Congregationalists who expected an easy victory. But when they went in to bat they too found runs hard to get, as the brothers Smith were bowling at the top of their form, and that was something really good. The score slowly mounted up and the wickets fell at regular intervals, until three runs only were wanted to win and the last man in. I remember well that exciting over. Brother Tom was bowling from the Shooting Butts end, and the players and spectators were on tip-toe as he swung up to the wicket in his usual manner and delivered the ball. It was one of his specials which pitched on the leg wicket and swung away with his arm to the off, and the batter playing forward snicked it through the slips for two, amid the shouts of the Blackburn Roadites and the "Well run, Sammy". of Mr. Burrows. That made the scores equal and I think the batter lost his head, for at the next ball he leapt out and smote it hard and loftily to the longfield. Another mighty howl from the boundary line, but the batters racing across the pitch had failed to see that out in the deep field was Andrew Kay placing himself steadily for the dropping ball. He made no mistake, taking the ball well in his two hands. Then we shouted, for the scores were exactly equal and that rare event in cricket, 'a tie', was an accomplished fact. If I say we gave way to exuberance, will you believe me? We danced and flung up our hats and caps. Jack Greenhalgh stood on his head and one of the spectators standing on the bank of the cut, fell in. It was a glorious moment which will live in some of our memories for a long time yet. There was bad blood between ourselves and Blackburn Road for some years after, but the passage of time has eradicated that. |