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| In 1896 the top four, St. Mark's Arkwright,
Blackburn Road Congs, Bradshaw and Astley Bridge Wesleyans, advanced from
Section C leaving behind Victoria Wesleyans, Holy Trinity, Rumsworth and
Know Mill. Only the top two teams of Section B were promoted to Section A
at the season's end, Trinity Wesleyans as champions and Bradshaw as
runners-up. Teams making up Section B that season of 1897, and left in the
wake of Bradshaw's relentless march, were St. Mark's Arkwright, Blackburn
Road Congs, Bank Street Unitarians, Park Street Wesleyans, Breightmet,
Astley Bridge, Astley Bridge Wesleyans and Harwood.
So on to Section A and the vacating of the ground at the 'Shooting Butts' (required by the District Council for those filter beds) and the occupation of the resplendent new ground at The Rigbys, there to continue the onslaught for First Division cricket. Success came in two seasons. The 1898 table ended:
But in 1899 (with the substitution of Victoria Wesleyans for Slaterfoeld) it was the First Division of the Bolton & District Cricket Association for Halliwell Road Wesleyans as Section A champions, and Bradshaw as runners-up. Thus after six short seasons and 94 games of Section cricket, in which 53 were won, 28 lost, 12 drawn and one tied, the arrival of the 20th century saw Bradshaw as a premier Bolton cricket side. A by no means comprehensive list of players who contributed to this rise in status includes: Bridge, Fred Brockbank, Richard Entwistle (Australian Dick), William A. Fairclough, John Greenhalgh, S. Hargreaves (the only captain of the club whose christian name remains unknown), Andrew Kay, Samuel Pollitt, Peter Ramsden, Peter Roscoe, Albert Southern, Frank Smith, Tom Smith, Fred Waldron, James Whittle and John Whittle. Bradshaw's arrival in the premier League coincided with the introduction of the six-ball over, previously five balls had been deemed sufficient. Boundaries were arranged at grounds where it was considered necessary and allowances made for them. Bradshaw's 1899 score book shows only six scoring shots of 4 were made all season, so perhaps The Rigbys allowance in those days was a 3 on three sides of the ground, with maybe 4 for a straight hit past where the tennis courts now stand. |
On Tuesday 26th April 1898 the Bolton Evening
News had reported Gilnow Park visited Bradshaw to open their new ground.
Bradshaw went in first and scored 68, R. Entwistle 29, P. Ramsden 11.
Gilnow passed the score with only 7 wickets down". Up until this time
Bradshaw would have played on rolled out wickets, but with the outfields
untouched. So that without boundaries unless agreed, poor wickets, and
overgrown outfields it was not surprising the game favoured the bowlers.
Now with the challenge of top class opposition before them Bradshaw signed their first professional, Archie C. Young, who had held that position the previous season with Halliwell in the First Division. Halliwell, who had been among the founder members of the Senior Division in 1889, and had performed with some distinction being Cross Cup winners in 1897, for some reason did not appear again in the League after 1899. Halliwell Road Wesleyans promoted that season with Bradshaw were a different team, who became Halliwell in their own right in 1905, and eventually Astley Bridge in 1921. Bradshaw's debut in the ranks of the exalted was inauspicious, three batsmen shared top score of 7 at Great Lever and having "Young bowled by Smith for a cypher". The Late Mr. Harry Leather, a one-time committee man of the club, recalled a match in which Archie C. Young hit a ball straight, and over the river, where it now runs behind the tennis pavilion. This statement would take some believing, if it were not for the fact that there were no tennis courts in 1900, and maybe the wicket was positioned nearer the river. Nevertheless, still a prodigious blow. However, in trying to repeat this feat of strength Young was caught out on the rivers edge. The words of the outgoing batsman were to stay with Harry Leather all his life. Shaking his head as he disappeared into the dressing tent, Archie complained - "Bloody bat won't dreeve". The teams Bradshaw played against in this their first season of senior cricket were Tonge (champions by beating Farnworth in a play-off), followed by Westhoughton, Great Lever, Egerton, Halliwell Road Wesleyans, Bradshaw and Eagley. Bradshaw won 4, lost 9 and drew 1. To remain a moment with that season of 1900: the state of the wickets and outfield is emphasised by the fact that John Hamer won the club batting prize with 84 runs in 10 innings, with a top score of 23, and an average of 8.40. From the eleven regular players, 10 different opening partnerships were used. One batsman opened 4 times, whilst three others managed 3 times each. 10 of the eleven players opened the innings at some stage of the season, whilst the remaining player J. T. Scowcroft jointly top-scored with 86 runs, so presumably he just did not fancy the job. The Club improved to finish fourth in 1901. The complete match report of the home game against Farnworth that year, as seen by Cricket and Football Field that day, parts of which have been quoted earlier, reads:- |