History
- See the Photos Gallery for chorley through the years.
At about the turn of the 20th. Century there was a team in Chorley called "Chorley West End", which played on a ground at Harrison Road, and another called "Chorley Amateurs" which played at Yarrow Bridge. According to the records of the "Chorley Guardian", these teams joined forces in 1905, calling themselves "Chorley Town Cricket Club". They continued to play on the ground at Yarrow Bridge, and began to attract some influential local people as players and as members.
On 5th October 1909, at a meeting at The Coffee Tavern, it was unanimously agreed by the five men present to form a Town Cricket Club. They leased a field named the following year as Windsor Park. Calling itself Chorley Town, the team made its debut in the Chorley and District League on 21 May 1910. All out for 31 was not the most auspicious start!
The ground sloped precipitously from east to west. Fielders on the ‘cemetery side were below the eye level of the wicket. Old railway lines and borrowed trucks were used to excavate a bank and level the surface. Herculean efforts over several years, mainly on winter mornings before work, by those members of long ago resulted in today’s playing surface. In 1919 Chorley Town entered the Ribblesdale League and changed their name to Chorley Cricket Club. In 1927 Windsor Park was purchased and vested in Trustees.
The Club was well established by the 1930s, recruiting from the town and local villages. The Chairman was Mr. W. Blackledge, a local mill owner and father of Joe, who was destined to captain Lancashire. The Treasurer, Mr.E.M Froom, whose memory is perpetuated by the iron gates bearing his name, obsessively guarded the Club’s finances and handed out balls for practice with great reluctance. The captain was J. Branston, a former Preston North End goalkeeper. J. Lancaster who was to become Club President six decades later succeeded him in 1939.
Great games are recalled from that decade. Learie Constantine played on the ground; the team faced the legendary S.F. Barnes in his sixty-fourth year, and Harold Larwood took seven wickets at Chorley in 1938. The square, tended by Harry lddon, an ex-professional, was regarded as one of the best in the League. Jack Lancaster recalls inspecting the square with the groundsman in early September 1939. The previous Sunday Mr. Chamberlain had broadcast to the nation 'This country is now at war with Germany;'. Old Harry, sucking reflectively on his pipe, said, 'It seems a shame'.
When peace returned there was a great upsurge of interest. Sunday games produced huge gates to watch Commonwealth teams including Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott, Bruce Dooland, George Tribe, Cec Pepper and other stars. In 1949 Tom Edwardson, a leg spin and googly bowler, signed as professional. His achievements were remarkable. From 1949-52 he took 399 wickets. Turning down a contract with Gloucestershire in 1953 he headed the League averages with 84 wickets in 16 games at a cost of 8.9 runs each. He took all ten wickets at Darwen. In this period Albert Mockett, the wicketkeeper, claimed 164 victims.
In 1952 the Northern League was formed under the patronage of Sir Donald Bradman as President. Sir Donald, a friend of Mr. Blackledge, had formerly visited Windsor Park. His portrait hangs in the Clubhouse. In this inaugural season the team finished second. Outstanding amateur performances were the batting of Joe Blackledge, 581 runs in a season curtailed by bad weather, and a 167 opening partnership between Tom Dugdale and Jack Lancaster. 1955 saw the arrival of Oliver Demming, a West Indian fast bowler who took 88 wickets at 10.77 each. An affable man, his handshake was a bone crusher! Other notable professionals to follow were Roy Miller, a West Indian, Ted Kelly, fast bowler and willing workhorse who later played as amateur and Terry Ashcroft who was professional when Chorley won the League Championship in 1971. The Slater Cup had been won in 1967, both successes during John Rossall’s ten year tenure of the captaincy.
Leading amateurs in the period were Joe Blackledge, Frank Henry, an opening batsman who scored 8,500 runs in a twenty year span, the brothers Rossall, Douglas and John, who both at times held the amateur bowling record, Albert Mockett and Ray Lee, wicket-keeper batsmen, and John Mawdesley, captain and guileful slow left arm bowler. Notable second teamers were future international stars in other sports, Bill Beaumont, Paul Mariner and Paul Grayson.
1978 ushered in a period of success. Bob Yardley took over the captaincy and promptly celebrated with 151 not out. Keith Eccleshare signed as professional and from 1978-84 took 547 wickets at 12.96 each. This high-class fast bowler achieved the remarkable feat of changing to a high-class leg spinner with equal success. The batting at this time was very strong. Outstanding was John Kearsley who, in six seasons from 1978, scored 4,000 runs at an average of 41.3. The team won the Championship in 1980, were runners-up in 1981, won the Matthew Brown Cup in 1981, the Martini Cup in 1982 and 1983. They narrowly lost the Lancashire Cup Final at Old Trafford in 1981.
The second half of the decade was comparatively unsuccessful. Keith Eccleshare had temporarily departed, John Kearsley had gone and the team suffered a decline. However in 1990 with Roland Horridge, an ambitious young cricketer eager for success, as captain, the returned Keith Eccleshare pledging himself to play as amateur in 1991, the signing of James Sutherland, a fast medium bowler from Victoria, and the arrival of very talented batsmen in James Fazackerley and Nigel Heaton, the signs were again set fair.
In 1991 the Slalom Cup was won before a big crowd at Windsor Park and the Championship was missed by one point. In 1992 with Josh Marquet, a very quick Australian bowler, as pro the Lancashire Cup was won and the Championship again missed by one point.
On the way to this triumph were some notable performances. In the fifth round against Wigan Nigel Heaton scored a century and with Peter Deakin and Neil Senior put on 91 runs in six overs. In the quarter final against Coventry and North Warwickshire, Roland Horridge made 97 and Jim Fazackerley 70. Keith Eccleshare took 3 wickets for 14 in his 9 overs. At Lords Fazackerley scored 79 and Eccleshare, miserly with runs throughout the tournament, conceded only 15. Incredibly this 1994 appearance at Lords proved to be the first of a hat trick of such appearances at Headquarters.
In 1995 Roland Horridge's team repeated its feat of the previous year, this time defeating Clifton Flax Bourton from Gloucestershire in the final by 12 runs. Horridge himself hit an undefeated 95, Neil Banister 64 and Neil Senior 61 not out.
Walsall from the Birmingham League prevented Chorley becoming National Club Knock Out Champions for an unprecedented third successive year by winning a low scoring game at Lords in 1996.
In the close season 1991-92 Bill Beaumont opened a new lounge bar, a luxurious addition to the Clubhouse erected in 1972. In 1994 the Chorley & District Building Society gave the Club a generous sponsorship.
Chorley’s membership of the Palace Shield started in 1998 when the Club’s 3rd Eleven were accepted as members of Division E. At the end of 1997 season the Northern League’s 3rd Division finally folded and the Club’s 3rd Team faced dissolution with no league in which to participate. This would have been a disastrous turn of events for the Club but the removal of this vital link between junior and senior cricket was, thankfully, averted by the generosity of the Palace Shield clubs who welcomed Chorley into their ranks.
The result has been ten seasons, to date, of extremely enjoyable cricket and the further development of the Club’s junior policy by the inclusion of Under 10, Under 11, Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17 teams into the Palace Shield junior competition, undoubtedly one of the best in the North West. The end of the twentieth century and the early millennium years saw the gradual break up of the side that had enjoyed much success in the last decade of the century. Though the team was comparatively successful in that a top four finish was achieved in the four seasons to 1998 there was a gradual slippage in subsequent years. This coupled with increasing debt, a `tired` committee and the threat of sale and relocation of the ground brought in a new committee in 2003, several of whom lived in the immediate vicinity of the ground. Under Chairman Eddie Preston and Secretary Rodney Finnen the club was given a new impetus and by maximising use of the club function room, a project driven by Judith Whitmarsh, a gradual reversal of the clubs finances resulted. In October 2004 the club committee was awarded the prestigious `Outstanding Services to Cricket Award` (OSCAS) in the Cricket force category at the presentation ceremony at Lords in recognition of its work in turning the club round. In April 2005 the sudden resignation of the Chairman and difficulty in replacing him thrust the Chair on President, Doug Rossall`s shoulders, a dual position he held until Viv Norman took over as Chairman in 2007. The club also achieved Clubmark status in 2005 and in the same year a community Club Development Grant from Sport England enabled the club to install a five lane, all weather, fully enclosed, outdoor practise facility. A women`s team, previously headquartered at Leyland re-located to Chorley and thus was born Chorley women`s team. In contrast to this however fortunes on the field were in slight decline. The professional with two spells at the club 2002-2004 and 2006/2007 was Stephen John, a popular and successful left arm quick bowler and hard-hitting left hand bat from Pakistan, but he lacked support in depth. The club had been forced to introduce too many young players with a telling lack of experience and consequently the team, led by a succession of captains, hovered mid to lower table. However in 2005 one of our former juniors, 19 years old Tom Smith was signed as club professional and had a good season. Smith, whilst playing for the club had represented England up to and including U19 level, spent two years at the Lancs. Academy and ECB National Academy and in 2006 joined the full time staff at Old Trafford.
In 2008 a South African, Friedel de Wet was appointed professional and had an immediate impact on the team and club. On the field his fast, accurate bowling and professionalism, earned him the respect of friend and foe alike though the extremely wet summer did him no favours. Off the field his commitment to the club and engaging personality made him a multitude of friends at the club. Unfortunately his South African contract with the Lions will not allow him to return in 2009. However the revelation of the season, amongst several improving and mature performances from our younger players, was the batting of 17 year old wicket-keeper and opening batsman, Josh Tolley. Josh scored 852 league and cup runs including 8 scores over 50 and two centuries, one in the league against Barrow and one in a 20/20 game against Leyland. He gave a foretaste of his promise in 2007 when he had two innings over 90 after a string of high scores in the second team as a 16 year old.
Thanks are due to all those who have worked for the Club over the years, Chairmen Billy Blackledge, Jack Norman, Alec Atherton, Doug Rossall, Alec Holme, Bill Snow and Norman Poole, Viv Norman and others whom lack of space precludes.
