The club's history

Early days

Leigh Cricket Club was formed in 1854 by a group of local sportsmen and the club began life playing friendly fixtures against other local sides. Until 1894, matches were played on Brindles Field at Downcroft; the name 'Downcroft' was a historically familiar term used to describe a rectangle of land that started to the south of Albion Street (now the passageway that is home to the outdoor market stalls adjacent to Bradshawgate) and extended south across what is now Spinning Jenny Way as far as the Bridgewater Canal. The ground would therefore have been roughly on the site occupied by the former Co-op Pioneer supermarket.

The club then moved to its present headquarters amongst more rural surroundings alongside what was then a beautiful tree-lined bridal path called Beech Walk; it is a ground which still has an impressive setting despite the urban development in the vicinity over the intervening years.

Until the First World War, Leigh played in the South Lancashire League, but then joined the Manchester Association in 1919 and soon built up a formidable team. The years immediately following were highly successful: it was then that Walter Wright, the Kent and Nottinghamshire bowler reputedly said by W G Grace to have been the originator of swing bowling, was groundsman and Joe Massey and Harry Anthony established a record first wicket stand of 280.

Championship winners (1923)

The Stockton Trophy for the Manchester Association championship was won in 1923, the team being led by Bill Higenbottam, who captained the side for many years and was Mayor of Leigh in 1930-31. The playing record for the season was P-22 W-18 D-4 L-O. For many weeks, Leigh was involved in a neck-and-neck race for the championship with Macclesfield and required a win in the last match of the season at Winnington Park to finish top of the league. Leigh entered the match with great confidence and won the match easily, having proved far too strong for its opponents.

The celebrations after the match were described in the Leigh Chronicle as follows:

"  A pleasant little ceremony took place at the close of play. A number of the Leigh supporters had accompanied the team and Alderman T Boydell J.P., an ex-president of the club and an old player, proposed the health of the Leigh cricket team ...... asking those present to drink their health. The health of the Leigh players was drunk in champagne. Councillor W Higenbottam, the captain, replied on behalf of the team and said ...... the success of the team was not due to any particular member but to the spirit of the whole team, all the players having worked admirably together (Hear, hear).  "

The team's leading performer was former Lancashire player, Bill Huddleston, who topped both batting and bowling averages. Although he was 5O years old, he was still a formidable cricketer who had bowled outstandingly for the county in the years leading up to the First World War, and had taken 684 wickets at an average of 17.55 with a best performance of 9 for 36 against Nottinghamshire at Liverpool.

One of the championship team's leading batsmen was 19-years-old Peter Eckersley, or P.T. as he was known, who left the club to join Lancashire CCC for whom he played from 1923 to 1935, the last seven years as captain. He was appointed captain when only 24 years old and his side became county champions twice during his period of captaincy, including such all time greats as the Tyldesleys, Paynter, McDonald, Hopwood and Duckworth. He made 256 appearances for the county team and often played well when his side were badly placed, scoring 4,588 runs in all including a very good century against Gloucestershire at Bristol. He was a first rate fielder and always set a good example.

Peter Eckersley was a keen amateur pilot and was known as the "cricketing airman" and he often flew his own plane to matches. His keen interest in politics led to him becoming M.P. for Manchester Exchange in 1935, resigning his captaincy of the county to concentrate on his political career. At the outbreak of war he immediately joined the Air Arm of the R.N.V.R. and was unfortunately killed in 1940 at the age of 36 as the outcome of an accident when flying.

Two other outstanding young players, Ted Alcock and Tommy Carruthers, went on to become prolific run scorers during their long and successful careers with the club.

1920s and 1930s

Leigh was thus established as a force to be reckoned with and many more noble deeds were performed in the 1920s and 1930s. Two of the club's most talented players during this period were Alec Robinson and Alf Unsworth. Robinson opened the bowling and acted as club professional for a number of years, taking 554 wickets in five seasons. His best season was in 1929 when he captured 112 wickets at an average of 8.8 including an incredible performance of 8 for 6 against local rivals Wigan.

Alf Unsworth was a tremendously popular local sportsman, also playing for Leigh RLFC between 1924 and 1933. In 1938, he established a club record for run scoring by amassing 1,037 runs during the season at an average of 69.13, and also recorded the highest individual score of 175 not out in a friendly game against Cheshire Wayfarers in the same year. This was the first game of the season and one of the opposing bowlers was the Lancashire and England all-rounder Jack lddon. The innings contained 4 sixes and 26 fours. Three weeks later, Alf scored 172 against Urmston including 6 sixes and 25 fours and he was caught attempting to hit another six which would have broken the record.

He remains a truly legendary character from the club's past and it is said that he attracted large crowds to witness his spectacular hitting, many of whom would leave after he was out and the game had resumed its normal course. For instance, an audience of 500 turned up for the Bank Holiday Monday game against Warrington. Total gate takings were £2, non-members being charged two pence each.

One of Alf's greatest performances was a remarkable innings against Lancashire Club and Ground at Old Trafford in 1935, which included seven sixes in all of which three successive ones came off the England bowler Len Hopwood. Alf played for Lancashire 2nd XI and scored 14 centuries for Leigh during his career.

At this time, the rural calm of the Beech Walk ground had still not been disturbed by mechanised groundsmanship and the club employed a horse to pull the roller etc., equipped with its own specially made set of leather boots to avoid damage to the ground. During the winter months, however, the horse's upkeep became a problem and it was this that obviously caused the club committee to resolve in August 1932 that:

" the club's horse be shot at the end of the season. "

Luckily, however, someone was found to look after the club's faithful servant who thus earned a reprieve !

The war and afterwards

The Second World War curtailed cricket between 1940 and 1945, but matches continued on a limited basis despite the loss of many members to the forces. However, leg-spin bowler Tommy Prescott, who served in the forces in India, had the opportunity to play alongside and against many first class players and proudly recalled the occasion when he dismissed the great Denis Compton. Tommy had taken a record 10 for 14 against Crosfield's Recs in 1938 and returned after the war to give the club further distinguished service.

Stan Roberts, a prolific left-handed batsman and an outstanding captain, led the side from 1949 to 1951 and 1953 to 1955 and was well known in local sporting circles in his capacity as chairman of the board of directors of Leigh RLFC.

The highlights of the early 1950s were undoubtedly the games played between Leigh and West Indian XIs in 1951, 1952 and 1953. These games attracted large crowds to Beech Walk to see the local side take on such world class players as Worrell, Weekes, Walcott, Ramadhin, and Marshall.

A great honour was conferred on the Leigh club when the ground was used by Lancashire CCC 2nd XI for minor counties matches against Northumberland in 1959 and Cheshire in 1961, an indication of the excellence of the facilities available.

During the late fifties and early sixties, the scene was dominated by two talented opening bowlers who formed a formidable partnership, namely Harry Crippin and Peter Standing. Their best period was from 1960 to 1963 when they shared 361 wickets and both played representative cricket for the Manchester Association. Harry Crippin also spent some time as a professional in the North Staffordshire League. His best performance for the club was 9 for 37 against St. Helens at Leigh in 1962.

2nd XI championship winners (1961)

In 1961, the club's 2nd XI team, under the captaincy of local farmer Alan Johnson, won the second division championship of the Manchester Association for which almost forty teams competed. This success was achieved by the narrowest possible margin after a memorable victory at Northwich in the last game, but was thoroughly deserved due to consistently good all-round teamwork during the season.

The most remarkable game played was undoubtedly the one at Winnington Park early in the season. Winnington had declared at 206 and, when Leigh's ninth wicket fell at 150, all seemed lost. However, the last batsmen had different ideas as they added another 56 runs to earn their side a tie, the league points from which were to prove so important at the end of the season.

Ups and downs

The club's performances were generally unremarkable during the sixties and early seventies, but the greatest success for many years was achieved in 1977 by finishing in fourth place in the first division. Unfortunately, however, relegation followed a year later and the team sank to the bottom of the second division with only 2 wins in 1981.

A steady improvement followed and 1985 was a year of triumph, with both first and second XIs being promoted as champions. The 1st XI, under the captaincy of Tim McKiernan, finished with a record of P-23 W-15 D-6 L-2, whilst the 2nd XI, led by Andy Smith, won 16 of their 23 matches.

Following relegation again in 1988, the 1st XI had a splendid season the following year when, under the leadership of Paul Fallon, they won the second division championship with a remarkable 19 wins from 23 games and also captured the Burtonwood Knockout Trophy, which involved beating four first division sides.

Unfortunately, success was again short-lived with another disastrous season leading to immediate relegation. The club, however, once again showed remarkable powers of recovery by capturing the second division championship with 13 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats after an outstanding season under the leadership of Derrick Ainscough.

During the years 1992 to 1994, Leigh finally established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the premier division and, in 1993, a Yorkshireman named David Dove took over the captaincy. In 1994, a young Australian called Dean Reeves achieved a club record aggregate of 1,312 runs in all matches beating Alf Unsworth's record which had stood for 56 years.

Leigh's most prolific post-war batsman was Brian Marsh who, in a career lasting from 1952 to 1995, played 326 1st XI games and scored 12,038 runs for the club's senior teams including 62 fifties and 3 centuries. His highest score was 119 against Earlestown at Leigh in 1967.

Championship winners (1995)

At 6.29 p.m. on Saturday 2nd September 1995, Leigh secured the bonus point necessary for it to become champion of the Manchester Association and bring the Stockton Trophy back to Beech Walk for the first time since 1923. It was altogether fitting that the championship was secured against local rivals Wigan, and Dave Dove's team celebrated their notable triumph in fine style. This rounded off a triumphant season in which Leigh had also beaten St. Helens in the final of the Burtonwood Trophy to recapture the cup that had previously been won in 1989.

The team had performed at a consistently high level throughout the season, with superb stylish batting, penetrative attacking bowling, outstanding fielding, and a wonderful team spirit always in evidence under the captain's astute leadership. The games played resulted in fourteen wins, eight draws and only one defeat, enabling Leigh to finish 46 points in front of its nearest rivals.

The league campaign featured batting of exceptional quality from Dave Dove, who scored 786 runs at an average of 49.13 with a top score of 120* against Sale, and Australian Greg Dimery with 897 runs at 47.21 including a remarkable innings of 134 off only 111 balls against Cheetham Hill. They were backed up mainly by Clive Muir (371 runs at 30.92) and Steven Bailey (494 runs at 29.06). Graham Duddle was the league's most outstanding bowler with a massive stint of 368.4 overs producing 67 wickets at an average of 14.31. He was given strong backing by pacemen Mark Whalin and Greg Dimery and spinner Bill Banner chipped in with useful wickets when required. The performances in the field of Greg Dimery, Steven Bailey and Colin Marshall in particular, and the whole team in general, were a joy to behold, with Clive Muir in tremendous form behind the stumps.

After this most successful season in the club's history, the players were looking forward with great confidence to the challenge of playing in the Liverpool Competition in 1996. The momentous decision to leave the Manchester Association after 76 years had been taken mainly because of fears of a drop in the standard of cricket: there had been a continuing exodus of many of the top clubs to other leagues over the previous twenty years or so.

Liverpool Competition

On Saturday 20th April 1996, Leigh's eagerly awaited first season in the Littlewoods' Liverpool and District Cricket Competition got under way with a home game against the eventual champions, Southport and Birkdale. The fact that the visitors had to hang on for a draw with 9 wickets down after being thoroughly outplayed gave an indication of the impact that Leigh was going to make in this highly competitive sphere of cricket.

The standard of Dave Dove's captaincy was again of the highest order and his team generally adapted well to the demands of time-limited cricket. Leigh batted forcefully and consistently and bowled and fielded well enough to win eight, draw nine and lose only four league matches and finish in a highly creditable eighth position out of 23 teams.

Leigh's captain quickly established himself as the league's leading amateur batsman by achieving a club record for runs scored in league matches with 926 runs at an astonishing average of 71.23, including one century and ten fifties. He was given excellent support by Greg Dimery (814 runs at an average of 50.88) and Steven Bailey (669 runs at 35.21) and, with Graham Duddle again bowling superbly to claim 42 wickets at 18.24 each, Leigh was rarely dominated by any of the opposition.

The average number of runs per wicket scored (32.35) was the best of any team in the Liverpool Competition, a wonderful achievement considering the league's reputation for possessing many talented batsmen; Dave Dove and Graham Duddle both played representative cricket for the league side.