Looking back

Posted by John Winn
When I left Darlington in 1972 to take up employment in East Sussex I also left Cockerton Cricket Club where I had spent five very happy years playing in the Darlington and District League. In addition to Saturday league cricket the club's two elevens competed in a number of evening cup competitions. Friendly cricket was a thing of the past and yet from the club's formation in 1893 it had been nurtured on, and thrived on, that form of the game for almost seventy years. Only a shortage of fixtures for the second eleven forced its entry into the South East Durham League C Division in 1959. In 1961 the first eleven became founder members of The Darlington and District League where they were joined by the seconds the following year. Fifty years later this league has spread its catchment area to Trimdon in the north and Middleton in Teesdale in the west. Cockerton still has two member teams and
there is a reassuring familiarity about the names of many of the opposing clubs. I have fond memories of games played forty years ago on attractive grounds like those at Raby Castle, Rockcliffe Park, Aldborough St John and Cliffe, clubs that feature among Cockerton's opponents today. Even more comforting for the amateur cricket historian (and romantic) is that my grandfather and his brother played for Haughton CC against some of these clubs over one hundred years ago.
It would be tempting to think that for the first half of the last century friendly cricket was the bread and butter of all small village clubs but some recent research in the Darlington and Stockton Times for 1937 has shown that this would be misleading. As today each edition of the weekly paper had at that time extensive coverage of local cricket. At least one page of dense type with few, if any, advertisements or pictures, printed detailed scores, teams for the weekend's games and notes by 'left hander'.Top of the tree were reports of the NYSD league. This had started life in 1892 as the North Yorkshire League with just six clubs but the recruitment of Darlington and Stockton in 1896 allowed it to add SD to its initials.Below this level there was league cricket for a surprising number of smaller clubs. The West Cleveland League for example included the works' teams Acklam Works, Dorman's and Smith's Dock, together with Hutton Rudby who play in The Langbaurgh League today and Preston, Great Ayton and Stokesley, currently members of The NYSD. In 1937, the year of the coronation of George VI, the Langbaurgh West Rural League was composed mainly of clubs who play in The Langbaurgh today. Of greatest interest however is the paper's coverage of The Wycliffe League with just six member clubs, Ravensworth, Hutton Magna, Rokeby, Wycliffe, Forcett Park and Gilling, all small villages close to the A66 between Scotch Corner and Barnard Castle with the longest journey from Rokeby to Gilling a distance of just eight miles.To my knowledge none of these villages can boast a cricket club today although Gilling (West) is used by Richmondshire for fourth eleven games. The Wycliffe League was actually formed in 1937, how long it lasted is a matter for further research and another visit to the local studies room at Darlington Library.
I began by referring to my relocation to East Sussex in the early seventies where I joined Bexhill CC whose very extensive fixtures comprised almost entirely Saturday and Sunday friendly cricket but by 1975 they had joined The East Sussex League and in 1978 moved up to The Sussex County League which afforded the opportunity to play on the county club's outgrounds like Hastings, Eastbourne, Worthing and Horsham. In 2011 Bexhill ran five Saturday League teams and just one Sunday friendly side, how times change.