Astley & Tyldesley celebrate their centenary in style

By Mike Latham

Astley & Tyldesley Cricket Club celebrated their centenary in style last weekend with a visit by the MCC on Friday and a Past v Present game on the Sunday, a league match against Prestwich in between.

The club is based in the old mining village of Gin Pit and the Miners’ Welfare club and grounds are immaculately maintained and provide a great community asset. My grandfather, who came from nearby Howe Bridge, between Atherton and Leigh was a coal-miner in the local pits and I used to live locally, so I have always followed the club’s results and progress. 

1921 was also a special year for Leigh Rugby League Club, who lifted the Challenge Cup for the first time in that year, defeating Halifax 13-0 at The Cliff in Broughton. The Leigh captain was Walter Mooney, a fine halfback who later played for Great Britain. Walter came from Gin Pit and worked at the local colliery.

 

Gin Pit's most famous son- Walter Mooney

As well as the cricket, there is an impressive cycle speedway track, superb tennis courts and bowling green and a large football pitch while the club caters for snooker. When I first visited the ground around 50 years ago a large factory overlooked one side of the ground, but this has now been demolished and some new housing built in its place.

The overall look of the ground and the whole site is clearly one of great pride for the locals who turned out in good numbers to support the club events.

Play underway at Gin Pit

Starting at 11-30am on the Friday the MCC team batted first, as is customary, in a game limited to 45 over per side.

A number of familiar looking faces (to me) were in the MCC line-up including Wallasey batter Jamie Crawley, who has been in fine form this season and who scored a huge double hundred in a Scotland provincial match.

Clinton Perren is a former Sheffield Shield cricketer, long settled in Littleborough and now playing alongside his son in their Lancashire League team.

Adam Syddall had a long career as a fine left arm opening bowler in the Minor Counties, playing for Cambridgeshire, Cheshire and Cumberland. Left arm spinner Rex Purnell was a key component of the all-conquering Chorley side that of the mid 1990s, twice National Club champions, while David Lees had a long and successful career in the Oldham area, notably with Werneth CC and is now a respected umpire. Jimmy Dixon captains Sefton Park in the Liverpool Competition.

In short, it was a very good MCC side and a stiff test for the A&T lads, who stuck manfully to their task as Crawley, Perren and a new name to me, Ben Marsden from the Derbyshire County League, all batted impressively.

Ben Marsden reaches a fine 100, fist pumped by Clinton Perren

Crawley (52), Perren (69) and Marsden, who was out immediately after completing a fluent 100 were the main contributors to MCC’s 275 for 6.

A&T captain Alex Heaton batted superbly in reply, hitting 84 off only 67 balls and looking set for a century until he ventured one time too many down the pitch and was stumped. Wicketkeeper Aaron Booth hit a late order 52 off 45 balls while Cumberland CCC’s Marcus Stables, based locally as he completes his studies, looked set for a big score to continue his fine recent form until he skied one and was caught for 18. A&T closed 202 all out off only 37.4 overs, leaving MCC winners of a splendid game by 73 runs.

Spectators outside the splendid Welfare building applaud Marsden's century

The ground was largely constructed during the Miners’ Strike of 1926 when work for the Gin Pit Workshops was in short supply. Foreman bricklayer Bill Brand found work for his men in laying and constructing the tennis courts, the seats and banking for spectators, the work on the cricket square and ground, before they turned their attention to the construction of the welfare building.

Though Manchester Collieries took over the Astley and Tyldesley Coal and Salt Company in 1929, and thus took over the Gin Pit Workshops, the sporting activities of the Welfare continued to develop. There were teams in several sports besides cricket- rugby, soccer, tennis, bowls and snooker. A&T joined the Bolton Association in 1935, winning the prestigious Cross Cup in each of their first two years and the league championship in 1939.

Many fine cricketers have played at Gin Pit over the last one hundred years

The club employed its first professional in 1952 when Derek Riley of Burnley was appointed. The Bolton Wanderers and England footballer Harold Hassall, one of four brothers to play for the club at the same time, was a notable player, and A&T won the league and cup double in 1959. Later, Ralph Livesey was a long-serving and successful bowler.

The club survived problems with the square in the 1960s, forced to play two seasons away from Gin Pit, before reviving again in the 1970s, new professional Trevor Savage a catalyst. In the mid-1970s a young batter from Pakistan, Mohsin Khan was engaged as professional and he enjoyed a prolific season, scoring over one thousand runs and taking over 70 wickets. This was a golden era for the Association with some fine professionals, including Javed Miandad, playing at Daisy Hill, Mudassar Nazar at Little Hulton. The trio all went on to become highly accomplished and successful Test players for their country.

A&T's Marcus Stables drives through the off side

After so long in the Association, sadly now defunct, it seems strange to see A&T now playing in the Greater Manchester Cricket League, which was formed a few years ago. Their first team competes in the Premier League, and they have a Sri Lankan professional in Chathura Randunu de Silva.

My friend, the late Terry Casey, was an A&T stalwart for many years and combined his cricket as a long-serving player and mainstay of the Tyldesley RU club. He was also a lifelong Leigh Centurions supporter. Terry sadly passed away a couple of years ago after a long illness. I thought about him as I strolled around the splendid Gin Pit ground in the sunshine. He would have relished the visit of the MCC.

(with thanks to Roy Cavanagh's superb book, Cotton Town Cricket, the centenary history of the Bolton District Association, for some of the background)

Congratulations to A&T on reaching a splendid landmark