Bamburgh Castle's magnificent season

By Mike Latham

Bamburgh Castle Cricket Club plays in one of the most iconic and picturesque locations in England, on Castle Green in the shadow of the magnificent Bamburgh Castle.

From the Hairy Bikers, Matt Baker to Robson Green the television celebrities have been out in force in recent years, recording programmes and helping increase awareness of the beauty of the area, boosting the already huge tourist flow.

Situated about 40 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne on the Northumberland Coast, Bamburgh is also home to the RNLI Grace Darling Museum, commemorating the bravery of the ‘Heroine of the Farne Islands’ and its Blue Flag beach, dunes, pubs, restaurants, cafes, and shops attract thousands of visitors each year.

The village population is only around 400 and the number of second homeowners and holiday lets has driven up property prices, making this one of the most expensive places to live outside London. It’s a massive problem for the locals, especially young ones attempting to set up their first home.

A photo one never tires of taking

That’s a serious social issue, not least for local sport, but thanks to the persistence, pride and perseverance of the villagers and enthusiasts from the surrounding area, the cricket club is in good shape. Established in 1860 and first playing on Castle Green in 1895, Bamburgh Castle Cricket Club has an extensive fixture list of over 20 games a season, most at home on a Sunday afternoon. The games, of 35 overs per side duration against a variety of opponents, attract good sized crowds, and more photographs must be taken of cricket on the green than any other ground in England.

With a sizeable list of vice presidents and volunteer helpers, the club thrives, ably supported by the Armstrong family from Bamburgh Castle who provide the ground in exchange for it being mown and looked after regularly.

Tea, coffee, cake- and cricket

Each match is sponsored by local businesses and the club invests in new machinery when funds allow, and this season had the benefit of a magnificent new electronic scoreboard. The village hall doubles up as the pavilion on summer Sundays and a roaring trade is whipped up from passers-by and spectators enjoying the tea, coffee, and cakes on offer.

I’ve written before of my love of watching cricket here and aim to visit as often as I can. Billy Wright, the treasurer, is my main point of contact and his son Andrew the team captain. Billy and Andrew are associated with the Alnwick club from where they draw a number of players. Dave Parmley is the scorer and after each match writes a detailed and informative report for the club’s website. Many other volunteers contribute to the club’s prosperity.

Flagging up a great season for Bamburgh Castle CC

This season Bamburgh Castle CC achieved something remarkable. The club went through the season unbeaten. Played 24, Won 24. The clean sweep was completed on the second Sunday in September as the XL Club was defeated by eight wickets; Matt Stewart’s unbeaten 65 helping Bamburgh reach the target of 125 runs. By happy coincidence a friend of mine, Jeremy Alderson was able to umpire the game while on holiday in the area. Jeremy umpires in the Palace Shield and Lancashire League back home, but always aims to officiate in a handful of Bamburgh matches each year.

Ironically, Bamburgh’s most difficult match of the season may well have been their first. Nottinghamshire visitors Flintham bowled the home side out for 111 but then narrowly failed in their run chase, dismissed for 99 in reply despite a valiant 51 from their captain, JJ Arthur.

Cricket on the green, a glorious tradition carried on for over a century

Bamburgh played home and away matches against Riding Mill and Manderston and also visited nearby Eglingham, but 21 of their 24 fixtures were staged on the green. In this most glorious of summers most were played out in warm and sunny conditions, but others were accompanied by chill and wind.

Throughout it all Bamburgh kept on winning, and by any standards to win 24 out of 24 is a magnificent achievement.

As with all successful seasons, it was a magnificent team effort. Cam Nichols, with two hundreds and three fifties, led the way. James Crooks hit one century and three fifties, Cody Brogden four fifties and eight other batters recorded half centuries. Wickets were generally shared around with Harry Parkinson, Matt Stewart and Matt Goodfellow each recording five-wicket hauls.

The full record is shown below:

(Match 1) 24 Apr, Flintham (h) Won by 11 runs; (2) 1 May, Romany (h) Won by 75 runs; (3) 8 May, Nidderdale (h) Won by 55 runs; (4) 15 May, Tillside (h) Won by 141 runs; (5) 22 May, Wolsingham (h) Won by 159 runs; (6) 29 May, Ponteland (h) Won by 7 wkts; (7) 2 Jun, Little Valley (h) Won by 7 wkts; (8) 5 Jun, Eglingham (a) Won by 7 wkts; (9) 12 Jun, Blyth (h) Won by 7 wkts; (10) 19 Jun, Genetics (h) Won by 214 runs; (11) 26 Jun, St George’s Rovers (h) Won by 8 wkts; (12) 3 Jul, Riding Mill (a) Won by 119 runs; (13) 10 Jul, Durham University Staff (h) Won by 89 runs; (14) 17 Jul, Knights (h) Won by 8 wkts; (15) 24 Jul, Manderston (a) Won by 113 runs; (16) 31 Jul, Stamfordham (h) Won by 33 runs; (17) 7 Aug, KSTOB (h) Won by 129 runs; (18) Benwell Hill (h) Won by 7 wkts; (19) 14 Aug, Davipart (h) Won by 127 runs; (20) Manderston (h) Won by 9 wkts; (21) 28 Aug, Riding Mill (h) Won by 151 runs; (22) 29 Aug, Jesmond Jaguars (h) Won by 62 runs; (23) 4 Sep, Nairobi Nomads (h) Won by 58 runs; (24) 11 Sep, XL Club (H) Won by 8 wickets.