Colne Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
| Cricket Club | |
|---|---|
| League | Lancashire League |
| Ground | The Horsfield, Colne Colne Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire... , Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston... |
| Professional | Mansoor Amjad Mansoor Amjad Mansoor Amjad is a Pakistani cricket player. Despite his young age he has already played for the Pakistan A cricket team.Mansoor Amjad is a right-handed wrist spinner who took five wickets against an England XI at Lahore in 2005–06... (Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... ) |
| 2010 League Position | 13th |
Colne Cricket Club is a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at The Horsfield in Colne
Colne
Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire...
. For the 2011 season their captain is Matthew Wilson, and their professional is Mansoor Amjad of Pakistan. The club has won the league on four occasions and won the cup six times, achieving a league and cup double in 1959. It has employed professionals including Amar Singh
Amar Singh (cricketer)
Ladhabhai Nakum Amar Singh Lodha was an Indian Test cricketer.A right-arm fast-medium bowler and effective lower-order batsman, Amar Singh Lodha played in seven Tests for India before World War II. He took 28 wickets in these matches. He was the first Indian Fast bowler and All-rounder, and the...
, Bill Alley
Bill Alley
William Edward Alley was a cricketer who played 400 first-class matches for New South Wales, Somerset and a Commonwealth XI....
and Collis King
Collis King
Collis Llewellyn King is a former West Indies cricketer who played nine Tests and 18 One Day Internationals for the West Indies....
.
History
The club was founded in 1830, making it the oldest club in the Lancashire League and among the oldest in the area. The club folded after around ten years but was reformed in 1848, soon employing its first professional and playing its first recorded matches against other clubs. The club folded again in 1854 before reforming once more in 1860, folding in 1871 and reforming again in 1874. In the years following the club attracted crowds in the thousands and began charging for admission, employing two full time professionals.
Nelson Cricket Club
Nelson Cricket Club, based at Seedhill in Nelson, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League. They play at the Seedhill ground in Nelson. Their captain for the 2011 season is Thomas Lord and their professional is New Zealand international player Luke Woodcock.Nelson Cricket Club was...
. The 1904 match with Nelson drew a crowd of 10,000 to the Horsfield.
When the league resumed after the First World War Colne found little success, though the club did twice win the Worsley Cup in 1919 and 1924. In 1921 Colne played a match against probably the strongest side ever to play on the Horsfield - a Yorkshire team containing seven test players, losing by 22 runs. In 1935 Colne employed its first ever overseas professional, Amar Singh
Amar Singh (cricketer)
Ladhabhai Nakum Amar Singh Lodha was an Indian Test cricketer.A right-arm fast-medium bowler and effective lower-order batsman, Amar Singh Lodha played in seven Tests for India before World War II. He took 28 wickets in these matches. He was the first Indian Fast bowler and All-rounder, and the...
. He was seen as a rival to Nelson
Nelson Cricket Club
Nelson Cricket Club, based at Seedhill in Nelson, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League. They play at the Seedhill ground in Nelson. Their captain for the 2011 season is Thomas Lord and their professional is New Zealand international player Luke Woodcock.Nelson Cricket Club was...
's Learie Constantine
Learie Constantine
Learie Nicholas Constantine, Baron Constantine MBE was a West Indian cricketer who played 18 Test matches before the Second World War. He took West Indies' first wicket in Test cricket and was the team's leading all-rounder and opening bowler for the entirety of his career...
and his arrival caused the club's gate receipts and membership to double. Also that year Colne played against the largest crowd ever to watch the team. 14,000 people watched the fixture with Nelson at Seedhill which ended in a tie after Amar Singh took Nelson's last wicket with the scores level.
In 1948 Colne almost completed a league and cup double, winning the Worsley Cup and finishing second in the league by one point after falling just five runs short of victory in their final league match. Colne's professional in this period was Bill Alley
Bill Alley
William Edward Alley was a cricketer who played 400 first-class matches for New South Wales, Somerset and a Commonwealth XI....
who became the first player to score 1000 runs in a season for Colne, which he did in five successive seasons, the only player to achieve this feat in the Lancashire League's history. He went on to play for Blackpool and joined Somerset CCC at 38 Years of age setting records there and being the last player to score 3000 runs in a season, retiring at 49 to umpire at Test level. The club's fortunes declined after this point and in 1957 Colne finished bottom of the league for the first time.
International players could not join County teams and many came to play League cricket to gain experience of playing conditions for later tours and some gained residency to play for Counties. Learie Constantine, Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott, Lance Gibbs, Charlie Griffiths, Wesley Hall and Ray Lindwall are just a few who would visit Horsfield. Colne could not afford these and depended on talent spotters suggesting younger players.
In 1959, an inexperienced Colne team completed the League and Cup double with a Celonese (Sri Lankan) professional Stanley Jayasinghe, who outscored Everton Weekes to 1000 runs. Colne were victorious over Bacup
Bacup Cricket Club
Bacup Cricket Club, based at Lanehead in Bacup, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club started in 1892 when the Lancashire League was formed. Their professional for the 2008 season was Chris Harris. Their captain for the 2011 season is David Warren and their professional...
in the Worsley Cup final and won the final match of the season at Todmorden to take the title ahead of Todmorden
Todmorden Cricket Club
Todmorden Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Centre Vale in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. For the 2011 season its captain is Simon Newbitt, and its professional is Qaiser Abbas. The club has won the league on five occasions and won the cup eight times...
and Nelson. Jayasinghe went on to play county cricket for several years with Leicester CCC
The club won the cup again in 1969 but achieved no further success for thirty years. The late eighties and early nineties were particularly difficult for Colne, with the club finishing bottom of the league in five out of six seasons and at one point winning just three matches over two seasons.
The club has moved forwards since the mid nineties. Financial stability enabled Colne to employ better professionals including Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (cricketer)
Benjamin Andrew Johnson is a former Australian first-class cricketer who played for the Southern Redbacks...
who scored a league record 1,716 runs in the 1996 season. In 1999 the club again won the Worsley Cup, beating East Lancs.
East Lancashire Cricket Club
East Lancashire Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn. For the 2011 season its captain will be Mark Bolton and its professional will be Ockert Erasmus...
in a match which went down to the last ball. By the end of the 20th century Colne were regularly finishing towards the top of the table, though this performance has declined in the 21st.
Colne amateur players who have gone on to play County Cricket include Alan Wharton 1945 - 61 Lancashire and Leicester 1961 - 1963 ( 2 England caps in 1949) http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Archive/Players/0/857/857.html and Andrew Kennedy 1970 - 82 and the then Minor Counties side Durham. Andrew was 1975 Cricket writers young cricketer of the year. http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Archive/Players/30/30734/30734.html
Ground
Colne play at the Horsfield in the east of Colne. This has been the club's home since its early years and has seen crowds of 10,000 people. A new pavilion was built in 1888 and this remained unaltered through much of twentieth century before being replaced in 1965 at the cost of £10,000. This structure was destroyed in a fire in 1974 and a new pavilion was built. This remains in use today, though it was extended in 2001.Honours
- 1st XI League Winners - 4 - 1902, 1905, 1910, 1959
- Worsley Cup Winners - 7 - 1919, 1924, 1948, 1959, 1969, 1999, 2010
- Ron Singleton Colne Trophy Winners - 1 - 2000 (shared)
- 2nd XI League Winners - 7 - 1904, 1905, 1914, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1965
- 2nd XI (Lancashire Telegraph) Cup Winners - 1 - 1996
External links
- Official website
- Colne CC at lancashireleague.com