Upcoming local Leagues season 2023 - New signings & gossip

[Jap Stammer]

I knew there was an incident with Marsden at Murton too. Apparently Murton played a cup match circa 1990 at Marsden, with Marsden requiring 40 odd from an over and a few balls. Harry Mann the Marsden captain asked the umpires for ‘poor light’ and the game was abandoned. Murton were incensed and Marseden won the replay. The Murton captain Howard Ramshaw refused to shake hands and bad feelings spilled over to the next league game, where Marsden batted first for 60+ overs and left Murton 22 overs to knock them off….drawn match. Whilst Murton were fielding, Neil Brainbridge was so fed up that he apparently started ‘kicking’ the ball over the boundary in frustration.

It was incidents like this and others shared above that probably contributed maximum overs for the first innings being introduced.

Marsden once wrote an official letter of complaint about the state of the pitch at South Hylton after being bowled out for about 50 while chasing well over 160 to win.

It caused a lot of bad feeling - South Hylton had no money at all and every home game was a battle to host due to persistent vandalism.

In the return fixture at Marsden, South Hylton got about 200 then bowled Marsden out again for about 50. At the end of the game there were plenty of barbed comments made to the Marsden players about whether they would be writing to the league again about the state of the pitch. Baina (the above mentioned Neil Bainbridge) was playing for South Hylton (his home club) at the time and was one of the most vocal.

 

[SuperK]

Marsden once wrote an official letter of complaint about the state of the pitch at South Hylton after being bowled out for about 50 while chasing well over 160 to win.

It caused a lot of bad feeling - South Hylton had no money at all and every home game was a battle to host due to persistent vandalism.

In the return fixture at Marsden, South Hylton got about 200 then bowled Marsden out again for about 50. At the end of the game there were plenty of barbed comments made to the Marsden players about whether they would be writing to the league again about the state of the pitch. Baina (the above mentioned Neil Bainbridge) was playing for South Hylton (his home club) at the time and was one of the most vocal.

Yes there were definitely stories back then, some good and some would cause WW3 today, but I firmly believe there was better cricket played in local leagues in the 80s, 90s.

 

[Johnap]

Marsden once wrote an official letter of complaint about the state of the pitch at South Hylton after being bowled out for about 50 while chasing well over 160 to win.

It caused a lot of bad feeling - South Hylton had no money at all and every home game was a battle to host due to persistent vandalism.

In the return fixture at Marsden, South Hylton got about 200 then bowled Marsden out again for about 50. At the end of the game there were plenty of barbed comments made to the Marsden players about whether they would be writing to the league again about the state of the pitch. Baina (the above mentioned Neil Bainbridge) was playing for South Hylton (his home club) at the time and was one of the most vocal.

There was nowt wrong with the South Hylton wicket althpugh it was 1978 the last time I played there. A bit of a slope and bowlers who could use it was the main reason away teams rarely won.

 

[Eggman]

I knew there was an incident with Marsden at Murton too. Apparently Murton played a cup match circa 1990 at Marsden, with Marsden requiring 40 odd from an over and a few balls. Harry Mann the Marsden captain asked the umpires for ‘poor light’ and the game was abandoned. Murton were incensed and Marseden won the replay. The Murton captain Howard Ramshaw refused to shake hands and bad feelings spilled over to the next league game, where Marsden batted first for 60+ overs and left Murton 22 overs to knock them off….drawn match. Whilst Murton were fielding, Neil Brainbridge was so fed up that he apparently started ‘kicking’ the ball over the boundary in frustration.
It was incidents like this and others shared above that probably contributed maximum overs for the first innings being introduced.

Marsden took almost 2 hours to bowl their overs because the Murton pro took an age, virtually every ball, to take his guard.

It was 9.45pm by the time the game came to a conclusion. The umpires offered the Marsden batsmen the light and they took it.

The game was replayed 2 days later and Marsden won comfortably

There was nowt wrong with the South Hylton wicket althpugh it was 1978 the last time I played there. A bit of a slope and bowlers who could use it was the main reason away teams rarely won.

It was a pretty poor wicket (a square with about 3 strips) by the time I first played on it.

The whole ground was subject vandalism on a regular basis and a fallout with their nearby neighbours

Marsden took almost 2 hours to bowl their overs because the Murton pro took an age, virtually every ball, to take his guard.

It was 9.45pm by the time the game came to a conclusion. The umpires offered the Marsden batsmen the light and they took it.

The game was replayed 2 days later and Marsden won comfortably

It was a pretty poor wicket (a square with about 3 strips) by the time I first played on it.

The whole ground was subject vandalism on a regular basis and a fallout with their nearby neighbours.

Marsden, along with Simonside, got warnings about the conditions on their council owned grounds
from the leagues that they both competed in.

Eventually, Marsden were given permission to look after the whole playing area and conditions improved considerably

 

[SuperK]

Good evening Mr Eggman. You seem to have recalled alot of detail regarding the Marsden v Murton cup tie and specifically the Murton pro who was taking guard. Quite clearly you noted the game finished at 945pm and the game was replayed two days later. So who was the Murton Pro causing so much of an issue?

 

[Eggman]

Good evening Mr Eggman. You seem to have recalled alot of detail regarding the Marsden v Murton cup tie and specifically the Murton pro who was taking guard. Quite clearly you noted the game finished at 945pm and the game was replayed two days later. So who was the Murton Pro causing so much of an issue?

Not sure, an Asian fellow who wasn’t there very long - maybe not even for the whole season. He was fannying on with his gloves and guard all the time he was at the crease.

After Donavon Malcolm but before Steven Ball

 

[Jap Stammer]

The whole ground was subject vandalism on a regular basis and a fallout with their nearby neighbours

The vandalism of the playing surface and the facilities at South Hylton and the issues with one particular householder were well known locally to be linked.

This particular person took umbrage to cricket balls landing in his garden and raised petition after petition to have the club closed. They tried to appease him by going into a lot of debt to install a 30- or 40-foot high net along that particular boundary but he still wasn't happy.

On many occasions a wicket would be prepared on Friday evening, ready for it's final cut and roll on Saturday morning. When the groundsman turned up on Saturday there would be diesel or fast-acting weed-killer all over the prepared pitch. The vandalism was targeted, not random.

They got a grant from the council for a new toilet block and scorebox. The day after it was finished someone broke down the doors to both the men and women's toilets and took a sledgehammer to every bit of porcelain in there.

The ride-on cutters were kept in an old bomb-shelter - someone poured petrol into the gap above the door and set everything inside on fire. Targeted - and no secret locally as to who was behind it.

The irony was that the cricket field had been there for decades before the housing estate that eventually overlooked it, and all of the houses adjacent to the ground were the first ones sold - all off-plan. I know this because my Dad told me that him and my Mam had tried to buy one of them as they thought it would be ideal for them, him playing for South Hylton CC for almost all of his playing career.

There was nowt wrong with the South Hylton wicket althpugh it was 1978 the last time I played there. A bit of a slope and bowlers who could use it was the main reason away teams rarely won.

The team in the '70s had a bowling attack that clubs nowadays could only dream of having - and pay tens of thousands for, if they could. All local lads as well.

 

[Eggman]

The vandalism of the playing surface and the facilities at South Hylton and the issues with one particular householder were well known locally to be linked.

This particular person took umbrage to cricket balls landing in his garden and raised petition after petition to have the club closed. They tried to appease him by going into a lot of debt to install a 30- or 40-foot high net along that particular boundary but he still wasn't happy.

On many occasions a wicket would be prepared on Friday evening, ready for it's final cut and roll on Saturday morning. When the groundsman turned up on Saturday there would be diesel or fast-acting weed-killer all over the prepared pitch. The vandalism was targeted, not random.

They got a grant from the council for a new toilet block and scorebox. The day after it was finished someone broke down the doors to both the men and women's toilets and took a sledgehammer to every bit of porcelain in there.

The ride-on cutters were kept in an old bomb-shelter - someone poured petrol into the gap above the door and set everything inside on fire. Targeted - and no secret locally as to who was behind it.

The irony was that the cricket field had been there for decades before the housing estate that eventually overlooked it, and all of the houses adjacent to the ground were the first ones sold - all off-plan. I know this because my Dad told me that him and my Mam had tried to buy one of them as they thought it would be ideal for them, him playing for South Hylton CC for almost all of his playing career.


The team in the '70s had a bowling attack that clubs nowadays could only dream of having - and pay tens of thousands for, if they could. All local lads as well.

Yes, the ‘neighbour’ was a disgrace.

It’s like buying a house next to a pub and then complaining about the noise.

What a twat - what did he expect living next door to a small cricket field ?

I never played against South Hylton in their heyday, but I’ve seen their impressive record in the handbooks.

Don’t get me started on current players being paid to play as they couldn’t tie the shoe laces of the amateur players from yesteryear

 

[Up the BR]

Yes, the ‘neighbour’ was a disgrace.

It’s like buying a house next to a pub and then complaining about the noise.

What a twat - what did he expect living next door to a small cricket field ?

I never played against South Hylton in their heyday, but I’ve seen their impressive record in the handbooks.

Don’t get me started on current players being paid to play as they couldn’t tie the shoe laces of the amateur players from yesteryear

Played a game at northallerton where a ball was hit into a garden and the householder wouldn't give us the ball back, he was called a few choice names and he came running onto the field at which point his dog escaped, our skipper picked up the dog and said he would get the dog back when we got our ball back. The rest of the lads and the batters were pissing themselves laughing.

 

[Johnap]

The team in the '70s had a bowling attack that clubs nowadays could only dream of having - and pay tens of thousands for, if they could. All local lads as well.

Absolutely. Your Dad, the Andrews brothers, Barry Markham, Norman Button, Charlie Doran. Not a bad memory for 45 years ago!

 

[Marcosplace]

I knew there was an incident with Marsden at Murton too. Apparently Murton played a cup match circa 1990 at Marsden, with Marsden requiring 40 odd from an over and a few balls. Harry Mann the Marsden captain asked the umpires for ‘poor light’ and the game was abandoned. Murton were incensed and Marseden won the replay. The Murton captain Howard Ramshaw refused to shake hands and bad feelings spilled over to the next league game, where Marsden batted first for 60+ overs and left Murton 22 overs to knock them off….drawn match. Whilst Murton were fielding, Neil Brainbridge was so fed up that he apparently started ‘kicking’ the ball over the boundary in frustration.
It was incidents like this and others shared above that probably contributed maximum overs for the first innings being introduced.

I was at that game. @badger55 possibly played?

Not sure, an Asian fellow who wasn’t there very long - maybe not even for the whole season. He was fannying on with his gloves and guard all the time he was at the crease.

After Donavon Malcolm but before Steven Ball

He was a fantastic cricketer - attitude questionable off field.

 

[SuperK]

Not sure, an Asian fellow who wasn’t there very long - maybe not even for the whole season. He was fannying on with his gloves and guard all the time he was at the crease.

After Donavon Malcolm but before Steven Ball

I played for Murton for a couple of seasons in the late 80s and from what I gather they had no Asian pro after Donovan Malocolm. There was an Indian played there called Shiraz Dharsi in 1985. Those were the days when Coast League teams had some canny pros.

 

[Eggman]

I played for Murton for a couple of seasons in the late 80s and from what I gather they had no Asian pro after Donovan Malocolm. There was an Indian played there called Shiraz Dharsi in 1985. Those were the days when Coast League teams had some canny pros.

That will be him. I thought it was later than 85, but it was an earlier post that quoted ‘1990’.

Going back to the cup tie that was abandoned - the council, who will have been responsible for the ground in around 85, where repairing the fence and removing some bushes - they had a tractor turning over the ground at one end, while the game was going on. Each time it turned to come back along the bottom fence the batsmen, Dharsi, pulled out of his stance. Hence the 25 overs taking around 2 hours to complete.

I think Neil Bainbridge stayed with South Hylton until there demise In around 1986/87, when they folded after completing the first half of the season.

Also, it’s a popular recollection that Harry Mann was the Marsden captain all this time, probably because he was League skipper, but mostly it was Grant Forster 88-93, plus Bernard Wills and Tommy Trewhitt doing a season each around this time - Harry will have done the rest.

 

[Kev_p]

odd question but when South Hylton folded did some of the players end up at Wearmouth? We have a solitary stump that has South Hylton CC written on it in obviously good quality permanent marker. When we played a game using it a few years ago the umpire (Terry Lewis I think) asked about it given they had been folded for around 30 years at the time!

 

[Marcosplace]

I played for Murton for a couple of seasons in the late 80s and from what I gather they had no Asian pro after Donovan Malocolm. There was an Indian played there called Shiraz Dharsi in 1985. Those were the days when Coast League teams had some canny pros.

You're right. It another West Indian called Livingstone Lawrence?? And then Aussie Paul Henshall.

 

[Jap Stammer]

odd question but when South Hylton folded did some of the players end up at Wearmouth? We have a solitary stump that has South Hylton CC written on it in obviously good quality permanent marker. When we played a game using it a few years ago the umpire (Terry Lewis I think) asked about it given they had been folded for around 30 years at the time!

Might have been a lad called Colin Stephens - he'd played for Wearmouth before South Hylton and might have gone back after they folded.

 

[redandwhiterob]

Anyone remember when the senior league brought in that rule where a bowler was only allowed to bowl so many overs? Seemed to be aimed at Horden who at the time had Khan bowling at one end all game. Was there any actual reasoning to it all or was a just a bit petty? On the face of it it seemed a bit harsh when you could pay a fortune for a good batter who wasn't under any restrictions

 

[MonkeyHD]

Yep - that's the game I was referring to.

My memory is not as good as yours though, regarding the finer details.

I played alongside Tony for quite a few years at Whitburn and nobody really spoke about that particular game - he could be exceptionally bloody-minded when he wanted to be so I can well imagine he would have relished the situation.

Tony coached me at Boldon when I was an under 13 and I always thought he quite liked me. About 10 years later I was playing for Shields against Whitburn and he appealed for a caught behind against me. I didn’t hit it and was given not out but he was convinced. He spent the next 15 overs or so kicking off at me out in the middle and wouldn’t even speak to me after the game. Quite the character was Tony!

 

[robkitchuk]

odd question but when South Hylton folded did some of the players end up at Wearmouth? We have a solitary stump that has South Hylton CC written on it in obviously good quality permanent marker. When we played a game using it a few years ago the umpire (Terry Lewis I think) asked about it given they had been folded for around 30 years at the time!

Doesn't the current wearmouth cc have something to do with Chilton Moor. Remember been told by (les ingram?) That when Chilton lost the ground many of the players went to wearmouth. Not sure how correct that is mind.

 

[Kev_p]

Doesn't the current wearmouth cc have something to do with Chilton Moor. Remember been told by (les ingram?) That when Chilton lost the ground many of the players went to wearmouth. Not sure how correct that is mind.

I think that might have been the original Wearmouth CW team. The team that we most closely were related too was apparently Cole Cranes. That was where the likes of Davo and Andy Murphy came from apparently when they lost access to their ground. It's all before my time (I started 2013) so I'm not 100% where Chilton Moor come in but I had heard something about them too. Who knows who will be next to move in!