The Cricket History of Calderdale and Kirklees

About the Project

Links

Contact Us

Home   Archives   Schools   Online Shop   Message Board   Newsletter

 

<< back

 

BATLEY CC

Mount Pleasant, Batley WF17 7NZ

View Map

Altitude: 105 Metres/344 Feet

Central Yorkshire League

Heavy Woollen Junior League

Volunteer Contacts:

Imran Patel and Roy Holdsworth

 
  Club Image
 

Founded: 1863
Nearest Landmark: Batley rugby league ground
Nearest Railway Station: Batley
By Bus: 281/283 from Batley Bus Station
Nearest Other Club: Mount CC

Club

Timeline (40kb PDF)

Early Years (521kb PDF)
Later Years (1.1mb PDF)

Club History in Batley News (2006) 129kb PDF)
Concise History of Club (10kb PDF)

1883 First-Class Fixture (51kb PDF)

1946 approx. Club Photos (489kb PDF)

1949 (10 Feb) Letter (95kb PDF)

1950s Press Cuttings (509kb PDF)

1979 Scorebook v Scholes, Mirfield, King Cross & Huddersfield ICI (343kb PDF)

1980 Scorebook v Sowerby Bridge & Scholes & Season Stats (254kb PDF)

1981 Scorebook v Thornhill, Birstall & Ossett (373kb PDF)

1982 (31 Jul) Scorebook v Ossett (73kb PDF)

1982 Relegation (89kb PDF)

1987 1st Division Champions & Wheatley Cup Winners (208kb PDF)

1989 'Quadruple' (385kb PDF)

1992 Wheatley Cup Winners (78kb PDF)

1995 1st XI 2nd Division Winners (49kb PDF)

1996 Youth Team (161kb PDF)

1999 Matchday Programme (201kb PDF)
2005 Heritage Exhibition Launch Poster (35kb PDF)

2005 Heritage Exhibition Tickets (67kb PDF)
2005 Heritage Exhibition Programme (906kb PDF)

2006 (14 Apr) Bowling Club Controversy (96kb PDF)

2006 Tea Room Prices (38kb PDF)

2006 Presentation Evening (8kb PDF)

Club Badges (79kb PDF)

Club Social Event - undated (318kb PDF)

Club Website (159kb PDF)

Daily Times Article (web link)

Heritage Display in Club Pavilion (279kb PDF)
Observer Article (web link)

Women Players - undated (182kb PDF)

LEAGUES: Central Yorkshire League (web link)

People

Who's Who (465kb PDF)

Solly Adam

Malik Ali

Dale Burns   Cricinfo

Louis Hall   Cricinfo

Roy Holdsworth

Paul Jarvis   Profile of Paul Jarvis by Michael Ward (21kb PDF)   Cricinfo

Barrie Leadbeater   Cricinfo

David Lovell   Cricinfo

Chandrakant Pandit   Cricinfo

Imran Patel

John H.B.Redfearn   1935 (2 Mar) Obituary (79kb PDF)

Raymond Taylor

Team Photos

1890s (59kb PDF)

1940s (221kb PDF)

1950s (64kb PDF)

1970s (140kb PDF)

1980s (436kb PDF)

1990s (81kb PDF)

Undated (506kb PDF)

Ground

Story of Mount Pleasant (865kb PDF)

1993 (25 Jul) New Pavilion Opened by Martyn Moxon (80kb PDF)

1996 Lottery Sports Fund (55kb PDF)

2006 (1 Sep) Junior Final at Mount Pleasant (1.2mb PDF)

2007 (12 May) Batley v Methley (1mb PDF)

Line Drawing by Sue Brant

Old Scorebox - undated (298kb PDF)

Pavilion Redevelopment - undated (342kb PDF)

History of Batley Cricket Ground - source unknown (102kb PDF)

Action (626kb PDF)

Club Buildings (204kb PDF)

General Views (945kb PDF)

Groundsmen (285kb PDF)

On the Boundary (1.3mb PDF)

Players (186kb PDF)

Rugby League Ground & Batley Taverners (879kb PDF)

Scorebox (162kb PDF)

Signage (252kb PDF)

Spectators (668kb PDF)

Teatime (212kb PDF)

Wicket & Square (1.1mb PDF)

Oral History - Malik Ali

200 All Out (audio)
Batley's Back! (audio)
Cricket Teas or Market Days? (audio)
For the Love of the Game (audio)
Silverware (audio)
Workers and the Community (audio)

Local Context

Profile of Batley (444kb PDF)

Batley (Wikipedia)

Batley & Dewsbury (web link)

Batley Bulldogs RLFC (web link)

Maggie Blanck - Old Photos of Batley (web link)

Kirklees Council (web link)

GENUKI, 1820s (web link)

Batley Frontier (web link)

Batley CC (Quaid-e-Azam Sunday League) (19kb PDF)

Former Cricket Clubs in Local Area (web link)

Batley Asians

Batley Carr Mills

Batley Carr St Joseph's

Batley Carr United

Batley Cooperative Society

Batley Gospel Hall

Batley Muslims

Batley Parish Church

Batley Road Methodists

Batley Tuesday

Batley Up Lane

Batley Zion United Methodist Church (UMC)

Further Reading

M.H.Haigh, History of Batley (1974) (146kb PDF)

M.H.Haigh, Historical Snapshots of Batley and Birstall (1994)

N.Ellis, Around Batley (1996)

Memories of Dewsbury and Batley (1997)

Batley News

The Press

Club Archives

West Yorkshire Archive Service Collection (Stored at Huddersfield Library)

 

With grateful thanks to Malik Ali, Roy Holdsworth, Imran Patel and Raymond Taylor.

If you have any information about this club or any others in this area that could be of use please feel free to contact us via p.j.davies@hud.ac.uk.

Note:
You will need the Adobe Acrobat Plug-in to view these files.

 

 

   

 

Select Images to View Below:

The Ground
  Archive Images

 

Greatest Moment

1911 - scoring a record 445 in the Heavy Woollen Cup final against Hopton Mills.

Local Hero

Louis Hall - prolific but dour late-nineteenth-century batting legend nicknamed the 'Batley Giant'.

Bizarre Fact

In 1898 the Heavy Woollen Cup was awarded to Morley after Batley refused to play the final due to a rugby league game being played at Mount Pleasant on the same day.

All-England Visitors

It was in the 1840s, we are told, that cricket was first played in Batley. The probability is that, in some form, cricket reared its head much earlier.

One key date in the emergence of cricket in Batley was 1862, when an All England XI visited Batley and beat the home side by 62 runs. This sporting spectacle would have increased interest in the embryonic game. It is no coincidence that a year later, Batley Cricket Club was founded as successor to Prince of Wales CC.

By 1880 the club had set up home at Mount Pleasant, and been joined by other local sportsmen, including rugby players who had set up Batley RFC – later to become known as 'The Gallant Youths'.

Grace and Spofforth

By the 1860s Batley cricket was developing a high profile. Prestigious matches against the major touring XIs, which included the sport’s leading players, were being staged in the town. As early as 1862, the All England XI visited the town to play against ‘22 of Batley & District’.

When in May 1876 the United South of England XI played against ‘20 of Batley & District’, the visitors included the great W.G.Grace. The match commenced in front of around 4,000 to 5,000 people. Grace scored 4 and 40 as the local ‘Twenty’ won by 11 wickets.

Two years after the United South of England visit, Batley took on the Australian tourists. The Aussies' side was formidable, and included the demon fast bowler, Fred Spofforth.

On 17 September 1883 Mount Pleasant, Batley, hosted its first and last first-class fixture, between T. Emmett's XI v RG. Barlow's XI.

Heavy Woollen Heroes

In the early years of the Heavy Woollen Cup, Batley’s record was only bettered by that of its great rival Dewsbury & Savile. It contested 10 finals before 1914, winning five of them.

 

Historically, Batley has always been one of the most colourful and controversial clubs in the competition:

 

• Pelting the supporters of victorious Birstall with grass sods in 1892.

  

• Objecting to the re-scheduled final date in 1898 as it clashed with an attractive opening match of the Rugby League season (Morley were awarded the Cup without a ball being bowled). 

 

• Suspended in 1899. 

 

• Spectators attacking a Morley batsman in 1914. 

 

• A withdrawal in 1928 after the 1st round draw. 

 

• Crowd troubles in the 1930 semi-final against Dewsbury. 

 

• The chaotic semi-finals of 1944 which were never played. 

Final Venue

Batley have been one of the most important clubs in the history of the Heavy Woollen Cup, competing almost every year and they are the fourth most successful club in the history of the competition. 

 

On 12 occasions the trophy has gone to Mount Pleasant but only three of those were since the end of the Second World War.

 

The cup final has been staged at Mount Pleasant 13 times, a total only exceeded by Savile Town and Heckmondwike.

Disclaimer - Designed and programmed by Lee Booth.

 
Heritage Lottry Fund University of Huddersfield