Greatest Moment

25 August 2002 - the grand opening of the club's new pavilion.

Local Hero

John Stanger - in August 2000 he fulfilled every bowler’s dream by taking 10 wickets in an innings against Higham. He also won the Huddersfield Central Cricket League H. Whittaker bowling trophy that season.

Bizarre Fact

1st XI bowler Richard Parkin recently represented England against Serbia & Montenegro at internet football.

Handsome Pavilion

Today, Kaye Lane certainly looks the part. The levelled-up playing area and the handsome pavilion make for a wonderful sight.

In the tea room of the new pavilion (where the sponsored bricks are very visible), the story of the 'Wes Redevelopment' is told in three framed photo-montages: (1) 'Earth-moving days', (2) 'New shoots' and (3) 'New foundations'.

Almost everywhere you look, Sport England are thanked for their financial assistance (the Lord's Taverners also get their own plaque). There are plenty of momentos of the first match on the new ground, and also details of how you can order your very own 'Wes' t-shirt.

A photo of the AW team that won the league and cup in 1953 also hangs in the pavilion, reminding locals that they have a glorious past as well as an exciting future.

Joining the Association

The club was founded back in November 1920, and 1921 was their first full season. It was around this time that the club started work on levelling up their Kaye Lane ground - and they were obviously helped by the fact that many local men found themselves unemployed following the war, and thus had plenty of time on their hands to help. 'Wes' went on to join the Huddersfield Association but gradually became frustrated with having to play most of their away fixtures at Leeds Road.

Thus, in 1977 they opted to join the Huddersfield Central League.
Development work at Kaye Lane has been pretty concerted. In the 1960s running water was piped into the pavilion, and in 1986 portakabins were installed - housing a new tea room and dressing rooms.

In 1995 the club started Kwik Cricket sessions for juniors, and in 2001 it had to play its last six 'home' games away from Kaye Lane so work could start on the major redevelopment project that came to fruition in 2002.
As you leave the Kaye Lane ground, you realise that it isn't actually in Almondbury at all (the village seems to end somewhere between the Methodist church and the cricket ground). This is a strange curio.

Methodist Links

Cricketers from opposing teams are always interested in the club's Methodist links, and Keith Crawshaw, club secretary, is happy to explain: 'In the early days there was a strong connection between the club and the local Wesleyan church. Most of the cricket team were regular attenders - in fact, they were actually obliged to go to church a certain number of times each month.

Today, the situation is different, with only a few club members still having links with the church. But that said, we're very proud of the connection and we're pleased that the minister at the church still holds the position of club president.'

He goes on: 'Today, we see ourselves as a community club - indeed, being involved with the Lottery meant we had an obligation to expand our profile in the local area. We've got a good junior set-up and it's a very friendly organisation.'