Greatest Moment

2004 - both 1st XI and 2nd XI claimed their respective Section 'A' titles.

Local Hero

Noel Barrowclough, one of the club’s founder members. He later became secretary and held that post for the next 40 years. During that time he was also groundsman and spent a short period as steward of the club.

Bizarre Fact

On 30 April 1962 Police CC were fined for playing only six men against Birchencliffe in the Huddersfield Association!

Mills and Quarries

Birchencliffe's cricket ground lies only a few hundred yards from Ainley Top, one of the most well known of Huddersfield landmarks. As such, it is situated just inside Kirklees, within earshot of the busy M62 and the mini-Spaghetti Junction that surrounds it. The Cedar Court Hotel - Pennine Hilton as was - is situated only a few hundred yards up the road.

There had been a cricket club in Birchencliffe before the war, but it folded almost as soon as hostilities broke out in 1939. Their HQ was just down the hill in the middle of the village, and there was a set of tennis courts next door. Harold Roberts, one of the founding fathers of the current club, explains: 'The old Birchencliffe CC played evening matches for the most part. All their players worked in the mills and never got Saturday afternoons off.'

Unfortunately, during the war, the club's ground was turned into a quarry by a local company, and all their members dispersed.

Born Again in a Local Pub

The 'new' Birchencliffe C.C. was formed in 1951 by customers of the former Royal Hotel, but they only moved into their current premises a few years later. In the years in between they wandered from ground to ground and had no permanent home. Club spokesman Peter Clarkson explains: 'It was a fresh start for everyone after the war. We had no proper base - we'd literally play anywhere.'

Nevertheless, it was still a successful period: in 1955 the 2nd XI won the Crosland Trophy, and two years later the club did the Huddersfield Association league-and-cup double. Birchencliffe were also involved in comic goings-on. On 30 April 1962 the Police cricket club was fined for playing only six men against the Halifax Road side.

After a spell in the Association, Birchencliffe joined the Huddersfield Central League in 1978, entering two teams. And by a quirk of fate, the club that would become its main local-derby rival (the Birkby-based YMCA CC) joined the League in the same year, also entering a pair of teams.

Open to the Elements

The Halifax Road ground has many interesting features. In days gone by, the wicket was situated at the bottom end of the field, but was relocated towards the motorway end. The pavilion is intriguing too: the shell of the building put up in 1960 was formerly the fuselage of a World War II glider. (In 1969 and 1976 the construction was extended).

And in the early post-war period, the quarry at the top end of the ground was filled in with spoil from the nearby hospital - and the club actually made money from the process.

Today, the ground is an attractive one. There is a colourful array of flowers in front of the clubhouse, a cosy bar lounge inside the building, and an excellent playground area for kiddies who come to watch the cricket but get bored.

It is not just high, but also pretty exposed and open to the elements. Clarkson says: 'During recent high winds our scorebox blew over, so we're just about to build a new one - and we've got a sponsor, which is good news. We've also had problems with the sightscreen at the Huddersfield end of the ground - it blew over in a recent gale. Birchencliffe is pretty notorious as a windy place!'

Looking back, it is clear that the club owes a great deal to people like Sam Pickering (founder member), Noel Barrowclough (secretary for 50 years), Charles Porter (former president), and the aforementioned Roberts (founder member and still actively involved at Halifax Road).