Greatest Moment

1944 - winning their second Sykes Cup on the trot.

Local Hero

Edwin St. Hill - the first black player to star in the Huddersfield League when he signed for Slaithwaite in 1934.

Bizarre Fact

Early in the twentieth century there were regular pigeon shoots at Slaithwaite's ground!

High Above the Village

As its name suggests, Hill Top is located high above Slaithwaite village centre.

The playing area is reasonably-sized and is enveloped by a lovely peaceful air.

There is little extraneous noise. You can hear the trans-Pennine trains as they whizz by every 10 minutes or so, but you can't see them.

Near the clubhouse and pavilion there is a set of ridges that together form a kind of natural bank. 

For spectators there is also a small white terrace and a collection of benches.

But woe betide them if they wander in front of the sightscreens; the home players are prone to bark out at any unfortunate soul who doesn't realise that the bowler is bowling from their end, and he or she is loitering a bit too close to the large white sheeting.   

Scorebox and Sandwiches

The clubhouse and pavilion are wedged together in a corner of the ground.

The former incorporates bar, open-plan trophy cabinet and tearoom, while the latter - slightly smaller - is where home and away players change into and out of their cricketing gear.

There is also a small scorebox tucked away in this little area. Half a dozen flower baskets give the whole place a pleasant feel.

The tea room is a cute L-shaped room.

The senior tea lady and her children prepare the sandwiches and cakes as the first innings proceeds, and every now and again one of the kids has to go outside to check on the number of overs left until the players start traipsing their way in for food.

Sometimes, the kiddies have to go on urgent errands - like when the kitchen is devoid of milk…and a spectator orders a cup of milky tea. For the record a full tea costs £2.50, a sandwich on its own £1.50, and a cup of tea 40p.

All around the clubhouse there are notices and adverts: 'NO DOGS'; 'NO SPIKES'; 'BEN SHAW - SINCE 1871'; 'ASDAC FLOORING SYSTEMS'; 'DAVID L. HALL UPVC'; 'TODAY'S SPONSOR: RICHARD AND JOHN CHIPPENDALE - GOOD LUCK'.

Sun and Sports

There is something quite solitary about Hill Top as a venue: old men sit on benches in ones and twos; mothers wander round the boundary with their buggies as if they're doing some kind of marathon race; locals patrol the perimeter of the ground with their dogs; and the odd picnicking family put their umbrella up to shield them from the sun and the wind.

Cricket is not the only sport played at Hill Top. There's also a bowling green, a snooker table and a dartboard.

But only when cricket is being played is the full beauty of Hill Top on display.

Church Connection

Slaithwaite CC was formed in 1873 but the consensus is that cricket was played in the village before this date, but not in an organised form; whatever 'team' or 'club' existed in the pre-1873 era, it had disbanded by the time the 'new' SCC emerged.

In the immediate post-1873 period, Slaithwaite were known as Slaithwaite St. James.

Initially, they played at Old White Royd - but this was soon needed for building; they then moved to Meal Hill Lane, where Mona Terrace now stands; they switched to Hill Top in 1881, and liaised with the Earl of Dartmouth, who was their landlord and patron, but who demanded only a nominal rent. (The Earl's family also donated thousands of pounds to local schools and churches, and paid for mass smallpox vaccinations in the village).

The 1880s were a busy decade. In 1881 David Townend was engaged as pro at 10/- per week; three years later, a club bazaar raised £25 17s 8½d for club funds; and in 1887 another bazaar was held - netting £93 6s 4d.

The next 20 years were also crucial in the development of the club:

1892 - Dan Bottom engaged as pro.

1903 - Herbert Denton becomes club president; club put on 'solid basis'.

1906 - Slaithwaite bowl Linthwaite out for 23 (Wimpenny 6-18 and Sykes 3-5).

1907 - Pavilion enlarged (cost £180) and bowling green built (cost £170).

1908 - Dinner held at Harp Inn and attended by famous trio Hirst, Rhodes and Haigh.

Among the players SCC have produced are Clifford Walker (who had the best batting average in the Huddersfield & District League in 1937 and played for Hampshire), L.A. Dyson (star bowler in 1927), George Dawson (an excellent stumper) and Tommy Lodge.

11 Things You Might Not Have Known About Slaithwaite CC

1) Edwin St. Hill was the first black cricketer to represent any side in the
Huddersfield League. He made his debut in 1934 after being
introduced to the club by the legendary Learie Constantine.

2) Why is the club badge so? Legend has it that local smugglers tried to explain their nocturnal activities as “raking the moon from the canal”. As a result, "Moonraker" is now the official nickname for a native of the village.

3) Tom Simpson took two hat-tricks in the same season for Slaithwaite’s
second string in 2006. Bowling medium-paced in-swingers, Simpson took all his wickets either by lbw, caught by the wicketkeeper or caught and bowled - such was his accuracy.

4) England star Ryan Sidebottom pitted his wits as a teenager against
current Slawit player John Hey in two different matches – once when
Hey was at Holmfirth as they played Meltham and the other when
Sidebottom represented Kirkburton against Linthwaite.

5) Hey also had the privilege of taking on Ryan Sidebottom’s father Arnie, himself a one-time England Test cricketer, when Primrose Hill took on Slaithwaite.

6) Current first-teamer Dave Berry managed to send current India
opening batsman Wasim Jaffer into a spin while the international was
learning his trade at Scholes. Not only did Berry manage to take
Jaffer’s wicket caught and bowled, he also had two extremely good
shouts for gloved behind and lbw turned down. To this day, Berry
maintains he got him out three times!

7) Sun – rather than rain - stopped play (of all things) has been known to occur on occasions due to the sun setting down by the scoreboard,
blinding both players and umpires.

8) As a teenager, England legend David Gower was actually turned down by Slaithwaite! Leicestershire sent three players up for experience but SCC only needed two – as a result, Dave Munden, who is now a
professional sports photographer, and Tim Smith, who went on to play
for various minor counties, were chosen at Gower’s expense.

9) 1987 saw the club enter, and then go on to win, the Heavy Woollen
Cup at the very first time of asking, defeating Chickenley by 41 runs.
SCC have also reached the final on two other occasions, in 1991 and
1993.

10) Yorkshire all-rounder Craig White was part of the Honley side that played Slaithwaite in 1991. The ex-England player starred as the two
teams clashed in the Sykes Cup final held at Slaithwaite. Slaithwaite
won the trophy that year.

11) Bank Holiday weekend in May 2005 saw not one but two centuries
from Chris Payne. Incredibly, both of them came against Meltham, one
at home and one away, with scores of 169 on the Saturday and 121 on
the Sunday!