Welcome to Allestree Cricket Club History

 

18th November 2011

I have found out today that 3 people associated with the Cricket Club have passed away within the last 10 days.

Martyn Pratt

Martyn Pratt played for Allestree between 1965 and 1978. Outside cricket, Martyn for many years could be seen on local market stalls selling books. Never the greatest player in talent, he was however an enthusiastic and determined member of the team who always gave 110%. He along with Charlie Hall and brother Micheal Hall, got me into cricket with Allestree. In the very early 1970's they use to have a knock about on the rec on a Sunday morning and I use to ask to join in. My thoughts go out to Martyn's family and friends

Tony Hibbert

Although Tony only played a few games for Allestree in the early 1980's after his club St Michaels folded, his contribution to Allestree cricket was a 'family affair'. Tony became a regular umpire for Allestree as did his son David (one of the best local umpires around at the time) and his daughter Helen was also scorer for Allestree 1st XI. Tony could be seen at the rec up to the last mach of this season and a regular watching Derbyshire. Once again our thoughts are with David, Helen and his friends & family.

Sue Oates

Sue Oates, who was once the wife of Allestree batting legend Guy Oates, has sadly died after an accident. Sue was a lovely lady and was often around the club in the 1970's, assisting with tea's. My thoughts are with her son William and daughter Jane and the rest of her friends and family, she will be greatly missed.

31st October 2011

Following difficulties in picking up messages from the contact phil page, a new account has been set up. Anyone who has tried to contact me in the past are asked to use the new link.

22nd September 2011

Harold Keating C.B.E.

It is with great regret that I have learnt today from the Derby Telegraph that former Allestree cricketer and first XI captain Harold Keating has passed away. Harold played for Allestree between 1960 & 1973, captaining the first team from 1962 until 1971. Harold's contribution on the field may never be fully known as a number of records between 1961 & 1966 are missing, but from what is known he played at least 225 matches, scored 1225 runs, with 3 half centuries, took 242 wickets with a best of 6 for 26, took 5 or more wickets 6 times with 1 hat-trick along with 51 catches.

From a personal point of view, Harold was a hero of mine and as a young lad he was always willing to talk cricket to me explaining about the game, he played hard but fair. Both mine and the club's thought's are with his family at this difficult time, but hope they take some pleasure in knowing that Harold was well thought of at Allestree as a cricketer and a gentleman.

 

19th September 2011

Back after an enforced summer break due to more laptop problems, a number of records have been broken. Ben Sarton has hit a club record individual score of 174, beating Guy Oates record of 164 not out and Phil Deane has become the third Allestree player to pass 15,000 club runs.

Whilst the first team and second team were both relegated, the firss team did reach the final of the Bailey Cup where they lost to Heanor at Edwinstowe.

For those of you visiting for the first time through the MCC's Taking The Field site may I welcome you to the site and hope that you find it useful.

Introduction

 

Welcome to the new revamped and improved Allestree Cricket Club history website. Since the original website went off air in September2010, work has continued on the history side with further matches found and deeds uncovered. All the old favourites are back and some new ones added.

On this new site all season's reports start with a fixture list, where all known fixtures and results for the year can be found. This will be especially helpful for clubs who are using the site to find out about their own clubs matches and players. A simple look on the front page will tell you if Allestree played against your club in that particular season. Also on the fixture list at the top under 1st XI and 2nd XI, is that season’s average’s, so no need to go into different parts of the site, all of the information for that particular year is there. Once on the average's page click on a players name and their complete playing history may be found.

Allestree's cricketing records can be found in the "Club Records" section along with the top all time Allestree performers in cricketing terms (formally behind the cricket ball), with all players having met the following included, 350 games, 5000 runs, 500 wickets, 100 catches, 20 stumping’s, 5 centuries, 20 half centuries and 20 five wicket hauls all itemised.

I hope you enjoy the new look.

 

Phil Deane 27th November 2010

 

Allestree Cricket Club was formed in 1860 and the first match was played on the 28th July that year. The village at this time was very small with most houses centred on the Church and the Red Cow public house leaving a few scattered farms and Allestree Hall to make up the rest of the village. The total inhabitants were some 529 men, women and children according to the census of 1861. The “village” has since grown to the size of a small town with some 20,000 plus inhabitants.

With little to do in those days you can well imagine a group of the men folk deciding (possibly in the Red Cow) to form a village cricket team. Cricket was taking off at this time with many villages, churches (of all dominations) and works teams starting up. Many of the still small villages lost their cricket teams in the 1940’s and 50’s as did most of the church and works teams, leaving only Rolls Royce, Rosehill Methodists and Derby Congregational left in this category. As can be seen in an article written by Mr G. Newton after the first world war (within this site) getting players to play was a great problem in the 1860’s to early 1890’s before the squire of Allestree Hall Mr L.G. Gisbourne took a great interest in the village and the cricket team in particular joining the club in 1892.

It was he and his son Mr W.G. Gisbourne (his initials given to him by L.G. to be the same as the great W.G. Grace) who donated the ground we now play on to the people of Allestree for their sacrifices in the Great War. A few of Allestree’s players gave their life in this conflict.

L.G. Gisbourne started in 1893 the Annual Cricket Club diner, a tradition which still goes onto this day. In the last few years an effort has been made to contact and invite former players and their wives and it is a night well spent listening to their exploits and experiences.

L.G. invited Walter Butterfield to play for the club when he came to the village in 1894 and is in my opinion possibly the best all rounder to ever play for Allestree, he is certainly as far as I can ascertain the only regular Allestree player to play for Derbyshire 1st eleven and to have his own Wikipedia page! Walter Butterfield was “head and shoulders” above most players of his time and was the first Allestree player to score a 50 and a 100, no mean feat on the pitches of the day, where the bowlers reigned supreme. He is also (to research to date) the only Allestree player to take all 10 wickets in a match. Although this year 2010, a “10 for against Allestree was found.

G.B. Barrington also played for Derbyshire and he played the odd guest game for Allestree but was Kirk Langley player and in recognition of his services to this club the Kirk Langley ground is named after as well as a new road to a new housing estate in the village. A few other players have played for Derbyshire 2nd eleven amongst them the classy left handed batsman Guy Oates. Why do good left hander’s look more pleasing to the eye than right handed batsmen?

The Allestree ground remains in the early years a bit of a mystery, some people think that the club played at Allestree Hall, but despite a photograph in the pavilion titled “Cricket at Allestree Hall” very little other written evidence exists. It seems that matches played against other Hall’s such as Longford and Radbourne were played at Allestree Hall at the invite of L.G. Gisbourne or H.H. Raphael, who was the local MP and gave the club £20 towards the new pavilion (the small black one in the pictures) which opened in 1907. I think it is unlikely that a cricket match was played at the Hall before L.G. Gisbourne became interested in 1892. What is known is that Allestree played on Mr Clay’s field, believed to be close to the area occupied by the children’s play area today. As a child I played on “Clay Banks” the bank next to the ground, whether this area was originally owned by Mr Clay or described the Marl which the banks are made out of I do not know, but pictures exist of Allestree playing cricket at “The Marlpit” and on old ordinance survey maps the area is called and drawn as a Marlpit or Clay pit.

In May 1895 it is reported that Allestree moved to a newly laid and enlarged ground, which is where cricket is played today, before this the ground was so small that some boundaries were only given as 2’s and not 4’s!. In fact at the current ground their use to be a “straight 6” only rule which was only removed in the late 1990’s. In the early days of the ground a fence of which the bars were removed before a game was within the boundaries and put back after. The posts supporting the fence stayed, assisting these hazards was Mr Cliffords cart horse used to keep the outfields grass down as the club could not afford a mower.

I started this project in the late 1980’s and re-started it again when I rejoined the club in 2007. The aim is to follow the players, events, successes and failures of the club from 1860 to the present day and also in some small way give a glimpse of the people who played and ran the club in the past and helped kept it going for over 150 years. Over these 150 years a thread can be traced of a few players who became officials and guided Allestree from 1860 until the present day. Starting with the Millwards (W and the two H’s Henry Senior and Junior) from 1860-1904 through Lionel G. Gisbourne 1892-1904, Walter Butterfield 1894 – 1920, William “Billy” Oates 1919 – 1971, Ben Hall 1953-2007 and John Chambers 1953 to the present day.

If anyone from local cricket clubs has any information, scorebooks, photographs etc when their clubs played against Allestree at any time but especially (scorebooks) in the 1960’s and 1980’s & early 2000’s please contact me through this website. A number of clubs have already done so and I thank those for letting me have this information.

If anyone else is thinking of doing something similar for their club can use any of the information on this site. Another good source of information is the old newspapers kept at the local studies library in Irongate Derby, and at Matlock, the staff who I must also thank for their assistance.