Jer Lane Cricket Club

From the Bradford League website

Jer Lane made a stunning start to life in the All Rounder Cricket Bradford Premier League by winning the Conference first and second team titles. Pictured above are their first team

The early years

The club was formed as Jer Lane Congregational Church Cricket Club in 1923. It was for some time a pre-requisite that only members of the church could become members of the cricket team. The original ground was adjacent to where Whernside Mount and Jer Grove now stand. 

In 1925 moves were made by the Drake and Fieldhouse families to purchase the present ground for the sum on £800, and place it in trust to ensure that cricket would continue to be played at Jer Lane. The area where the ground is situated was originally mined for coal and bell mines are still under the field albeit having been filled in.

The club was a member of the Bradford Mutual Sunday School League until 1946, when they joined the Bradford Central Cricket League.

It did not take the club long to make an impact and in 1949, as a Division B side, they won the Waddilove Cup.

The emergence of David Batty

The Under 18s junior side finished as unbeaten champions in 1956 and in the side was the emerging David Batty, above. He was most influential during this run bowling well enough to finish second in the League U18 Bowling Averages. It proved to be impossible to retain the services of a cricketer who would have gone down as one of the greatest players in the club’s history. 

Although he first made his name at Lidget Green, he will ostensibly be recognised as a Bingley legend, and in his early career represented Yorkshire 2X1 on a regular basis. His career record wicket haul of 1,823 league wickets at 15.51 will probably never be surpassed in the `batsman friendly’ age of modern cricket.  In addition, his wickets in the cup took him comfortably past 2,000 wickets.

Batty could bowl overs in less than two minutes such was his urge to get on with things and unsettle the batsman. His control of leg spin was phenomenal and when he fired in a fast yorker the batsman was often bemused at the pace. He was competitive and a winner- attributes that were reflected in his inspiring coaching which would take him to Yorkshire. It was unfortunate that in his era first class counties looked at leg spin with disdain. In years to come his sons Jeremy and Gareth took the off-spin route to the county scene. 

In 1957 the club was promoted to Division A and never suffered the indignity of relegation. Three years later in 1960 they won the Waddilove Cup again to establish the club as a potent unit.

The club certainly had a taste for the Waddilove Cup and was featured in an incredible cup-tie in 1962 at Dudley Hill. Jer Lane batted first and was dismissed for a disappointing 97, and in reply Dudley Hill was coasting at 91-1. They then collapsed to 94 all-out with Skip Holdsworth and Brian Petit doing the damage with the ball.

On the trophy trail

The cup wins served as a catalyst for greater glory and they took a definite step further by winning the title in 1963 and 1965.

The 1963 title was won with an excellent all round side which was crucially assisted by Maurice Turner who won the League Bowling Averages at 6.39 per wicket. He received valuable support from Barry Stamper who took 48 wickets. It was a remarkable feat to just suffer the one league defeat that season.

The achievement should have been greater in 1963 when they reached the final of the Waddilove Cup Final against Section B side Woodlands at the Grattan Warehouses ground in Wibsey.

The tie finished in semi-darkness on a mid-week evening with Woodlands batter Gordon Risman seeing his side home with 54 not out in the successful pursuit of 139.

The batting was consistent with Norman Bastow finishing runner-up in the League Batting Averages with an average of 33, followed by Brian Nurse with 25 and Barry Stamper with 21. Ken Dobson was second in the League Wicket-keeping section with 22 victims.

In 1965 the club won the title with three fine achievers. Bastow this time won the League Batting Averages with 433 runs at an average of 54, while Sid ‘Skip’ Holdsworth won the League Bowling Averages with 71 wickets at 8.40. Turner finished second to Holdsworth with 38 wickets at 8.42.

The sixties rush of trophies had ended by 1966 when they finished in 7th place with a record of seven league wins. Norman Bastow won the League Batting Averages with 434 runs at 36.16, while Brian Nurse finished 4th with 444 runs at 31.71. Skip Holdsworth was Jer Lane’s leading wicket-taker with 57 wickets at 9.15

In 1967, Jer Lane was in an incredible three-way tie at the top of the division with Dudley Hill and Shelf on 49 points. The champions were Dudley Hill who won the play-offs.

Norman Bastow again won the League Batting Averages with 333 runs at 41.62, while H Cummings finished 5th with 256 runs at 32.00.  Skip Holdsworth, who made the batting averages with 186 runs at 26.57, also won the League Bowling Averages with 57 wickets at 6.40.

Club renamed

It was in 1969 when the club was renamed Jer Lane Cricket Club. Shortly after this, the church was demolished for the development of residential property.

The 1970s started with a bang with a third Waddilove Cup win. However, two years later the club suffered turmoil when their pavilion was burned down, along with many of the club records. This facility had a historic link as it was a former R.A.F guard room procured from Yeadon Airport. A massive fund raising effort took place to build the present pavilion, which has since had numerous improvements.

On the field the club’s progress in the league was steady and in 1975 they finished sixth. That year they had a particularly strong batting line-up and occupied three of the top four positions in the League Batting Averages with Gordon Sugden finishing second with 513 runs at 34.20.

The influence of Brian Nurse and Norman Bastow

It was clear that Norman Bastow and Brian Nurse could play at a higher standard, and in 1975 the latter was lured away to East Bierley of the Bradford League. Nurse eased his way into the competition with 362 runs in 1975, and by 1978 he had acquainted himself very well scoring 518 runs.

In 1979 he was part of a remarkable chapter in East Bierley’s history. Although the club were in an unremarkable mid-table position in the league, they embarked on a run in the National Village Cup that took them to the final at Lords. 

Over 2,000 spectators packed inside the Bierley ground to see the semi-final win against opponents from Cambridgeshire. The embankment was packed and spectators were standing three-deep on the other three sides of the ground.

Coaches were taken to Lord’s on final day when the whole of the village appeared to be represented to see their team despatch their Welsh opponents Ynsygerwn by more than a hundred runs. Bierley’s score of 216-4 was a record for a final at the time.

Bastow, who could have also played Bradford league cricket at a high standard, remained loyal to Jer Lane. He made his 1st X1 debut in 1950, and became widely regarded as one of the finest left-handed batters around. Bastow was an opening batsman, respected captain and a fearless short leg fielder. He scored over 10,000 runs, winning league batting award six times, and came second on four occasions.

In 1976 the club got closer to honours finishing 3rd in the league with Bastow topping the League Batting Averages with 591 runs at 50, and Ken Gill, Dave Milnes and McEvoy figuring high.

They also went close the following year in 1977 finishing 4th in the league and were beaten finalists in the Waddilove Trophy at Bradford Park Avenue

Golden Era

The seventies was something of a golden era for quality players at the club, and besides Bastow and Nurse, they could call on Gordon Sugden, Ken Gill, Terry McGill, Dave Milnes, Les Speight, Karl Laban and Keith Margerison. By 1978 they had peaked as a team and took all before them.

The double of the league title and Waddilove Cup was achieved in 1978 with the club enjoying a clean sweep at the league awards with 1stand 2nd in both batting and bowling- Bastow and Gill in the batting, and Margerison (60 wkts) and McGill in the bowling. In addition the fielding prize was won by Milnes and the Wicket-Keeping trophy by Speight.

The following year was something of an anti-climax, but the club was still highly competitive with Margerison (54 wkts) again winning the league bowling averages, and Speight retaining his wicket-keeping award 32 victims. Also performing well that season was feared fast bowler Copey James who took 60 wickets. Milnes also retained his league fielding award

Former Lidget Green player Milnes was a fine fielder and regarded as the best in the club’s history. In his four years at the club he had won the League’s Fielding award twice, and finished second in the other years. Previously in 1974 he had won the top fielder prize in the Bradford League in 1972 for Lidget Green.

A significant decade

Jer Lane entered the eighties at a low ebb finishing 8th in 1980. However, it was not without individual excellence with Bastow (558 runs) again winning the League Batting Averages. His major support came from rookie Jeremy Illingworth (515 runs) playing in his first full season in the first team. Another achiever was quick bowler Keith Gaskell who took 43 wickets at 9.25 and finished second in the league averages.

Chairman Paul Robinson was largely instrumental in driving the club forward and in 1982 oversaw a big ground improvement operation. There was a clubhouse refurbishment and also the installation of new fencing on the north side perimeter.

Robinson continued the good work of his father Ernest who was also a valiant worker at the club. Not only was he a helper on the ground, he also assisted in maintaining the buildings and was the U18’s juniors manager throughout the 70s and 80s. There is now a trophy named after Ernest in his memory donated by his family and awarded each year to the Club Person of the Year.

On the 30th May 1982, the club was rocked by the tragic early death of Jer Lane 1st X1 Captain and Treasurer, Norman Bastow at the age of 44. His death on the field at Thackley whilst representing the Bradford Central League was witnessed by some of his closest friends and family.

 A memorial game took place on Sunday 22 August, where players from the Bradford Central League and Bradford Cricket League represented a Jer Lane X1 and a Select X1. Peter Parfitt the former Middlesex and England cricketer was present at the game in which 1,500 people attended to show their support.

The ‘80s were again a successful period with the 1st X1 winning the title in 1984 and 1988. They invariably played competitively throughout the decade with Dave Milnes, Les Speight, Karl Laban, Jeremy Illingworth, Ian Ormondroyd, Keith Margerison, Ian Haley, Steve Crowther, David Dunne and Peter Edmondson being the influential players.

David Dunne had made his name as an all-rounder in the Bradford League at Lidget Green and Great Horton. He was a left-handed batsman, and left arm medium fast seamer, who had a reputation of being one of the league’s top fielders. In 1977 and 1978 he won the League Fielding Trophy while with Great Horton.

The 2nd X1 was particularly strong in the 80’s winning the title on four occasions and finishing runners-up 4 times. They also won the Thrippleton Cup five times. The 2nd X1 Captain was Newton Holmes who was a dogged batsman and wicket keeper.

Testing Times

The 1990s would prove to be testing times for Jer Lane with no successes for the First Team. Quality players were hard to attract but in 1993 batsman Lee Montgomery was signed and he became the first Jer Lane player to win the coveted Norman Bastow Memorial Trophy with 900 runs.

In 1995, hopes were high with two accomplished players on their books. Tim Rukin, the former Yorkshire 2XI wicket keeper signed, along with the club’s first overseas player in Clive Evelyn from the island of Nevis in the West Indies.

By the new Millennium, times were hard for the club and an exodus of players left them struggling to put out two teams in 2003. The 1st X1 finish bottom of the 1st Division, and only avoided relegation because a number of teams were leaving the League. In this era the club were in a very precarious position and were actually battling for the club’s survival.

However, two influential figures led a revival which saw the club’s fortunes soar. Former Woodlands player Tim Roache came to the club and became a valued club member as well as a very competitive all-rounder. Karl Laban took over as captain and he began to lay foundations that would secure the long term future of the club.

In 2004, Laban brought in Gary Kingett, the league’s top all-rounder at the time, and also explosive batsman Tony Dawson, both signed from Laisterdyke. Another signing, albeit half way through the season, was a key all-rounder in Jason Gelder. The 1st X1 finished 3rd in the League and reached the Waddilove Trophy Final.

Ground Improvements

The progress on the field was more than matched off the field where the club received a massive financial boost. The mobile phone company T-Mobile approached the club with a proposal to erect a mast on the club ground. After lengthy negotiations a rental agreement was put into place for the term of 20 years. This effectively secured the financial future of the club and would enable them to do some much needed improvements to their facilities.

 In the following years Jer Lane refurbished the whole clubhouse- adding two extensions, increasing the size of the changing rooms, and installing new showers and a new kitchen. At the far side of the ground a new double storey garage and score-box with an electronic score board and an umpire’s room were built. They also erected a new steel sight screen frame at the Whernside Mount end which runs 50 metres along the boundary. Lastly, a security fence was installed around the bottom of the grounds.

The Bradford Central Cricket League was going downhill fast with many of the leading clubs leaving to play in other leagues. The club decided that to enable the club to progress they had no option but to resign. Season 2005 was to be their last in the league after their application to join the Halifax Cricket League was accepted in February.

Jer Lane’s 49th and last season in the Bradford Central Cricket League was not a productive one as they finished in 5th position. However, the season was noted for their first entry into the Heavy Woollen Cup Competition as they entertained Holmfirth from the Huddersfield League.

Into the Halifax League

The club would start in effectively the third sphere of the Halifax Cricket League, and hopes were high they would win promotion from the 2nd Division Championship in 2006. The team was strengthened by the recruitment of Jason Slator, Lee Ashforth and Stuart Dawson. However, after a promising start to the season they struggled during mid-season and finished a disappointing 4th.

Jer Lane had a momentous Heavy Woollen Cup fixture that season against Yorkshire League club Sheffield Collegiate. Although well beaten they faced a club with England’s Michael Vaughan on the books, and a young Joe Root actually playing and taking 5-21 with the ball.

The 2nd XI played Mirfield Parish Cavaliers in the Crowther Cup in some of the most bizarre circumstances the likes of which may never be seen again. The early summer weather was not the best and the game was played in fog, hail stone and near snow. Parts of the ground were not visible from the pavilion and the fielders on the boundary found it hard to see the wicket.

The club was determined to progress in the league and for 2007 made two major signings in prolific run-getter Andrew Pinfield, and all rounder Micky Hustler from Bradford League club Undercliffe. In preparation for the season the club invested in an authentic cover for the wicket, and it proved invaluable as the 1st X1 chased promotion.

League progress

It was a triumphant season for the club with 1st X1 lifting the 2nd Division Championship Trophy, and the 2nd X1 promoted for the second season to reach the top flight. Karl Laban won the 2nd X1 league bowling averages.

Things were really starting to gather pace on and off the field, and a new extension to the clubhouse was completed. Karl Laban instrumental in the organisation of the project, and it was officially opened by Gerry Sutcliffe Member of Parliament, Sports Minister on 21 April 2008.

Some significant signings for the 2008 season secured promotion to the top flight. Of the three new signings, Johnny Lister, above, signed from Buttershaw St Paul’s played the major role in their success. Not only did he win the League Bowling Averages with 41 wickets, he also finished second in the batting with 714 runs.

Another signing from Buttershaw St Paul’s was the experienced Graham Sivvyer who won the league wicket-keeping award with 25 victims. To complete a clean-sweep of club awards Jason Gelder won the League Batting Averages with 864 runs.

The 1st X1 had also proved their worth in the Parish Cup beating teams from the Premier in Booth and Warley, and losing to Triangle after posting a fine total of 298.

The season was also notable for a memorable Heavy Woollen Cup-tie against East Bierley in front of a large crowd. Jer Lane battled hard and lost with some credibility. The 2nd X1 had a great run in the Crowther Cup beating Hanging Heaton and Undercliffe from the Bradford Cricket League.

The club consolidated in the Premier League in 5th position in 2009, and also enjoyed a cup run to the semi-final of the Parish Cup losing at Mytholmroyd in a very close game. However, silverware arrived in the shape of the Halifax League’s Twenty/20 Cup. Jer Lane was proving a match for anybody in this form of the game and prevailed in style in the Final.

Again the most productive player was Lister who scored nearly 900 runs, and took 47 wickets. Teenager Jordan Laban announced his presence as a hard hitting left handed batsman making his 1st X1 debut against Triangle with 85 runs.

Further strengthening of the squad for 2010 brought an improved 3rd position with the usual consistency from Lister who scored 959 runs averaging 56. Although the club slipped to 4th in 2011 they had a very real chance of winning the Championship with five games to go.

A highlight was the 1st X1 performance in the Heavy Woollen cup where they pushed Huddersfield League Premier Division Shelley to the last over in a high scoring game. The Twenty/20 team were crowned Champions for the second time in 3 years.

The individual highlights of 2011 came from new signing Nasir Choudray who took 39 wickets, and also scored 260 runs, and Jordan Laban , above, who in his first full season of 1st X1 cricket scored nearly 600 runs.

In 2012, progress was halted when the club’s 1st X1 finished 7th, but there was mitigating circumstances. Key all-rounder Lister had injury problems, Gelder made a late decision to retire and Sivvyer had early season unavailability issues. Despite this, Sivvyer managed to win the League Wicket Keeping Award. Laban continued his progress winning the accolade of scoring most runs in the league by a player under 21 years of age.

Trophy success

By 2013, Jer Lane was going places after signing experienced Bradford League batsman Raqeeb Younis and West Indian off-spinner Junior Williams from the island of St Kitts.

The 1st X1 started the season well and were unbeaten after twelve league games. Chased by former Bradford Central League rivals Thornton, they were eventually crowned Premier Division Champions on 7 September with a league record 192 points.  This was a dominant league campaign which showed with a massive 23 points lead on the runners-up.

To crown a historic season the club won the prized Parish Cup in August beating a strong Booth side at Blackley. Chasing 290 they won in the last over with skipper Micky Hustler being awarded Man of the Match for his unbeaten 63. The pressure of the run rate was negated by Jordan Laban who top-scored with a hard hitting 93.

Jer Lane was only the second club in the entire history of the Halifax League to win the double. The team had worked as a tight unit all season with notable batting performances from Raqeeb (1273 runs), Jordan Laban (922 runs) and Andrew Pinfield with (873 runs). The most effective bowlers were Junior Williams (65 wkts) and Nabil Khan (41 wkts).

In May 2013 the club were devastated by the sudden death of Karl Laban, above,. He had played at Jer Lane for nearly 40 years, and had been a major influence in developing the club’s infrastructure in the previous years, as well as taking on junior team manager roles. In addition he earned the accolade of being the club’s all-time leading wicket-taker.

 A fund-raising event in Laban’s name was organised in the form of a 20-20 competition made up of players from different leagues. A crowd of over 600 people were there helping to raise £3200 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

After the success of 2013 the club were determined to build upon it, and they made a significant signing of seamer Sam Wilson from Clayton. This proved to be inspired as he won the League Bowling Averages with 56 wickets at 13, and more importantly helped the club to retain the title by the margin of 24 points. Si Collins also had a good season with the ball and finished 3rd in the League Bowling Averages with 35 wickets at 16.

The club came close to replicating the double success of 2013 when they battled against Copley in the Parish Cup Final. They were in a winning position, but contrived to throw the game away after a 30 minute hold up due to a spectator requiring emergency service assistance. When play resumed they lost the momentum and were 45 runs short chasing 286. Sivyer won the league keeping award for the third time with 26 victims.  

Things were not too promising approaching the 2015 season as Sam Wilson was lured away by a big money move to Pool  in the Aire Wharfe League, and Jordan Laban was signed by Woodlands CC.

Jordan Laban moves on

Laban had attracted interest from bigger clubs, and there was a feeling in the club that it was a year too soon to play top flight Bradford League cricket. It proved to be a tough two years for him, and he moved to Championship side Methley. He did appear in both the Heavy Woollen Cup Final and Priestley Cup Final for Woodlands receiving winning medals in successive years. He scored more runs at Methley, averaging 27.13 from an aggregate of 407 league runs in 2017, and also appeared in a losing Priestley Cup Final.

Hat-trick of titles

Jer Lane compensated for these two major losses by signing all-rounder Chris Shannon from Booth, and prolific batsman Wayne Cotton from Thornton CC. Despite the changes, Jer Lane completed a hat-trick of title wins, albeit by a tighter margin of 4 points. Skipper Michael Hustler would go down in the club’s folk-lore as the most decorated leader in their history.

They entered into the final day of the season with a two-point advantage over Booth, but they remained ahead of their rivals after taking maximum points from a seven-wicket home win over Sowerby Bridge. Rain reduced the game to 40 overs per side and Sowerby Bridge made 164, with Simon Collins taking five for 47.

Half-centuries from Andrew Pinfield (59) and Raqeeb Younis (58 not out) put Jer Lane on course to victory, which was achieved when Chris Shannon hit the last ball of the penultimate over for four.

The major run-getters in the league were Raqeeb Younis (pictured above, 882 runs) and Wayne Cotton (866 runs).

The newly set-up ECB Premier leagues in Yorkshire recognised the Bradford League as the focus of the West Riding, and the Halifax Cricket League agreed to be negotiated into the feeder system. It was deemed that the title winners of the latter league’s top flight would be given an opportunity to graduate to the Bradford League Championship.

This obviously exercised the minds of Jer Lane Cricket Club who would start the 2016 season as one of the favourites to win the top division. On 23 July 2016, the players were asked to consider what the club should do given the opportunity. The consensus of the players was a resounding yes, and at that point of the season they were definitely in the mix to finish as Champions.

History would dictate that the club’s title aspirations were decided by the weather as they suffered three `rained off’ matches in their last four fixtures. They slipped to third as Booth were crowned Champions at Jer Lane on the last game of the season after winning by 7 wickets. Michael Hustler stood down at the end of the season and it was the end of an era.

The team might have been in transition, but off the field the club’s future took a turn for the better. Vodafone approached the club with a proposal for a new telecoms mast situated in the vicinity of the existing Hutchison mast. It was somewhat of a windfall and a 20 year contract was negotiated by James Nixon and Malcolm Nixon.

In the winter of 2017 a new state of the art two- lane practise net facility was built at the cost of nearly £30,000. Treasurer James Nixon was instrumental in attracting funding from the RSWT/Biffa after a protracted application.

Application to the Bradford League

In the winter of 2016/17, Jer Lane made the historic decision to forward an application to join the Bradford Premier League. This was duly accepted and they would take their place in the Conference Division in 2018. 

A new captain, Wayne Cotton, was appointed for the 2017 season and the club wanted to depart from the Halifax League with silverware. They were in contention for the title all season with their great rivals Booth. In the end they missed out by 13 points and had to settle for the runners-up position. However, they did win silverware when they won the Twenty/20 Trophy for the third time.

Jer Lane’s last match in their Halifax League occurred on September 16th 2017 at Oxenhope where they won handsomely by 175 runs. South African born Kieran Rogers had a match to remember scoring 69 runs, and also taking 5-25. Fittingly the prolific Lister scored an unbeaten 95.

The line-up for the last ever appearance in the Halifax League was: Matthew Johnson, Jonny Waddington, Raqeeb Younis, Johnny Lister, Umar Dawood, Kieran Rogers, Daniel Laban, Simon Collins, Saeed Mirza, Amjid Khan, Imran Mirza.

Lister figured high in the league batting averages with 510 runs at 56.67, while Kieran Rogers did the same in the bowling with 45 wickets at 19.49. Individual silverware came in the shape of Imran Mirza’s league wicket keeping award after he had totted up 30 victims.

Into the Bradford League Conference

By the close season, it was obvious that Jer Lane would not be happy just to make up the numbers in the Bradford League, and they had made new signings of the calibre of Tom Watson, Gurdev Singh, and Nahim Ashraf.

Their introduction to the league was sobering, as they lost their first match to Oulton by nine runs, but won their next by the narrow margin of one wicket against Azaad.

They then embarked on a winning run and were title leaders, in tandem with Oulton and Adwalton, until they hit a sticky patch. Losing successive matches against Great Preston and Adwalton completely opened up the promotion race. However, they regained their dominance and took advantage of Oulton’s lean spell to take over at the top again.

In the end they were worthy champions with a gap of 21-points on second place Adwalton.

Tom Watson won the League Batting Averages with a stunning average of 77.30 from 773 runs, and Raqeeb Younis followed close by with an average of 55.63.

The bowling attack was headed by veteran spinner Gurdev Singh who took 58 wickets for 10.98, while medium pacer Amjid Khan took 50 wickets at 14.14.

Jer Lane also proved their mettle in the J W Lees Brewery Twenty/20, (Group  B) Trophy, beating Birstall, Altofts and Adwalton, before losing in the final to Keighley at Hanging Heaton. The second team, pictured below, also won the Conference title at the first attempt to crown a great 2018 for the club.