Harden Cricket Club

We played against Harden in an indoor 6 a side competition at Park Avenue.
I think it must have been for a work team, it's quite a while back.
I've never seen the ball hit so hard in a confined area.

Yea, an up to date Pitchero website with a history section.

The Early Years

Founded before 1850 the club played friendly matches on the Black Bull Field against such teams as Keighley, Bingley, Burnley, Blackburn and local Needle matches with the surrounding village teams.

The club moved to Harden Beck in 1866 and remained there until 1923, after which time they moved several times to, namely Black Bull Field in 1923, back to Harden Beck in 1927 and finally, via Black Bull Field again, to their present ground at Cuckoo Nest in 1935.

Among noted players who graduated to better clubs are the late Bob Barrett who became Keighley Cricket Club captain and professional for many years. Hardy Rhodes, Percy Leach, The late W. R. Atkinson and Jimmy Holmes all played with the Harden club.

Sir Frank Binns who skippered Harden in the early '20's has been the club President until 1954. Many will remember the late Hugh Forres, who was Secretary for over 25 years.

Harden claim to be the only club who had to win the league by three clear points or be challenged by the team in the second position, namely in 1929.

Harden and Crossflatts contested the 1928 Charity Cup Final at Bingley's ground, the only time the Final has taken place outside Keighley.

The Club played all of their cricket in the West Bradford Cricket League until it's sad demise.

In the years 1910 and 1912 the First XI came Runners Up in The Keighley Charity Cup and in 1924 they ran out as eventual winners.

In 1928 they were Runners Up in the Charity Cup.

In 1929 the First XI Won the League Championship.

In 1933 they were Runners Up again in the Cup.

The 2nd XI were League Champions in 1928 and 1929. With cup appearances in 1931 as Winners and Runners Up in 1933.

The Middle Years

In the next era, a Nissan Hut was used to provide refreshments for 27 years until a Concrete Garage was purchased with only a side door. This remained as the Tea Hut until we opened our present Pavilion in 1994. The Concrete Garage is still standing and is now being used as a Groundsman's Store.

A new wooden Pavilion was purchased in 1958 for the princely sum of £335-10s-2d.

Water was carried from Cockroft Fold every match day by two players with a couple of buckets for tea and washing up.

The Tenant Farmer at St. Ives from whom we rented our ground for £12 per annum gave us £5 back as a Patrons Donation. We also had an agreement with the Council that we could not be turned off the ground, or have our rent increased without the Councils permission.

In 1974 the Main Road was widened outside the ground, taking away part of the field. However, we were compensated by receiving additional land on the far side of the ground. The seating on the roadside wall was provided by the contractors who carried out the changes, they provided the wood and Len Falkingham provided the metal brackets.
It was also in 1974 that the Second XI started a run of 5 consecutive League Titles, 1974 1975 1976 1977 and again in 1978.

In 1977 metal posts were erected with wire connecting them so canvas sight screens could be hung from them. The Second XI were once again League Champions and also Runners Up to Crossroads in the Keighley Cup Final.

In 1978 both First and Second XI's won the Keighley Cup Final. The Second XI Winning the League Title also.

In 1979 the Club Members decided on a change of direction by joining the Bradford Central League, due to the unfortunate demise of the West Bradford Cricket League. This proved to be one of the most successful periods in the Clubs history.
The Second XI winning the League Championship in this the Clubs first year in the League.

In 1980 with the Club still in the Second Division, the First XI reached the Waddilove Cup Final, being narrowly beaten by a then, very established Bolton Villas side from the First Division. From then on the Club went from strength to strength, winning numerous League and Cup honours both at First and Second Team level also with several appearances in the Yorkshire Champions Trophy.
With both teams in 1980 winning the 2nd Division League Title, it meant that the Second XI had won Seven Consecutive League Championships, a marvellous achievement by any standards.

For the 1981 season it was a case of trying to survive in the 1st Division, but unfortunately the 1st XI were relegated and both teams found themselves back in the 2nd Division.

In 1982 both Teams did the double by winning the 2nd Division again. This time in gaining promotion, the Club remained in the First Division until leaving the League.

In 1983 the First XI were Losing Keighley Cup Finalists to Denholme.

In 1985 both Teams again managed to win their respective Finals in the Keighley Cup.

In 1986 the First XI Won the Keighley Cup against Oakworth.

In 1987 both teams made appearances in their respective League Cup Finals. The First Team came Runners Up to Bolton Villas in the Waddilove Cup Final and the Second XI came Runners up to Thackley in the Thrippleton Cup Final.

In 1988 the Second XI were Winners of the Thrippleton Cup against Jer Lane.

In 1989 the Bradford Metropolitan District Councils asking price for the Cricket Field and adjoining wooded area was £21,000. The logic behind this price was the fact that the club was buying a Sports Field. It was quickly pointed out to them by the Clubs President, that when Harden Cricket Club took it over, it was nothing more than a meadow and it was the Club who had made it into a Cricket Field. Thus the price was then reduced to £15,000.
A local businessman heard we were looking to buy the Field and offered his assistance in the form of an interest free loan of £11,500 over 5 years. The loan was paid back in 4 years mainly through organising Sportsman's Dinners.
In this year also, All Three Teams winning their respective Leagues, meant that this was probably one of the most successful years in the Clubs history.

90's to present

In 1990 the First XI were Runners Up to Eldwick and Gilstead in the Waddilove Cup.
The Second XI again won the League Title.

1991 saw both the First and Second Teams win the league Championship.

In 1992 the Club applied for funding to the Foundation For sports and Arts in order to build new facilities.

This year also saw both the First and Second Teams achieve the Double in the League. This again had the Second XI winning Four consecutive League Championships.

In 1993 the Club received a letter from the Foundation stating that we had been successful in our application and had been awarded the sum of £37,500 to build a Stone Built Pavilion. The facility would have Dressing Rooms, Kitchen and Tea Area, Showers and Toilets and a Groundsman's Store The President removed the first piece of turf for the foundations on the 12th November 1993.

The Second XI were Runners Up in the Thrippleton Cup Final to Northowram Fields

The Official Opening of the new Pavilion which was built by one of our playing members Andrew Smallwood, was carried out on the 10th July 1994 by our oldest Club Member Mr. George Brown. Mr. Brown who was 90 years of age and still a keen supporter of the club, cut the tape. Speeches were made by the League President Mr. Alan Kilshaw and our benefactor Mr. Andrew Heap, before the match between a Central League XI and a Harden CC XI was played.

The Second XI were successful in Winning the Thrippleton Cup Final against Girlington in this year also.

1995 saw the First Team lose out to Steeton in the Keighley Cup Final by just 13 runs.

In 1996 the First Eleven completed the Treble by winning the League Title, The Waddilove Trophy, against Haworth Road at Park Avenue and The Keighley Cup, once more against Steeton this time winning by 4 wickets at Lawkholme Lane.

A new Scorebox was built to match the New Pavilion, also by two of our playing members Ian Smith and Mark Jones.

A Mini Tractor was purchased in this year and one Gang Mower for £305, which along with the existing two Gang Mowers was used to cut the outfield.

A grant of £300 was received from the Lords Taverners towards a new Practice Wicket. As the total cost of the Wicket was £2019, the balance was paid for out of club funds.

Due to the hard work of the Club and our Ground Staff in particular, we were rewarded in 1997 and 1998 with the Bradford Central Cricket Leagues Cup Final.

1997 also saw the First XI win the League Championship.

In 1998 the First XI came runner up to Bolton Villas in the waddilove Cup Final played at Harden and narrowly Lost in the Semi-Final of the Yorkshire Champions Trophy to Undercliffe CC.

The Second XI also played Bolton Villas in the Thrippleton Cup Final and ran out as Winners at All Alone Road.

The very successful Sportsman's Dinner which has contributed greatly to our success are still being held on an annual basis to raise cash for further ground improvements. The Club was also awarded the Wilkinson Sword on Two occasions for the best kept ground.

In the year 2000 the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League expanded to three divisions and it was decided by the Club Members that we should apply to join the league for the 2001 season.
We were successful in our application.

2001 saw the Club sign it's first overseas player, Adrian Voss. The Club had a relatively successful season in it's first year in the Aire-Wharfe League, with Brian Freimanis winning the Second XI League Batting Award

In 2002 the First XI gained promotion to the 'B' Division but unfortunately were relegated the following year.

In 2005 the First XI unfortunately missed out on promotion by just one point, but the League Wicket Keeping prize was won by Neil Kettle. The Second XI won the Birtwhistle Cup Final, against Horsforth Hall Park, with Mark Falkingham taking the Man Of The Match Award. They also won promotion to the 'A' Division by winning the League Title.

2005 also saw the Club applying successfully to the League to enter the Third Teams Competition for the 2006 season. This is another step forward for the Club, which we hope will see HCC continue to achieve further successes in the future....watch this space.

2006 was a great year for the Club. It saw the First XI promoted as Champions to Division 'B' after narrowly missing out last year. The Second XI also retained their 'A' Division status and the Third XI has been a resounding success finishing in the top half of the table. This was also the first year that we'd had a successful overseas player, namely Tim Clarke from St. Joseph's Cricket Club in Geelong.
This year also saw our Under 9's win the League Title and the Under 11's come Runner Up in their League.

2007 was another successful and progressive year for the Club, with our First XI finishing in 4th position in the 'B' Division, the Second XI in mid table and the Third XI also doing well. Our overseas player this year was Matthew King from Ringwood Cricket Club in Melbourne, who went on to win the 'B' Division Batting Prize. Pride of place goes to our under 11's who came top of the West Division and played the winners of the East Division, Pool CC in the Final. Harden came out Victors and went through the campaign unbeaten. The under 12's reached the Gordon Bower Cup Final, but were unfortunately beaten by a strong Pudsey Congs side. The junior members of the club have once again done us proud.
This year we asked for donations from the villagers of Harden to be able to connect to the main sewers. The generosity of the village was overwhelming and once again they didn't disappoint. A massive thank you to everyone who donated and we can now look forward to 2008 with optimism once again.

2008 was a success for the Junior Section of the club, with our under 13's Aire Wharfe side winning their division and playing Guiseley in the Final in a winner take all contest. Unfortunately they lost, but once more showed great promise for the future. Our under 13's Bradford Central League side won the Final of the Brian Sewell Cup at Thornbury CC beating Great Horton Church and our under 11's won the Tong Park 6 a side trophy beating Guiseley in the Final. The future once more looks in good hands.

The Senior sides had a difficult season but managed to retain their status in the Divisions... The First Team in the 2nd Division and the Second Team in the 1st Division.The Third Team managed to make the conference Play Offs, but lost to a strong North Leeds side by 3 runs. Our overseas player this season was Lindsay Scown from the North Melbourne Cricket Club who once more brought some quality batting to the First Team. We now look to the 2009 season with hopes of further successes on and off the field.

2009 brought a mixed season within the club, with once again our Under 13's retaining the Brian Sewell Cup against Great Horton Church. The First Team retained their 2nd Division status after very competitive encounters, but unfortunately the Second team were relegated to the Second Division. The Third Team made it to the Chappell Cup Final, only to fall at the last hurdle by 22 runs and just missed out on the play offs by the number of wins. Once again the junior members of the team did particularly well and the Club is looking good for the future. Our overseas player this season was Leigh Booth from the Hallam Kalora Park Cricket Club in Melbourne, who once again brought valuable experience with the bat and ball to the Club. This year we eventually managed to connect to the main sewer, thanks mainly to donations from various sources and the generosity of the villagers of Harden. Also thanks to the hard work of the Committee and their tireless efforts, this wouldn't have been possible. We can now look forward to the 2010 season, with hope and optimism for further successes for Harden Cricket Club.

2010...Was another successful year for the Club both on the playing side and off field activity!....more to follow