A New Dawn
In 1989 Hopton Mills Cricket Club was re-born. Of course, cricket had been played at Woodbottom for around a century previously, but 1989 did mark a new dawn. The merger was between Whitley Lower CC (the club whose home was Woodbottom) and Dewsbury & Savile CC (a very famous club, based in Savile Town, Dewsbury).
The merger was a complex affair. Woodbottom was the natural home for the new club, and the new name – ‘Hopton Mills CC’ – paid due respect to the geography and industrial history of Lower Hopton.
Central Yorkshire League
One of the main rationales of the ‘merger’ was the securing of major-league cricket at Woodbottom, and this was achieved when they were successful in their application to join the Central Yorkshire League.
In 1997 Hopton Mills languished in 10th position in the Second Division. Despite this mediocrity they possessed a player in I Ashgar who had a most productive season with bat and ball. Not only did he score 490 runs at 27.22 he also took 61 wickets at 15.33 with a best performance of 6-52 against East Ardsley.
Like most senior leagues the Central Yorkshire League formed a premier league from their top division, and this was the division the more ambitious clubs wanted to compete in.
In 2002 Hopton Mills came close in reaching their goal of the premier league when they finished third in the First Division. They had the services of an exceptional overseas batsman in Mohammed Bilal who scored a staggering 1,435 runs. Even more amazing was his record of eight successive centuries. This proved to be a false dawn for the club as they subsequently went on to drop a division. By 2010 Mills were still eyeing the premier league division but needed to get out of the Second division. However, they did not have the strength in depth despite good contributions from Paul Moorhouse (536 runs), Stephen Bland (527 runs) and Richard Myers (40 wickets).
In 2011 they managed to lure their former seamer Michael Carroll back from Wakefield St Michaels. He had performed the best bowling feat in the entire premier league in 2010 by taking 8-18, and it was anticipated he would spark a revival at Woodbottom. He certainly did,- taking 75 wickets at 9.33- the best haul in the entire division, and inspiring his team to promotion.
Carroll was not the only hero in a season that saw a late winning run with a string of successive victories. The leading batters were Chris Scott who scored 567 runs at 40.50, and Mark Ashton who also topped the 500-runs mark and scored the division’s highest score with 162 not out.
Hopton Mills recorded 12 wins in the First Division in 2012 with all-rounder Samuel Gardiner having a virtuoso season. He scored 685 runs at 52.69 and also took 47 wickets at 16.47. Carroll was the leading bowler with 49 wickets at 14.10.
In 1997 Hopton Mills languished in 10th position in the Second Division. Despite this mediocrity they possessed a player in I Ashgar who had a most productive season with bat and ball. Not only did he score 490 runs at 27.22 he also took 61 wickets at 15.33 with a best performance of 6-52 against East Ardsley.
Like most senior leagues the Central Yorkshire League formed a premier league from their top division, and this was the division the more ambitious clubs wanted to compete in.
In 2002 Hopton Mills came close in reaching their goal of the premier league when they finished third in the First Division. They had the services of an exceptional overseas batsman in Mohammed Bilal who scored a staggering 1,435 runs. Even more amazing was his record of eight successive centuries. This proved to be a false dawn for the club as they subsequently went on to drop a division. By 2010 Mills were still eyeing the premier league division but needed to get out of the Second division. However, they did not have the strength in depth despite good contributions from Paul Moorhouse (536 runs), Stephen Bland (527 runs) and Richard Myers (40 wickets).
In 2011 they managed to lure their former seamer Michael Carroll back from Wakefield St Michaels. He had performed the best bowling feat in the entire premier league in 2010 by taking 8-18, and it was anticipated he would spark a revival at Woodbottom. He certainly did,- taking 75 wickets at 9.33- the best haul in the entire division, and inspiring his team to promotion.
Carroll was not the only hero in a season that saw a late winning run with a string of successive victories. The leading batters were Chris Scott who scored 567 runs at 40.50, and Mark Ashton who also topped the 500-runs mark and scored the division’s highest score with 162 not out.
Hopton Mills recorded 12 wins in the First Division in 2012 with all-rounder Samuel Gardiner having a virtuoso season. He scored 685 runs at 52.69 and also took 47 wickets at 16.47. Carroll was the leading bowler with 49 wickets at 14.10.
Promotion to the premier league
At last the holy grail of the premier league was achieved when Hopton Mills secured promotion in the 2013 season with an impressive 16 wins. They sealed promotion by beating Oulton by 38 runs in September with Tahmidul Islam (63 runs and 3-18) and Richard Myers (5-37) being the match-winners.
The batting was built on the sheet anchor batsman Chris Scott who managed 506 runs at 33.73. Carroll was again the senior bowler with 41 wickets at 12.00 including an analysis of 6-7. Another key performance was from Tahmidul Islam who contributed 552 runs and 34 wickets. The 17-year old Islam, who played for Sydney’s Western Suburbs travelled from Australia to play a season for Hopton Mills to advance his development.
Hopton Mills duly qualified for the Yorkshire Council play-offs falling at the first hurdle in the Supplementary Competition when they lost by seven wickets at home to Darfield (South Yorkshire League). Chris Scott made 84 of Hopton’s 195-9 in 45 overs but the visitors romped home with 17 overs to spare.
Significant investment in facilities
2013 marked a significant investment in the club when Sport England provided a grant of £46,200 to build new spacious dressing rooms. Yorkshire player Alex Lees did the honour of officially opening the new facility on May 20th 2015.
The premier league proved to be too tough for them in 2014 with only Carroll standing up to scrutiny with 41 wickets at 17.39.
Determined to return at the first time of asking they were pacesetters for promotion in 2015 with Liversedge. By the half way stage of the season the promotion aim became something very different when news filtered through that the Central Yorkshire League clubs were joining an enlarged Bradford League in 2016. The later aim was to finish as title winners to secure a place in the Bradford League Championship rather than the lower Conference.
The fact that they succeeded was down to a powerful batting side that piled the runs on throughout the season. Stephen Bland won the league batting averages with 485 runs at 44.09, and he enjoyed able assistance from Ashley Mackereth (above, 718 runs), Neil Brown (601 runs) and the consistent Scott (554 runs). Again, Carroll was the most prolific wicket-taker.
The two constants in the Hopton Mills side were Chris Scott and Michael Carroll who could rightfully be described as the backbone of the team in this era.
James Glover finished second in the League Wicketkeeping for the third occasion in four seasons- such was his consistency.
Another major happening in 2015 came when Yorkshire’s former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom officially opened enhanced practice facilities prior to the season’s start on Sunday, January 25. Club officials had secured a grant of £46,000 from Biffa Award to breathe new life into its practice facilities.
With Paul Moorhouse skippering the Second Team to two successive promotions Hopton Mills cricket infrastructure had an undisputed depth.
At last the holy grail of the premier league was achieved when Hopton Mills secured promotion in the 2013 season with an impressive 16 wins. They sealed promotion by beating Oulton by 38 runs in September with Tahmidul Islam (63 runs and 3-18) and Richard Myers (5-37) being the match-winners.
The batting was built on the sheet anchor batsman Chris Scott who managed 506 runs at 33.73. Carroll was again the senior bowler with 41 wickets at 12.00 including an analysis of 6-7. Another key performance was from Tahmidul Islam who contributed 552 runs and 34 wickets. The 17-year old Islam, who played for Sydney’s Western Suburbs travelled from Australia to play a season for Hopton Mills to advance his development.
Hopton Mills duly qualified for the Yorkshire Council play-offs falling at the first hurdle in the Supplementary Competition when they lost by seven wickets at home to Darfield (South Yorkshire League). Chris Scott made 84 of Hopton’s 195-9 in 45 overs but the visitors romped home with 17 overs to spare.
Significant investment in facilities
2013 marked a significant investment in the club when Sport England provided a grant of £46,200 to build new spacious dressing rooms. Yorkshire player Alex Lees did the honour of officially opening the new facility on May 20th 2015.
The premier league proved to be too tough for them in 2014 with only Carroll standing up to scrutiny with 41 wickets at 17.39.
Determined to return at the first time of asking they were pacesetters for promotion in 2015 with Liversedge. By the half way stage of the season the promotion aim became something very different when news filtered through that the Central Yorkshire League clubs were joining an enlarged Bradford League in 2016. The later aim was to finish as title winners to secure a place in the Bradford League Championship rather than the lower Conference.
The two constants in the Hopton Mills side were Chris Scott and Michael Carroll who could rightfully be described as the backbone of the team in this era.
James Glover finished second in the League Wicketkeeping for the third occasion in four seasons- such was his consistency.
Another major happening in 2015 came when Yorkshire’s former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom officially opened enhanced practice facilities prior to the season’s start on Sunday, January 25. Club officials had secured a grant of £46,000 from Biffa Award to breathe new life into its practice facilities.
With Paul Moorhouse skippering the Second Team to two successive promotions Hopton Mills cricket infrastructure had an undisputed depth.
Drainage problem
Before the season started Hopton tackled a drainage problem at their Woodbottom Ground. In a bid to cure water logging a work force of 20 players and members laid a new drainage pipe the full width of their outfield to get the water away. The trench had to be back filled with pea gravel before the turf was relaid.
Before the season started Hopton tackled a drainage problem at their Woodbottom Ground. In a bid to cure water logging a work force of 20 players and members laid a new drainage pipe the full width of their outfield to get the water away. The trench had to be back filled with pea gravel before the turf was relaid.
Into the Bradford League Championship
On the field, Hopton Mills found the going tough in Championship B and only recorded six victories. Their strength was definitely their batting with South African Louren Steenkamp scoring 514 runs at 30.24, with a top score of 171* against Hartshead Moor. The best of the rest was Ashley Mackereth (349 runs) and Chris Scott (372 runs).
There was little progress on the field in 2017 as the club recorded seven wins to finish 10th in Championship 2. The most productive player was Umar Abbas who took 45 wickets at 20.58, and also scored 350 runs. The ever consistent Scott (527 runs) and Carroll (42 wickets) continued to show their worth to the side.
The club fell a place to eleventh in 2018 despite figuring in some highly competitive games. Despite their erratic form they were a dangerous side, and proved it by beating the two promoted sides.
On July 14th they showed their true ability by beating Keighley by 29-runs. They set a challenging total of 283-7 after Scott (91 runs) and Abbas (76 runs) had shown the way, and then bowled their opponents out for 254 with Carroll taking 5-54. They completed their fixtures with a win over Wakefield St Michael’s and in doing so prevented them from winning the title.
Scott made 604 league runs at 37.75, and Mackereth, Abbas and Mark Ashton all topped 400-runs, while Carroll (44 wkts) was the main strike bowler.
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