Alwoodley Cricket Club

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Alwoodley Cricket Club is a cricket club based in Alwoodley, a suburb of north Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Alwoodley play in the Airedale-Wharfedale Senior Cricket League.

1 History
2 Present day
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The club was formed 1935 when Alwoodley was a rapidly developing community. A group of cricketing enthusiasts decided that a Cricket Club was needed. Having found a field on King Lane, opposite the end of Alwoodley Lane, they cleared it of stone and livestock and a cricket ground was created. A second hand pavilion was purchased, dismantled, transported to its new home, re-erected, painted and 'Alwoodley CC' was born.

Within 3 years the Club had move to Goodrick Lane, next to Sandmoor Golf Club.

In 1952 the Club moved again, taking the Pavilion, to its present site - Crag Lane.

In 1953 the first prestigious Boxing Day fixture against the Northern Cricket Society was played. The BBC was there annually thereafter to report on the match and stars such as Brian Close and Don Wilson were regulars over the years. The match raised a lot of money for charity.

Traditionally Alwoodley's senior teams have occupied the lower divisions of the league. The 1st XI have been out of the top division for over 25 years, whilst the 2nd XI have fluctuated between the divisions, often winning lower league championships. Their best recent side was in the mid 1990s, when, under the leadership of John Hatchard, they were a decent mid table A division outift. A couple of relegations followed, but in 2007 the seeds of recovery were planted when captain Geoff Weir led them to promotion back to the second division.

Whilst weaker in recent years, the junior section has been traditionally strong and the club has won numerous trophies. The peak being in 1992 when the Len Frobisher coached U15 side was crowned Yorkshire champions, triumphing in a 20/20 finals day style tournament over Pudsey St Lawrence, Barnsley and Bentley Colliery at Hanging Heaton CC.

[edit] Present day

Today, Alwoodley CC have two senior teams, a Sunday friendly team and a number of Junior teams. The Junior section play in the Airedale and Wharfedale Junior Cricket League.

For the 2008 season the 1st XI will captained for the first time by Iain Taylor. After a disappointing 2007 campaign, where they finished second bottom, the club is hoping that the 1st XI with plenty of new blood can climb out of the re-election zone. It is also hoped that the weather holds as in the 2007 season the 1st XI only played three times in eleven weeks due to the rain and flood damage to their home ground.

The 2nd XI will continue to be captained by stalwart Geoffrey P Weir - a larger than life character on the Yorkshire cricket circuit having played league cricket in the area for some 40 years. Weir's lethargic yet effective bowling action earned him the 2007 Airedale and Wharfedale best bowling award with an incredible bowling average of just 9.14 and a total of 66 wickets.^[1] The bulky framed Weir has also earned himself a reputation of disputing umpiring decisions made against him, especially in the case of a Leg before wicket. Weir's loss of temper is legendary and in 2007 when given out an enraged Weir expressed his disgust at the decision with a barrage of obscenities directed at a frail and aged umpire and his apparent lack of knowledge concerning what Weir considers to be an 'unwritten rule' that he cannot be given out lbw. Weir's protracted torrent of insults led to him being banned for 3 matches for 'using abusive language and inappropriate behavior by a cricket player'.

The club is always on the lookout for new players/social members and anyone interested in playing in a picturesque ground for a relaxed club should contact iaindstaylor@yahoo.co.uk for details.