Bradford Cricket League

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The Bradford Cricket League (Currently The JCT600 Bradford Cricket League) is one of many cricket leagues in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire is one of the most populated parts of the country in terms of cricket leagues with the Bradford League being considered as one of the best.

The League has been described as the strongest amateur cricket competition in England [1]. It currently has 26 teams around the Bradford and Spen Valley area ranging from Keighley to the north of Bradford across to Brighouse towards Huddersfield.

1 History
2 Famous Players
3 Clubs 2007
- 3.1 Division 1
- 3.2 Division 2
4 Honours 2007
5 External links

[edit] History

Originally started in 1903 with 12 clubs, only four (Undercliffe, Bankfoot, Manningham Mills & Great Horton) of those inaugural twelve still remain today.

The league runs a cup competition for the first and second teams of every club within the league. The first team competition is the Priestley Cup, which has been running since 1904, and the second team competition is the Priestley Shield, which has been running since 1911. The only club ever to have won the Cup three times in a row is East Bierley, who won in 1998, 1999 and 2000. However, the most successful club in the competition is Undercliffe, who have won it no less than 13 times.

[edit] Famous Players

Inevitably, the high standard of the league has meant that numerous players have managed to develop and become successful county and even Test cricketers. Some of the most notable members include Sir Leonard Hutton, England opening batsmen who was a youngster at Pudsey St Lawrence, and Sir Jack Hobbs who played at Idle between 1915-1918 and later went on to open the batting for England and become one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century.

Notable overseas players include West Indian fast bowler Learie Constantine, Indian test player VVS Laxman and Pakistan batsman Mohammed Yousuf.

Some of county crickets brightest hopes have also come through Bradford League cricket such as Andrew Gale and Adil Rashid of Yorkshire and James Middlebrook now of Middlesex.

Famous clubs in the league include Bowling Old Lane, who have had a number of players go on to play at Test level, including Bill Athey, Martyn Moxon and Darren Gough for England [2], and Yousuf Youhana for Pakistan [3].

Here is a full list of players that have gone on to play international cricket:-

Baildon