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Right from the early days Accrington have had a 2nd XI. In the 1850s, opposition such as Haslingden, Baxenden and Clitheroe 1st XI's were played against, and usually defeated by Accrington 2nd XI. In 1876, a bad year for the club, the seconds were dismissed for 9, including 8 ducks, by Fairfield (near Bury). Undaunted they joined the new Junior League in 1893. In the early years the league was usually organised in two sections, with the winners of each section playing off for the title. In 1903 Accrington won Section 1, but were beaten in the play off by Section 2 winners Burnley at Accrington. The visitors made 104 and then bowled Accrington out for 82. Some strange methods were used for awarding points in those days: one point was awarded for a win and one point deducted for a defeat, so in 1922 for example, Accrington won two and lost nine matches so they finished with -7 points, which was then calculated as a percentage!
 Accrington 2nd XI captain Edgar Cunliffe with the Junior League Trophy |
1912 2nd XI team photo
After breaks for both World Wars, the team spent one season in the North East Lancs League in 1945. The feature of the 1951 season was a club record partnership of 221 between Alan Lund (124) and Roy Dewhurst (91) against Church and in 1973, Lowerhouse were bowled out for 8 with Mick Hatch taking 5-1. Success returned in the late 1970s when Brian Rutter lead the team to second place in the league as well as winning the Matthew Brown Cup in both 1978 and 1979.
Cup
wins
The
1978 final was played at Accrington on August 20th. Haslingden batted
first and were dismissed for 129 by spin twins Jim Heyburn (6-17) and
Mick Donnelly (3-52). The Accrington reply, in the face of tight bowling
by the experienced Rod Taylor, was spearheaded by Mark Aspin with a
well made 37. Captain Brian Rutter made a useful 19 before a partnership
of 20 between Trevor Hatch (19*) and Graham Booth (13*) saw Accrington
home.
Match scorecard
The following year, Accrington and Rawtenstall were great rivals for both league and cup. Accrington triumphed in the Matthew Brown Cup Final at Rawtenstall in July, winning by 41 runs with Jim Heyburn destroying the home side with 8-40. In the league both teams finished joint top with the same number of points. The trophy was initially awarded to Rawtenstall because they had more bonus points, but after Accrington protested, the league ruled on a play off which Rawtenstall won at Accrington on September 29th.
The seconds next success was in 2000 when they won the cup again. Match report The team reached the final again in 2002 but lost at home to Ramsbottom in a low scoring match. Match report
The
Thirds
In the early 1900s, Accrington introduced a 3rd XI, playing friendlies
against other local teams such as Rishton 3rds and Enfield 3rds. From
1912 the 3rd XI spent three seasons in the North East Lancs League,
being runners up in their first season. After the First World War they
appeared spasmodically in the Accrington and District League in the
1920s and 1930s, winning the Harry Wood Cup in 1939. In 1941, a group
of schoolboys ran the 3rd XI, playing friendlies against teams such
as Padiham. In 1947, Accrington entered a team in the North East Lancs
League and in their first season they emerged as champions, winning the
title by beating Darwen 'B', Frank Heys taking 7-39. The following season,
they won the league again, outstanding performers being Roy Dewhurst
(217 runs), Dougie Whipp (266), A. Lonsdale (247), Jack Riley (25 wickets
at 5.9), Derek Day (19 at 6.1), J. Nightingale (22 at 7.9), Jack Eland
(36 at 8.0), ably supported by skipper Billy Newhouse, Jack Collier, Alan Lund
and Ron Dullenty. Tom Thurman hit the first century on record for the
3rds, his 102 not out against Darwen 'B' in 1951 containing 25 off one
over.
Changing
leagues
In
the mid 1950s, with players like Derek Mark, Eddie Robinson, Russ Cuddihy
and Brian Rutter emerging, the 3rds changed leagues, reverting back
to the Accrington and District League for seven seasons. Throughout
the 1960s the 3rd XI was captained by Peter Westwell, gaining a reputation
for their keenness and sportsmanship. In 1961, Alan Worsick won the
B Division bowling prize, taking 40 wickets at 20.6 each. Two years
later, it was back to the North East Lancs League where the team stayed
with some success until 1980. In 1964, the 3rd XI won Section 2 with
some fine performances. One of these was against YMCA 'B' at Mellor.
Accrington batted first and were dismissed for 27. Barry Lumb and Ian
Boswell then claimed 5 wickets each to dismiss YMCA 'B' for a paltry
5! Although the wicket at Mellor has over the years gained something
of a reputation for variable bounce, on this occasion the problems were
caused by a swinging ball. Two years later, Ian Birtwistle had the amazing
figures of 9-8 against Oswaldtwistle Immanuel 'B' to dismiss them for
16. A young Bob Ratcliffe took 47 wickets at 8.4 each and Malcolm Taylor
scored 317 runs, also in 1966. A new league bowling record was created
in 1968 by Alick Ormerod, whose 93 wickets included 5 in 6 balls in
a spell of 8-11 against the unfortunate YMCA 'B'.
Ashwell
Trophy
In
1975 Alven Burrows took over as captain and lead the team to four successive
victories in the Ashwell Trophy Final. In the first, at Blackburn Northern,
YMCA were dismissed for 117. Accrington's reply was in shreds at 37-5
when a gritty innings by 'Man of the match' Nigel Gouldsborough, helped
the team to a 2 wicket win. Accrington Casuals were the opponents in
1976. Accrington batted first and made 156-6 in their allotted 30 overs,
Alven Burrows scoring an unbeaten 35. Casuals were then bowled out for
110. The following years final was at Brockall on a rain deadened pitch.
Accrington batted first and toiled to 95-8, Mark Aspin and Brian Bishop
joint top scoring with 21 each. 'Man of the match' Andy Stevenson took
4-9 to dismiss Darwen 4ths for 67. In 1979, at Colne, ROF 2nd were restricted
to 50-9, which Accrington passed with 2 wickets down. 'Man of the match'
Robert Rigby top scored with 29 not out to go with his two fine catches.
Pastures
New
The
3rd XI entered a new league in 1980 which was formed for Lancashire
League 3rd teams to play on Lancashire League grounds. Due to 1st XI
fixtures being replayed the 3rds were starved of cricket in recent years
so the club once again re-entered the North East Lancs League in 1994.
In 1996, in a much reduced league consisting of six teams playing each
other three times, Accrington won 10 matches, losing only one, to share
the league title with Hussainia. The strength of the side was in the
bowling attack, led by Tom Pendergast who took 47 wickets at 6.7 each.
Tom took five or more wickets on five occasions as Accrington only once
failed to gain a bonus bowling point. Captain Mick Donnelly led from
the front, scoring 296 runs at 32.9 with Nigel Stockley (160 runs at
32.0), Mus Shah (129 runs at 25.8), Paul Burrows (122 runs at 24.4),
Danny Greenwood (117 runs at 29.3) and David Stubbs (113 runs at 22.6)
also making major contributions to what was essentially a team effort.
1996 3rd XI team photo
With the North East Lancs League in danger of folding it was decided to play the more experienced team (3rd XI) in the Accrington and District League and call it the A team. The younger team (4th XI) entered the Lancashire League 3rd XI League under Dave Kennedy. After two average seasons, the team came within a whisker of winning the league in both 1999 and 2000 but finished third on both occasions. There were no such slip ups in 2001 when the team won the title for the first time. Ten matches were won with Abbass Sadiq (317 runs), Adam Barnes (321 runs) and Nasser Hussain (246 runs) leading the batting and five bowlers sharing the wickets; Sajjad Sadiq (25), James Hayhurst (21), Graeme Sneddon (17), Kamran Khan (14) and Nasser Hussain (14).
The
Fourths
In
the mid 1970's Accrington found themselves with a large playing section,
some of whom were not considered potential 1st or 2nd XI players, so
in 1976 the club decided to form a 4th XI and enter the ADCL under the
captaincy of Duncan Warburton. Players such as Michael Demaine, Andy
McCredie, Brian Mason, Nigel Stockley, Steve Sipocz and Peter Clark
formed the backbone of the side in the teams first season in the league.
In later years players such as Paul Barratt, Martin Whittle, Mark Demaine
and Neil Barnes would begin their careers in the side.
Peter Clark took over as captain in 1978, his 9 - 23 against Haslingden Youth Club Old Boys the following season still being the teams best bowling figures. The 4th XI regularly finished bottom of the league in the 1970's and 1980's but still managed to unearth some young diamonds. In 1981, Accrington professional David Stead's son Gary, who went on to play Test Cricket for New Zealand, played against Rishton Free Gardeners on Highams and the following season, Graham Lloyd made a fleeting appearance against Hargreaves Arms, scoring 15 well struck runs. The captain was now Keith Sowerbutts and the side also included Andy Lee, Mark Saulle, the Rev. Denis Crook, Mark Stevenson and Mark Phillipson. Simon Bray, Paul Schofield and Trevor Caldecott played under Bob Barnes' captaincy in 1983 and in 1985, the team finished as B Division runners up, Manny Hussain winning the B Division batting prize.
Bright
Spot
The only bright spot in the next few years was in 1989 when Alven Burrows
scored a club record 423 runs. By now Ian Ormerod had taken over the
reigns. Tom Pendergast joined the club from Cavaliers in 1988 and several
young players such as Chris Cunliffe and Ashley Amos were coming through.
The addition of Michael Donnelly in 1990 helped the 4th XI to third
place but failure soon returned. After being B Division leaders on June
6th 1992, Accrington were relegated at the end of the season. The team
ended the 1993 season as C Division runners up, but for the next three
years they finished bottom of the league having lost their leading players
to the 3rd XI which was now back playing regular cricket in the North
East Lancs League. Alven Burrows hit the teams first century, 101 not
out against Livesey in 1995.
Change
of direction
A change of policy at the club in 1997 lead to a change of fortunes.
The 3rd XI had won the North East Lancs League in 1996, but the league
was in danger of folding. In 1997 Michael Donnelly's A team carried
all before them, winning the B Division and Harry Wood Cup. Tom Pendergast
won the B Division Player of the Year trophy and also the bowling prizes.
Nigel Stockley won the B Division batting average prize. Paul Burrows,
Mus Shah and Nadeem Mohammed also had excellent seasons.
Match report
A Team 1997 team photo
Not helped by the wet weather, the team was relegated from the A Division at the end of the 1998 season. It was later discovered that the points for No Result games had been incorrectly allocated as two points instead of one, which meant that the team should not have been relegated. Justice was done however, the A team winning the B Division again in 1999. Needing 6 points from the final match at home to Taverners B, the team produced the goods when it mattered. Mick Donnelly won the B Division batting prize for most runs. Mark Taylor, Mark Croasdale, Paul Walsh, Sajjad Sadiq and Iftikhar Younis were useful additions to the side.
The
2000 season was a difficult one with player availability a problem and
the team finished bottom of the A Division, the sole victory of the
season being against champions Attock at Thorneyholme Road. The team
did however win the Veterans Competition, defeating Platts in the final.
Veterans Presentation photo
Accrington 4th team photo
Cup
success returned in 2001 with the team winning the Harry Wood Cup at
Thorneyholme Road, beating Attock B by 5 wickets. Paul Burrows was 'Man
of the match' for his unbeaten 53 and Tom Pendergast won the B Division
bowling prize for most wickets with 25.
Match report
A Team 2001 team photo
Junior
Cricket
The club has always prided itself on having a thriving and successful
junior section. As far back as 1888, records show Accrington Juniors
playing against Bells Temperence, and in the early 1900s, Enfield Juniors.
In the 1940s they played teams like Bastwell, Great Harwood, Chatburn,
Rosegrove and Whitebirk, whom they defeated in the 1942 play off. In
the 1960s and 1970s, the Under 18s were regular winners of the Lancashire
A League. The early 60s team included Ian Birtwistle, David Lloyd and
Alan Worsick. Graeme Fowler, John Swanney and Graham Beech were the
backbone of the early 70s teams as were Graham Lloyd, Paul Barratt and
Martin Whittle in the early 1980s. The 1960s saw the introduction of
the Under 15s, the 1970s saw the Under 13s introduced and in 1992 an
Under 11s team was born. The Under 9s came into being in the 2005 season.
Accrington and District League Days
Early
Days (1846 - 1890)
In
league with the best (1891 - 1910)
The
road to glory (1911 - 1916)
Between
the wars(1919 - 1939)
Rockin'
and rollin' into the 50s (1940 - 1958)
Champions
again (1959 - 1964)
Rising
stars (1965 - 1973)
The
Worsick Era (1974 - 1983)
The
Bumble is back (1984 - 1989)
Put
to the Test (1990 - 1999)
The
New Millennium (2000 - 09)
Back to Earth (2010- )
Factfile