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The summer of 2008 was the most remarkable season in the club's 162 year history as the team lifted both the championship and Worsley Cup trophies to do the double for the first time ever. After two decades in the doldrums one of the most incredible turnarounds in sporting history took place at a magical Thorneyholme Road. Inspired by the return of Graham Lloyd the team was transformed from whipping boys to champions or chumps to champs. Not since 1948 had a team gone from bottom to top in successive seasons. The double had been done 19 times before in 83 seasons but never had it been achieved in such circumstances. Since 1990 the team had finished bottom of the table eight times, failing to finish in the top half of the table during that period with ninth place the highest place the club could achieve in 1993, 2000 and 2006. The club's record in the Worsley Cup was also appalling with just three wins since 1989 the last being seven years previously in 2001. The batting of Lloyd in the lower middle order added a new dimension to the side. But for the last three games being rained off he would almost certainly have beaten Graham Beech's club amateur batting record and possibly scored 1,000 runs. A total of 19 victories were recorded mostly in fine style as the team's attacking approach paid rich dividends. Accrington embarked on the new campaign with a new professional Roy Silva who was the club's first ever Sri Lankan paid man. In addition to Graham Lloyd, Jimmy Hayhurst also returned from Haslingden although injury restricted him to bowling just 9 overs. Experienced campaigner Paul Carroll also joined the club from Central Lancashire League side Norden in the role of pinch hitting all rounder at the top of the order. David Lloyd also made a couple of cameo appearances amid a blaze of publicity. Inspite of a tough start to the season with away games at Lowerhouse, Bacup and East Lancs, Accrington won all three to emerge as the early pacesetters. Defeat against Haslingden, which featured the return of David Lloyd to the Lancashire League at the age of 61, let in Nelson after Accrington handed Rawtenstall their first defeat in 20 games the following day. Five more wins on the bounce enabled Accrington to maintain their challenge in second place inspite of a 76 run reverse at Turf Moor. A further run of six wins took Accrington 20 points clear at the top after returning to the summit after 28 run win at Todmorden on July 12th. Inspite of losing twice to Nelson and having a daunting title run-in Accrington continued to defy history winning at Ramsbottom for the first time since 1989 and beating East Lancs at Thorneyholme Road for the first time since 1996 to pick up the Lancashire League title for the first time since 1975 by the margin of 17 points from nearest challengers Rawtenstall. Ironically it was the rained off penultimate match at Rawtenstall which saw the title sealed. The Worsley Cup Final victory at Todmorden was preceded by nail-biting victories over Enfield in the 2nd Round after receiving a 1st Round Bye, and at Burnley in a dramatic semi final. The only downside to the season was the three 20/20 defeats albeit with a much weakened side. The professional Roy Silva took some time to settle after missing the opening match due to a chest infection. He made his mark initially with the ball, destroying Rawtenstall with 6-27 as the league leaders were rolled over for just 48 to end a 20 match unbeaten run. The Sri Lankan notched his first league half century in his next innings against Enfield. His total of 589 league runs included one century and four half centuries. In all matches he scored 736 runs at 32.0 with a top score of 111 in the Worsley Cup Final which was the highest innings in a limited overs final by a professional in the team's record score of 290-6. Silva picked up 27 league wickets at 22.4 and 6 more in the cup. Graham Lloyd was the leading run scorer with 849 runs at 53.1 with one century, the first by an Accrington amateur since 1996, and six half centuries. Lloyd was pipped by Rawtenstall's Andrew Payne on the last day as the league's leading amateur run scorer after Accrington's match with Lowerhouse was abandoned without play. Matt Wilson had his best season to date, scoring 475 runs at 20.6, mostly at the top of the order, and picking up 37 victims behind the sticks to win the League's Wicketkeeping Prize. Stuart Crabtree's 287 runs at 13.7 included a match winning 53 against Todmorden. Toby Bulcock made 275 runs at 15.3, including a match winning unbeaten 71 at East Lancs. The plan to use Paul Carroll in a pinch hitting role at the top of the order didn't really pay dividends but the opener did make 245 runs with a vital 40 at Ramsbottom the highlight. Graeme Sneddon made 220 runs at 20.0 with his best innings reserved for the matches against Colne. Zahir Afzal (106 runs), Simon Hanson (126 runs) and Jimmy Hayhurst (103 runs) also made vital contributions down the order when they were needed most. Even the last pair of David Ormerod and Damian Clarke made telling contributions as a pair at Todmorden and individually in support of Graham Lloyd against the might of Ramsbottom's Shane Harwood in the epic encounter at Thorneyholme Road. The skipper David Ormerod was the mainstay of the bowling attack picking up 71 wickets at 14.2 to win a share of the League's Senior Bowling Award for the eighth time. Carroll's slow floaters accounted for 33 victims at 15.5, Bulcock picked up 29 wickets at 23.1 and he was also named as 'Man of the match' in the Worsley Cup Final. Zahir Afzal's 15 wickets at 16.4 included a match winning 6-15 against East Lancs and Damian Clarke also chipped in with 15 wickets at 21.9. David Ormerod's contribution as skipper was also recognised when he was named as the Wisden-Cricketer Club Cricketer of the Year to round off a fantastic season. Cream Rises The season began with the club's first ever Ron Singleton Colne Trophy match against Todmorden. Defeat by the Yorkshire men was the first of four in league and cup to Jon Henderson's side.
After another defeat by Todmorden in the league, Accrington went joint top after beating Haslingden in the replayed games on May 16th. Victory at Ramsbottom the following week opened up a 5 point gap over main challengers Haslingden and Todmorden.
Graham Lloyd was again the leading batsman with 842 runs at 40.1. He made 120, his best score for the club, in the high scoring defeat at Todmorden. Surprisingly Graham only scored three half centuries, being out in the 40s four times in league matches. Stuart Crabtree also had an outstanding season with the bat scoring 575 runs with a career best 96 the best of his four half centuries. Graeme Sneddon also had his best season with the bat, scoring 439 runs at 24.4. Simon Hanson progressed with 259 runs at 15.2, finishing the season as an opening batsman. James Ormerod also had spells at the top of the order, scoring 219 runs at 12.9. Matt Wilson scored 192 runs at 12.8 after missing ten matches through injury. Skipper David Ormerod was the top wicket-taker with 66 at 16.5. He took 7-70 against Haslingden and 7-78 against Rishton. Jimmy Hayhurst had his best season with the ball taking 34 wickets at 18.3. He also scored 160 runs with a top score of 44. Paul Carroll picked up 31 wickets at 19.3 with a best of 19.3. He scored 155 runs and finished the season down the order where he played a memorable role in the title winning partnership with David Lloyd, hitting a six off the first ball of the 49th over to relieve the pressure. David himself played in two matches, top scoring with 28 against Todmorden early in the season and returning for the final game. Veteran Damian Clarke also picked up 16 wickets at 19.1. Once again the 20/20 campaign was a disaster with four successive defeats. It was back to Earth with a bump for Accrington who finished in tenth place in 2010 with just nine victories after winning the title in the previous two seasons. Only one of the first five matches ended in victory including the Ron Singleton Colne Trophy match at Ramsbottom where Accrington lost after a valiant attempt to pass the home sides 233-5 ended with defeat by losing more wickets after the scores finished level. The drier summer blunted the effectiveness of the bowling attack and the batsmen performed poorly throughout the season with Accrington passing 200 on just three occasions out of 84 registered double century scores. New professional Will Driver did all that could be expected with 834 runs at 36.3. He made his maiden league century against his former club Lowerhouse and hit five other half centuries. His off spin bowling claimed 33 wickets at 21.9 with a best of 6-66 against Lowerhouse. In a season that saw no fewer than 37 players pass the 500 run mark, only Graham Lloyd of the other batsmen achieved this figure. Lloyd made 612 runs at 27.8 with just one half century. He was out in the forties and thirties six times each. Simon Hanson came within a whisker of the 500 run barrier after a splendid start to the season that saw him putting in a strong challenge for the first Under 23 Player of the month award. Hanson began with an unbeaten 65 at Todmorden and by the end of May he had 296 runs. In the 20/20 competition he averaged an incredible 145 from three innings with two unbeaten half centuries made at the top of the order, but he only played two innings of any note after May, finishing with 476 runs at 19.0. All the amateur batsmen struggled with Matt Wilson finishing with 297 runs at 14.1 after a promising start. Stuart Crabtree and Graeme Sneddon both struggled for runs after blossoming in 2009. Crabtree made 200 runs at 9.4, only finding some form after being dropped to the seconds, a fate that also befell Sneddon after making 163 runs at 9.6. Andy Greenwood finally won a place in the side and played some promising innings to average 15.3. Matt Schofield also showed some promise. Skipper David Ormerod again passed 50 wickets, finishing with 55 at 21.0. Paul Carroll took 30 at 19.8, Jimmy Hayhurst 23 at 36.7 and Damian Clarke 16 at 21.9. The 20/20 competition at last provided some highlights with wins over Enfield, East Lancs and Rishton, but Church proved too strong. Defeat in the Worsley Cup at the hands of eventual winners Colne in the second round was one of three against the league's next to bottom side. League wins against East Lancs and Todmorden were the highlights but the record 292 run defeat at Haslingden and the embarrassing 193 run hammering at Enfield are best forgotten in a disappointing campaign. With a new captain in Jimmy Hayhurst, a new professional in Ashar Zaidi and the return to form of Graham Lloyd, Accrington won the Holland Cup for the first time since 1989 after finishing as runners up to Lowerhouse in 2011. The team won 18 matches with 2 No Results and six defeats to finish with 218 points, 30 adrift of Lowerhouse who clinched the title in their penultimate game. New professional Ashar Zaidi was a revelation with his zest for runs and wickets. Zaidi began with a match winning bowling performance of 7-42 whilst bowling medium pace in the opening match against Rishton in the absence of David Ormerod, but most of his 68 wickets at 15.2 were taken whilst bowling slow left arm spin. His contrasting batting styles were also evident early on with his 174 at Rawtenstall made in free flowing style whilst his unbeaten 72 against Todmorden the previous day was made with the utmost responsibility. In all he scored 1015 runs at 59.7 with two centuries and eight half centuries and he also snapped up 17 catches, mostly off his own bowling. Accrington made a league record 386-6 at Rawtenstall on May 1st with Zaidi putting on a league record 5th wicket stand of 247 with Lloyd, who made 112. Zaidi's 174 was the highest innings of the season and his other century was the first by an Accrington player at Ramsbottom. The return to form of Lloyd once again helped to steady an often sinking ship. The former Lancashire man played nine match winning innings in scoring 635 runs at 42.3. Seven different players opened the batting with eight different combinations used with only two half century stands being recorded all season at the top of the order, the best of which was 66 on the opening day by Simon Hanson and Andrew Greenwood. The wheel turned full circle with this pair re-instated at the top by the end of the season. Hanson made 396 runs at 18.8 and Stuart Crabtree 296 at 14.1 with an unbeaten 65 at Todmorden the highlight. Graeme Sneddon (215 at 12.6), Matt Wilson (165), Mitch Taylor (154) and Marley Ali (137 at 13.7) also chipped in but the early order was brittle with too often four or five wickets down in the 50s and 60s. David Ormerod once again passed 50 wickets for the 14th time (five for Accrington, nine for Bacup), finishing with 59 victims at 20.9 and skipper Hayhurst took a personal best 34 at 20.3. Bryn Hargreaves bowled a lively spell in the last match at Lowerhouse with Taylor and Ali also used during the season sparingly. Four of the first five league games were won with a No Result at Bacup setting the side back when every other match was played. A narrow defeat at Ramsbottom was followed by another Worsley Cup exit at the first hurdle at the hands of Todmorden and defeat at East Lancs in the 20/20 which again proved decisive. A run of five wins in league and 20/20 was halted by back to back defeats by Enfield which cost Accrington the league leadership and a semi final spot in the shorter format. The team got back on track with another run of five wins which was halted by bogey team Nelson at the end of July. Fine wins at Nelson and Todmorden gave Accrington renewed hope but defeats to Ramsbottom and Church on the same weekend effectively ended the club's title winning chances. Accrington retained the Holland Cup in 2012 again finishing as runners up to double winners Lowerhouse with seventeen wins and six defeats. Jimmy Hayhurst began the season as captain but stood down in mid July due to work commitments with Graham Lloyd standing in for the rest of the season. Five successive wins got the campaign off to a great start and Worsley Cup wins over Colne and Nelson took the team into a semi final for the first time since 2008. Accrington were well placed when the semi final was abandoned. After an historic win at Lowerhouse ended the champions great home record, four defeats in six games saw Accrington go out of the cup and fall off the pace in the league. The team plugged away and embarked on a run of ten games without defeat - seven wins and three no results to go to the top of the table. Four maximum points wins put the pressure on Lowerhouse who needed five points from their final match to prevent Accrington taking the title as they had done so memorably in 2009 at Liverpool Road. It was not to be as Accrington's hour long spell at the top ended when Lowerhouse deservedly clinched the title on their home ground. Professional Ashar Zaidi was the linchpin of a three man bowling attack, taking 83 wickets at 10.9 with ten five wicket hauls. David Ormerod topped 50 wickets for the sixth time for the club and Jimmy Hayhurst enjoyed his best season with 36 wickets at 16.7. Zaidi didn't have as good a season with the bat as in 2011, but he finished with a flourish hitting half centuries in two of the last three matches to total 625 runs at 28.4 with two centuries. Aijaz Shah had good first season being the leading run scorer with 394 runs at 19.7. He also took some useful wickets in league and cup. Graham Lloyd became the first Accrington amateur to hold five catches in an innings in the penultimate match against Rishton. He took 17 catches during the season to finish as the league's top outfielder. Lloyd also hit 350 runs at 29.2 with two half centuries in sixteen innings. Stuart Crabtree (326 runs at 17.2), Simon Hanson (267 runs at 13.3), Andy Greenwood (215 runs), Matt Wilson (179 runs and 22 victims), Graeme Sneddon (131 runs) and Marley Ali (126 runs) also chipped in. Further wins at Enfield and Burnley coupled with a home win over East Lancs meant that Accrington were 24 points clear after six games. The win over East Lancs was Accrington's tenth in a row thus creating a new club record. The club fell at the first hurdle in the Worsley Cup at Rishton but avenged the loss seven days later with a 54 run win, Simon Hanson making an unbeaten 98. The young all rounder's fine start to the season earned him the Lancashire League Under 23 Player of the month award for April/May. A 56 run win at struggling Church increased the gap to 22 points. Zaidi's second century of the season helped Accrington to a second win over Burnley this time by 98 runs. Zaidi hit 121 in Accrington's highest ever stand against Burnley - 187 for the 3rd wicket with Aijaz Shah (61). It was Graeme Sneddon's turn to be the match winner at Rawtenstall where the winning run hit ten for the season with the left hander hitting an unbeaten 60 in a 6 wicket win. The gap became an amazing 29 points after an 8 wicket win over bottom side Colne at Thorneyholme Road After bowling the visitors out for 95, Accrington needed just 8 overs to register win number fifteen in a row as the threat of rain loomed. The long winning run ended at fifteen with a 20 run defeat at Ramsbottom and the lead was reduced to 21 points the following week after a second successive defeat at East Lancs, but both defeats yielded four vital bonus points to minimise the damage. Interest in the 20/20 competition again ended at the Group stage after losing the opening match at East Lancs. Wins over Rishton and Church gave the club some hope but rain washed out the final match at home to Enfield. Normal service was resumed when Accrington beat Rishton for the twelfth time in a row in the league this time by 30 runs increasing the lead to 23 points. New signing Sam Excell top scored with 44. The big game at Lowerhouse the following week again went the way of Accrington to increase the lead to an incredible 35 points with 11 matches to play. Half centuries by Graeme Sneddon and skipper Graham Lloyd along with David Ormerod's 1300th Lancashire League wicket and Zaidi's 50th of the season did the trick. It took a huge slice of luck to maintain the lead with a 1 wicket win at lowly Bacup. Last man David Ormerod was dropped off his first ball but he hung on as Simon Hanson hit the winning runs. A 9 wicket hammering of Nelson the following day increased the lead to 40 points. The return match with Bacup proved to be a formality as Accrington strolled to a 93 run win and set a new club record with a tenth successive home win. The rematch with Nelson proved to be a different proposition though as the rain contrived to put the home side in the box seat. Accrington were going well on a difficult wicket when their innings was terminated on 184-5 in the 45th over with Zaidi on 82 looking set for a century. Rain reduced Nelson's target to 117 from 23 overs and with just 8 required off the final over there looked to be only one winner. With one ball to go just 1 was needed for victory but Zaidi threw down the wicket to take Accrington to within 38 points of an eighth Lancashire League title. Zaidi won the race to 1,000 runs with a century against Todmorden but rain intervened for the first and only time to end Accrington's run of home wins. At this point it was announced that Zaidi would not be returning in 2014. Fears over how this would affect his performances were soon dispelled with a brilliant match winning unbeaten 138 at Haslingden which took Accrington to within 8 points of the title with five matches to play. The championship was was clinched in classic fashion the following Sunday with a home win against defending champions Lowerhouse who sportingly applauded the new champions from the field in front of a packed pavilion in the evening sunshine. A first home defeat of the season by Church was followed by a 50 run win over Enfield on the day that the trophy was presented to a jubilant Graham Lloyd. Following a 63 run win over second placed Ramsbottom all that remained was a final day trip to Colne and the little matter of Bobby Simpson's 54 year old club batting record. Going into the match, Zaidi needed to score 90 runs to break one of the oldest batting records still standing and when he was 40 short with just 48 needed for victory Simpson's record looked safe. It was then that Zaidi launched himself at the inexperienced duo of Kenton Rhodes and Joel Duerden to power past the record in fairytale fashion. It was the last ball of Rhodes over at 5.13pm that Simpson's record finally fell with Zaidi running a single that ended with a joyous leap of celebration. Zaidi hit thirteen fours and four sixes from just 66 balls. He earned his share of luck when he was dropped on 11. Accrington's final margin of victory was a record 55 points accrued from a club record 22 wins and just three defeats. Accrington also won a club record ten successive home matches prior to the No Result against Todmorden.
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