Thursday 15th April 2010

Clay Cross CC - A Potted History

Clay Cross CC recently became the 50^th Club to register to for NatWest Cricketforce.  Cricket has been played in the town of Clay Cross since the 1850s but only really took off when the area became a coal mining hot spot and the mine owners provided sporting facilities.  

The present home of Clay Cross Cricket Club has been used since 1870 and its official title is High Flatt as it is one of the highest points in Clay Cross and therefore drains reasonably well. It’s more well known now as Sharley Park.  

The current Clay Cross Cricket Club began life as Kenning Remoulds in 1972 and playing on Langer Lane playing fields, Chesterfield. This coincidently was the same year that the long standing Clay Cross Park Cricket Club finally folded after 70 years of playing cricket in the Derbyshire League and latterly in the Bassetlaw Cricket League. 

After causing too much damage to neighbouring properties Kenning Remoulds relocated to Sharley Park. The club continued in the North Derbyshire Cricket League but only achieved moderate success. The club’s fortunes began to fade and it was forced to merge with Clowne Phoenix Cricket Club in 1988. That didn’t really do the trick and the club was within a hair’s breadth of going under but there was enough willingness amongst the remaining players to go on. The 1989 season started with 12 players, a pavilion shared with pigeon fanciers and a small ground.  Almost immediately fortunes and attitudes began to change and in 1989 the club moved to a more vibrant Mansfield Cricket League. By 1992 things were going so well that the club was accepted into the Derbyshire County Cricket League but kept a presence in the Mansfield League.  

The first few years in the DCCL were a little slow as clubs with better players but poorer facilities blocked promotion. 1996 saw the club win the final of the Harwood Cup and since that date it has been an unremitting tide of success on the field partnered with advancements off the pitch. 

The Mansfield League side was eventually turned into a DCCL second team with a third team following on a few years later. One shared ground eventually turned into 2 grounds after a successful bid for grants to improve the facilities. The old ground has had several improvements to it size and playing surface thanks to North East Derbyshire District Council and local building contractors. 

The pigeon fanciers eventually left the pavilion and the club were given free rein to breathe fresh life into a building constructed in the 1930s. The skills of its members were utilised to the full and changing rooms were moved downstairs with shower facilities and the upstairs area being turned into a club room and bar. 

2009 was also the year when the club’s youth policy started to bear fruit with the U15s winning the North Derbyshire Youth Cricket League and were beaten finalists in the U15 cup. 2010 will see a first team in Division 1, 5N and 8N of the DCCL and U17, U15 and Kwik Cricket teams in the NDYCL. 

Clay Cross Cricket Club has never been wealthy and the current facilities are as a result of hard work from members, applying for grants and ‘arm twisting’ of local contractors. We are also indebted to North East Derbyshire District Council for the work and encouragement they have given to the club. In 2010 the club will use the Natwest Cricket force weekend to make more refinements to its club room but the main push will be to spend time improving the ground’s playing surface.