ORGANISED cricket is such a fundamental and essential part of today’s recreational landscape that it’s hard to imagine a time when it did not exist, but that’s the starting point for an absorbing new book that explores the development of the sport in the Bristol area.
Trevor Crouch, the president of the Bristol & District League, and Bristol United Banks stalwart Edwin Morris (pictured left) have teamed up to produce the 164-page tome.
And it’s a treasure trove of facts, figures and fascinating insights that takes readers on a journey from the first recorded match in the city in 1752 – on Durdham Down when a Bristol XI hosted a London XI – through to 1973 and the introduction of league cricket.
Hundreds of hours of painstaking research have put the spotlight back on a long list of personalities who played important roles in shaping the game we know today.
For starters, how about Charles Richardson, an apprentice engineer to Marc Brunel – Isambard’s father – on the building of the Thames Tunnel and who later worked with the great man himself on the Severn and Box Tunnels.
Richardson, described as “Bristol cricket’s forgotten revolutionary” – came up with the idea of the modern bat as he designed the cane handle which he cut into the willow blade by a tapered splice.
And the man who also invented a bowling ‘sling’ – the forerunner for the bowling machines so familiar at net practice sessions today – has the distinction of being recognised by two blue plaques in the city.
There’s also poignancy as the contributions to local sport of men such as Frank Hannam are remembered. A product of Bristol Grammar, he was the recently elected chair of the Bristol & District Cricket Association and president-elect of the Gloucestershire RFU when he was killed under fire at the Somme in 1916 aged only 36.
The BDCA did not meet for nearly four years because of the war which took a terrible toll on the city. Long Ashton, for example, suffered the heaviest losses – 10 men – of any club in the area and in 1919 could field only one team while Thornbury Castle and Old Bristolians remained inactive because so many of their players were still away, serving their country in places such as Egypt, India, Mesopotamia and Palestine.
Slowly but surely, though, green shoots appeared and the sport recovered thanks to the dedication of innumerable club and association officers to pave the way for the league to grow into one of the biggest in the country.
Trevor said: “Back in 1892, when the B&D was established, some of the main talking points included a shortage of umpires, the starting time of matches and quality of facilities … what has changed?!”
Trevor has himself served the B&D in some capacity for almost 40 years and is well placed to recognise and appreciate the efforts of those who have made outstanding contributions.
He has particular respect for Norman Hardy, a Knowle fast bowler and talented footballer who died of a heart attack while playing for St Andrews in 1923 aged only 31.
‘Our Nor’, as he was known, took 144 wickets in 1922 at an average of only 7.1, and claimed 7-47 the following season in a B&D representative match against Leamington.
He was held in such high esteem by his teammates that fundraising resulted in the Norman Hardy Cup which is still played for today by footballers on The Downs while the Knowle clubhouse is home to the Norman Hardy Memorial Lounge.
The book further notes the work of Gloucestershire players such as WG Grace, Gilbert Jessop, George Dennett and Alf Dipper in the background.
And it also weaves in the growth of clubs such as Frenchay, Bedminster, Stapleton and Banks with an array of evocative team photographs that further illuminate this fascinating history.
*A History of the Bristol & District Cricket Association is priced at £24. To purchase a copy, email: info@bdca.uk