The Formation of the Lincolnshire County Cricket League

 

On and off since 1906 there had been discussions about a County Cricket league. The County Cricket team had been in existence since then and always there had been debate about how the County club could field the strongest teams. Mainly selection came from the south of the county, sustained by the quality and exposure that came from the good private schools.

 

In 1933, a Mr AJ Hurford, the chair of the Lincolnshire Cricket Association stated in a local newspaper that he felt a Countywide cricket Association was necessary. A County cricket league desirable, that would create interest in the town. He was a Yorkshireman, he had considerable experience in the Bradford leagues. The correspondent countered with a suggestion that travel would always be an obstacle to a Countywide league. Yorkshire and Lancashire made it work because they could play professionals, paying fees enough to turn the heads of professional footballers of the time. Travelling distances were also sustainable for them.

 

Many big clubs were still outside of league cricket. Bourne, Grantham and Lindum were at this point still playing choice friendly matches. Lindum we’re attracting crowds of over 300 per game, he felt they could get towards 3000 if the cricket was competitive and created interest. Hurford suggested that they should be approached as they were considered big enough. The correspondent felt they would do better to just join a Lincoln League. The ‘Enclosed Grounds League’ had ran since 1900 and had appropriate Ground requirements to create a good paying spectacle. 

 

Mr HP Doughty, former Secretary of Rustons CC, did, a year later suggest the Grimsby and District league had gone as far as any other democratic organisation to bring about a County competition. Mr Standaloft of the Grimsby League stated that “if the County selection committee observed league games more keenly they would have a better team. I am afraid In this County we are confined to think that only cricketers only come from secondary schools.”

 

Feeling was running a high on this subject post war. A letter was sent into the Lincolnshire Echo, principally complaining about the lack of coaching. They blamed the lack of professional cricketer that were suitably qualified to so the job. They felt Lincoln were destined to see fifth and sixth grade cricket for ever, decidedly unimpressed with the standard in the Grimsby League. “Lindum should make an effort to join a real league, I suggest the Bassetlaw” said the irate onlooker.

 

In the Scunthorpe area the desire for a County League was also growing. The correspondent in the Scunthorpe Star in June 1947 whilst ‘sounding off’ about the lack of senior cricket fixtures every weekend (Appfrod and Scunthorpe Town seemed both to play away and at home on the same weekend, thus reducing each other’s gate, and leaving the alternate week without a strong level of cricket for the local spectator) enthused about a potential senior league, at least in the North of the County. “Someday the senior clubs may take the action that has been staring them in the face for some time." A league "properly arranged and well run. If the Scunthorpe Clubs took the initiative, the Grimsby clubs would follow.” This wasn’t a ‘dig’ generally at the Grimsby League. It was merely a self acknowledgment that Grimsby clubs had come to be reliant on their Scunthorpe counterparts for good competition as Scunthorpe had mutually.

 

On March 3rd 1958 many of the leading clubs in the county met at Lincoln to discuss the viability of a county league. Of course most of the top teams in the North were playing in the Grimsby League. Scunthorpe Town and Appleby Frodingham had by now departed to play in the Yorkshire Council. In the South the conundrum was demonstrated by the position of Grantham. Grantham had always made its fixtures with clubs near Nottingham or Leicester. They would have to withdraw from friendly fixtures against Stamford, Melton Mowbray and Oakham school. The proposal had fallen through by the autumn of 1958.

 

It was in the end the Grimsby and District Cricket League that took the initiative. Royce Frisby and Wilf Wilson jointly sent letters to the leading clubs in the county inviting them to attend a meeting held at Grimsby on 20th July 1962, Mr Frisby in the chair. The clubs represented in person at the meeting were Grimsby Borough Police, Clee Rovers, Grimsby British Railways, Grimsby Town, Paper Mills, Lincoln Bucyrus and Redbourn Works. Further correspondence had bee had with Gainsborough Roses Bros, Cleethorpes, Lindum, Hartsholme, Sleaford, Bourne, Skegness, Spalding, Boston, Woodall Spa and Appleby Frodingham. Notable absentees were Scunthorpe Town and Grantham. Scunthorpe were committed to the Yorkshire Council, whilst Grantham still couldn’t commit to the volume of  travel.

 A second meeting was called for October 1962, the outcome, the Lincolnshire County Cricket League. Appleby Frodingham decided against joining, preferring instead just to monitor the situation. Eleven teams started out in that inaugural season. Largely it was just a transfer of name and clubs from the Grimsby League top division, Scunthorpe Town entered their second team into the competition though, but until their withdrawal from the Yorkshire Council in the early 70s the Lincolnshire League was very much the inferior competition. Ross Group won the first competition in 1963, Lysaghts in 1964 and by the time Grimsby Town won in 1965 the league had welcomed Cleethorpes, Barton Town and Normanby Park to the group.

Leagues were calculated by percentage. Clubs arranged their own fixtures by choice, although a minimum of 14 had to be played to constitute a league season. So in 1965 Barton won 8 games outright compared to 11 won by Lincoln Claytons, but as Barton only played 14 and Claytons had played 20 the percentage rating meant Barton took second place ahead of Claytons by 2.71%. 

For 1966 Appleby Frodingham had joined, the league was now a full 15 teams. But still no new South Lincs clubs. Boston joined in 1968 but this was only temporary, the South Lincs and Border League formed by the mid 1970's and this undermined the ambition of a full county set up.. The initial function of the league was achieved as in 1966 the Lincolnshire County Cricket Club secured a maiden Minor Counties League title. The majority of that side derived from the Lincolnshire League, in particular Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Further success was achieved by the entry and subsequent winning of the Rothmans Competition for Cricket leagues. The strength of cricket in the late 1960's evidently lay in the Grimsby region whilst the next few years we see growth come from the Scunthorpe Area. In an ideal world the Lincolnshire League would have grown to 24 teams, mainly from the South of the County but unfortunately that was not the case.