A Pebble on the Beach

Today marked one hundred and twenty seven years since the birth of my grandmother; who was christened Hannah Hart. I’ve already written something of her husband James, which delved into various associated stories and accompanying events, which resonate in metaphor, simile, and the synchronicity that aspects of the poem, that this site is about, embrace and convey. It is also the commencement of the first working week after the close of the Derbyshire and Cheshire cricket league season of 2024. The end of the season coincided with the 30th anniversary of Birch Vale and Thornsett completing a unique first team back to back double; league title and Bissenden cup win. The D and C (Derbyshire and Cheshire) league was formed in 1952, and from then until now; this achievement has only been done once; in the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Birch Vale and Thornsett cricket club went on to win more trophies over the next 15 seasons, with some older players retiring, and other younger ones coming through; winning their final Bissenden cup trophy in 2009, a year when my maternal grandfather passed away on my 45th birthday. The 1993 league title was clinched at home against Hayfield, who were beaten a few weeks before by Birch Vale in the Bissenden final at Chapel-en-le-frith, where I had won my first trophy as a junior in 1976. This was the first year that the Medlock Cup was run as a competition for cricketing juniors at under 13 level. This cup had been brought in to existence to encourage younger players, and was named after former Birch Vale and Thornsett cricket club captain, club and league president, Ken Medlock; who also late on in life wrote an autobiography called ‘A Good Innings’ which documents an eventful life in cricket and business; too much to go into here, but the book contains information for those interested. The 1994 title was secured away at Old Glossop, in the last game of the season, after a Bissenden cup win at Hawk Green earlier in August.

The poem this site is about called ‘A Scapeshifter’ recalls the back to back double wins in part 5; commencing between lines 350 and 360 in the book ‘Soul to Sun’ by The Lol Cooper Band, concluding on line 395 in a poetic remembrance of both Alan, the son of James, and Peter; who was club chairman in the summers of 1993 and 1994: the poem can also be listened to and watched on you tube; the whole poem woven together with a cricketing thread like a metaphor for life, with the tapestries of friendships woven together in those merry England village cricket days, the pieces forming the pictures still unfolding.

After the 2009 season, the years of winning came to an end, as happens eventually in the way of things, and teams were eventually relegated to lower divisions, culminating in a low point in the history of the club in the 2023 season; when a motion was proposed by a minority of members on the league management; positing that Birch Vale and Thornsett Cricket club should be expelled from the league, for failing to be at a level of cricketing competency, that these individuals deemed apposite, for maintaining a bench mark standard of play: a datum conjured out of their imagination presumably (Mathew 7:3-5). The motion was put to a vote; and happily a resounding wave of unanimous support from the other league members ensured that Birch Vale and Thornsett were able to remain in the D and C league. The management were forgiven for the error of their ways, and we all moved on, no hard feelings. With this in mind for a club needing to improve and rebuild; I’d watched the teams progress this year, under the captaincy of Thom Bannister, a home grown player who came through the club junior section, and who is the grandson of groundsman David Bannister (Banno). The leadership of current chairman Sean Walsh has also been good this year, and he has been supported by a determined and supportive committee, including veterans of the club such as Dave Waterhouse and Peter Owen, former captain Tim Johnson, more recent members such as Rob Barrett, and a former wicket keeper from the double days Dave Platt, Steve Burns from those double days has also played a few matches this year, between representing Debryshire County Cricket Club, at over 60’s level, and doing some mid week moon lighting in a T20 competition for Bollington veterans (over 40’s), just over the hill and border in the Cheshire Happy Valley. It had come to my attention that not only had the current Birch Vale and Thornsett side strung some notable victories together, but they were in a league position where they could gain promotion, going into the last game of the season, needing just a point to gain promotion back to the first division. I was working on the seasons last Saturday, but on finishing sometime after 3 pm, I headed up to the ground off Hayfield Road to see how things were going. Hannah Harts great grandson was up for the weekend from his job in London, and having made himself available was picked to play, taking the wicket that got the point to earn promotion, and scoring a match winning 66 with the bat to gain victory over Broadbottom. Though a win is a win, this was simply one game, and one point, and the credit for the promotion must go to the players who have performed week in week out. In these days of on line apps and connecting media; their names, and their performances can be accessed at the push of a button, which saves some words here and allows me to press on.

After the match I was invited to the end of season party at the club house, the pub at the bottom of the lane called the Vine Tavern where the team went back in the early 90’s having sadly closed some years ago. It was a vibrant night with a live band, busy bar, big screens and surround sound, and the joy of a team and their friends who were celebrating their reward for a seasons work and something of a club comeback. The old order has slipped into the back ground where it should be and the club house has been redesigned internally by the new generation of players and members, and the old pictures of the former teams have gone from the wall, making way for the new; should the current team realize some of their ambitions. As the end of season party went on I could see quite a few players from the back to back double season, and so it was inevitable that we would talk, and I would think about that double team, and by the end of the evening; ponder on the careers and performances of the some village cricketers who enjoyed their time playing the summer game, and who are still good friends today, 30 years on from those memorable back to back double winning seasons.

I began by recalling my arrival at the club, and went on to some the players from the 1993 and 1994 sides, and considered a few individuals and their note worthy performances, before, through, and beyond these two seasons. This year is the fiftieth anniversary since I started school at Normanton in Buxton, now closed. From 1993 until 2009, I only ever knew two players who played in the D and C league regularly from that school; myself and Richard Johnson, both of whom won a joint record number Bissenden cup winners medals; we both played in 11 winning finals. It was a school friend from Normanton Stewart Simpson who had invited me to join Birch Vale and Thornsett when my family moved from Chapel-en-le-frith to Disley. I was unable to make the start now at Chapel-en-le-frith, travelling home and getting back to the ground on time. My friend suggested I moved to a club closer to my new home and suggested I get off the train with him at New Mills, have a bite to eat at his house, then head up to the cricket ground. I joined part way through the 1978 season when it became clear that I couldn’t make the start time at my original club. In this season of 1978, Bill Hyde, who was still opening for the first team in 1994 when past his 50th birthday, won the league batting averages. He also played for the D and C league side against minor county sides and other league sides. The following year, 1979, my first full season at the club; Bill Hyde had his best season with the bat; scoring 873 runs in the season. Never a selfish player; Bill played for the team rather than protecting his average, but never the less, as a regular in the first team between 1968 (when I was a four year old) and 1998 (31 seasons) Bill Hyde scored 16,604 runs at an average of 551 runs per season, which as far as I know; is the most runs scored in the league by an individual player, and the longest run of a first team player averaging over 500 per season; which makes him quite a player. In addition to all that prior to 1993 and 1994 Bill had won the league with Birch Vale and Thornsett in 1973 and 1976: in sides that also had notable players and performances, like Billy Hargreaves; winning the league bowling averages in 1976 with 97 wickets at 9.06: but that’s even further back than the 90’s and a whole other story. We started with Bill, and we’ll now move onto the captain Tim Johnson, who is the only captain to lead a back to back double side, and who won 10 Bissenden cup winners medals, the last of them coming in 2007 when he’d dropped down to the second team winning a Hawk trophy medal in that season, but having to help out in the first team later that same year when some of the younger players went on a stag weekend and missed the final. Tim was an out swing and off cutting bowler, so was somewhere between a medium pace stock bowler, and an off spinner, who could make use of the shine on the ball with swing and turn it off the track, so in a way like two bowlers in one, forming part of an attacking bowling line up which enabled the team to do so well in cup competitions, when at least five bowlers were needed. Tim had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve with the team, and I would say he was easily the best and most effective cricket captain I’ve played under in any team. Richard Johnson (Tim’s brother) and John Collinson were key all rounders in the double winning team, with Richard winning the man of the match in the Bissended cup final in 1993, and John winning this individual award in 1994. John went on to win a remarkable three man of the matches in Bissenden finals, he also captained a double winning team in a season beyond 1994, captained the D and C league side, and hit a tremendous century at Hawk Green, in a final when he borrowed a bat I’d been given for winning the league 1993 bowling averages. Richard finished his career with an incredible 6 Bissenden man of the match awards, hit a big hundred in the final in 2009, which my Dad said was the best knock he’d ever seen in a village cricket match, hit big hundreds for the D and C league side, won the league bowling and batting averages, and managed to keep his surgeon fingers free from injury: so perhaps looking back at all that; he was the best all rounder the league has seen in its history, and I don’t say that lightly as there have been some very good all round cricketers played in the D and C league. After saying all that about Richard Johnson it seems strange to say that he was not the most talented of the brothers, I would say middle brother Andy was the most gifted of the Johnson brothers. Andy was an opening bowler who bowled aggressive fast leg cutters and hit the ball when batting as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen hit a cricket ball. Andy also won a Bissenden man of the match at Hawk Green and won the league bowling averages. Steve Burns who was mentioned earlier was a middle order batter and occasional spin bowler, still playing over 60’s cricket for Derbyshire and considering an over seas tour to India in the coming months; Steve holds the league record individual score across all teams scoring an amazing 281 not out in a 45 over match at Hawk Green. Steve also figured in a Birch Vale and Thornsett cup win at Mottram, when a useful Compstall bowling attack had us on the ropes. We needed in excess of 10 an over going into the last few overs. I had not had the best of matches as I’d broke my finger playing for the D and C league side the week before, and was not relishing the prospect of going in to bat. Another wicket fell and Dave Platt; league player and wicket keeper stretched, slipped on his gloves, looked around at me and said “no problem mate; I told you this morning.” I admired his confidence but did not share it. It was a tradition with the team that before a first team final we would go for a team breakfast, on the way I took a call off Dave Platt saying “I’ve had a vision pal, Yes! A vision; and this year it’s gonna look like we’re down and out but it’s going to be mine and Burnsy’s last final, we’re both 40 now and that’s it; this is our time. He did talk me through it but I won’t go into that here, suffice to say, that what he said would happen, did happen, it came to pass as they say;, in the way he said it would, and Dave Platt and Steve Burns got the runs between them that Birch Vale and Thornsett required to win. It was the greatest of Birch Vale victories after the back to back double and probably either one of them cold have been awarded the man of the match, but when the score card was looked at Richard Johnson had taken 7 wickets and scored over 50 so the award became another one of the 6. Dave Platt also won the league wicket keeping award two years in succession before Steve Shaw joined the club and Dave Platt moved into the slips. Steve Shaw was also an excellent wicket keeper and batting all rounder, who also played for the league representative side where he put in some match winning performances. An abiding memory of Steve Shaw, with his hand speed, enthusiasm and energy; was in a game for the league; when we played a Derbyshire premier league side, and a player came out to bat who was a first class cricketer and had scored a first class century for Derbyshire that season, shortly before this match. Another player on the field on our team and from another club said “you’ll see some fire works now” I bowled, the ball dipped and turned a little, the batsman went for a drive, there was a nick, and Steve Shaw was holding the ball up shouting for the caught behind, all in the blink of an eye, as it is; the batsman walked, and the spectators awaiting the display fell silent. these are the moments we play for when we break through into a poetic eternity. Village cricket is a wonderful pass time, but its also good to have a go at players from other leagues and standards, especially those who have proved them selves at the highest level, so one can get an idea of where one stands in the scheme of things. Years later, as a synchronicity, when the internet brought us wikapedia, I put the Derbyshire batsman’s name into a search engine, and up he came, born in 1971 on my Dads 36th birthday. Back to the the Birch Vale and Thornsett side, most of the players are still with us, at present I can only think of Paul Sharp as a player who has died. We’ve mentioned the oldest player in the team, now for the youngest; Duncan Hibbert. Duncan was a useful all rounder who could save, then win a game when the team were in trouble; coming in late middle order he was also a handy off spin bowler. He had a season when he captained the first team; to a Bissenden final win, and in 2007 when he’d decided he preferred to play and captain the second team, he along with Tim won a second team cup winners medal to go with a Bissenden one he earned with the first team again. If there was an award for the man of the matches; I would have awarded it to Duncan in 2007, as he seemed to be at the top of his game, as the rest of us were ageing; he put in match winning performances with bat and ball across the two games. There were also players who were outstanding cricketers but were hindered by work and injury such as all rounder Paul Bowers, fast bowler Simon Mourne, and batsman Jeremy Craddock. In later years some younger players of note were the Isherwood brothers Tom and Dan, and Paul Sharps son Ashley. Dan had a double winning season as captain, and Tom was captain in 2009 when the last Bissenden was won. David Hill was also a good batting all rounder and off spin bowler, who won league titles and Bissenden cups with Birch Vale and Thornsett, and also represented the league side, but decided to retire from playing at the young age of 21 around the 2003 season; a short but sweet cricket career.

My league representative cap now sits retired on the handle of a G and M bat in the corner of my shed gathering dust. The bat was given to me by the league for winning the 1994 league bowling averages, a reminder of a team of players that seemed to come together out of nowhere in the middle of nowhere, and win with their first team; 5 league and cup doubles, 6 league titles, and 11 Bissenden cups over 15 seasons, quite a winning streak.

2009 was also the last year that the club had a junior league winning under 17 side, when the league title was clinched at High Lane. There are still a few players in the first team from that side, and also from previous older age group Birch Vale and Thornsett junior teams. The hope now is that these players and new arrivals can take the club forward and keep the club in a healthy state of play. One other thing I pondered on was the national knock out that we played in called the village cup, where we played some outstanding sides, when getting down to the last few village teams in the country; as the cup is a knock out; only the very best in the land remain in the competition. Thinking about these players, one inevitably starts to think about what would be the best Birch Vale and Thornsett cricket team ever, so I’ll name mine. There is one player included who I never met, but was a club legend, who had taken 10 wickets in a match, even Rick Johnson didn’t do that, though he did get 9 at Hazel Grove once near the back end of his career. As a boy, I recall the mention of the name of this fast bowler seeming to strike fear into the face of some of the older players at the club who had been bruised by him in the nets long years before. He was the brother of the mother of Derbyshire cricketers Bernard and Alan Hill, and I’ve been told by Bernard that he was indeed a tremendous fast bowler; so Stan Burdekin is in. I’m also possibly going to include an Australian who played with us as an opening bat in the 1995 season following on from the double success, as he holds the club record for the most runs in a season. Then again: that place could go to Steve Shaw, who I played and often worked with; was a fine a match winning player, and it’s always handy to have two keepers. If I could have three keepers I’d include Harry Hargreaves, who was an excellent player, and played for the Derbyshire County Cricket second 11, so Harry would be a strong contender as well. May be it’s a toss of a coin to see which of the three would get the nod on the day of the match as they were all fine players, and would all bring something to the team.

Bill Hyde (Opening bat left hand)

John Collinson (opening batting all rounder right hand bat and in swing bowler)

Richard Johnson (All rounder right hand batsman and fast right arm bowler)

Steve Shaw (wicket keeper batsman) /Chris Reid (opening right hand bat dropped down to four in English conditions) / Harry Hargreaves (Right hand bat and wicket keeper)

Andrew Johnson (Opening right arm fast bowler and orthodox attacking right hand batsman)

Steve Burns (Middle order destructive orthodox batsman and occasional orthodox leg spin bowler)

David Platt (wicket keeper all rounder hard hitting in the V batsman powerful off the back foot right handed)

Stan Burdekin (Fast bowler)

Tim Johnson (Captain and medium pace / off spin right arm bowler)

Bill Hargreaves (Orthodox left arm finger spinner)

Me (Right arm leg spinner)

I could not fully make my mind up between Chris and Steve, and indeed Harry; maybe Harry for the number four spot. I only played one season with Chris and we won nothing, though we had a great side. I played and won a lot with Steve, and saw him put in a few good match winning performances, Harry was a class act, aggressive stylish and good to have on the team, so the number four position would have to go to a selection committee. As a young man I played with Harry in the second 11, long after his best years as a player were gone, but it was plain to see that he had been a very good cricketer in his pomp.

In conclusion; after all the talk of the winning, it is the movement and repose in the poetry of the play that is the important thing. Looking back now the winning matters less than the fun and the friendships. I enjoyed Saturdays in the seconds with Harry as much as winning trophies in the first team under Tim. It is the joy and the spirit of the game that I appreciate more now. I mentioned in this write up merry England, and it is as the poem ‘A Scapeshifter’ says; “back in merry England’s day.” So! In the Vine Tavern in those bygone years, still clear in the memory, stood with Bernard Hill after a match, I’m at the bar in the pub, and Bernard orders two pints of beer, with Martin Cooper and the late Alan Johnson also from Buxworth’s team nearby, three players by the way that would walk into any side in their best days, and would interest you and make you laugh heartily into the bargain: he stands one pint on his head, without a hand on it, and leaves it there while he drinks the one in his hand, before taking the one off his head and quaffing that one, two pints downed in a jiffy, and a race horse tip in to the bargain to lead you astray if you cared to walk that way; happy days in the joy of high summer. You can be sure you go home thinking it’s been an interesting day when you’ve played against and afterwards had the privilege to be in the company of the aforementioned characters. I was also in the Vine once after a match when a visiting player ordered a pint of beer, stood on his head against the wall and drank the pint straight down whilst he was up side down. I know the up side down pint sounds far fetched, but look up ‘peristalsis.’ It’s good to try to win and to practice hard to become excellent, but there is some truth in the saying “it’s taking part that counts” and it’s not a good thing to be deluded by triumphalism, and become a bore into the bargain. Enjoy the game and don’t take yourself too seriously. As it is says in A Scapeshifter “See Shanti as Victory” and “Resurgam”