What this country needs is more people to inspire others with confidence, and fewer people to discourage any initiative in the right direction, more to get into the thick of things, fewer to sit on the sidelines merely finding fault, more to point out what's right with the world, and fewer to keep harping on what's wrong with it, and more who are interested in lighting candles, and fewer who blow them out.
Father James Keller
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Blankney Cricket Club
Mr Eric Parker (President) with members of Blankney Cricket Club at the opening of the new pavilion on 2 June 1991
(Click on image to enlarge)
My thanks to John Money for allowing me to publish his notes on the history of Blankney Cricket Club, which appear below. The notes were originally written for display at the Blankney Heritage Weekend, held at Blankney Church on Saturday and Sunday 20/21 July 1996.
Blankney Cricket Club
Blankney Cricket Club has been closely associated with Blankney Hall and the local farming community since it was first formed in the mid 19th Century. The earliest record we have of Blankney Cricket Club is from the short life history of John Cartwright when he refers to joining B.C.C. in 1873 (a copy is in the church today). In the early part of the 20th Century Lord Raincliffe the 3rd Earl of Londesborough had many invitation teams from all parts of the world including the Australian Touring Team, and he appears on one of the photographs on display. During the 1930's two day matches were held here and were always very grand affairs. Also during the 20's and 30's the village side was captained by Reginald H Spooner ex of Lancashire and England, who was Land Agent for Lord Londesborough and lived at Metheringham Manor. He retired early in the second world war and features in two of the photographs on show today. The original Pavilion was situated behind the cottages on the East side of Lincoln Road. This was last used for the 1977 Silver Jubilee Celebrations and was demolished shortly afterwards. Village cricket was played on a regular basis during the war years, and again, there is a photograph on display showing the burnt out Blankney Hall in the background. Shortly after the second world war along with many other clubs, cricket was no longer played at Blankney. The ground was used for the local estate soccer team, until it folded in the 1960's. During the late 1980's several estate employees were playing friendly cricket matches on other grounds. The 'Blankney Weekend' fund raising event took place in 1989 part of the proceedings being a cricket match against Metheringham Cricket Club. Richard Parker asked Tony Fox and the Golf Club Green keepers to prepare one wicket for that match, subsequently 18 matches were played that season on the one wicket. Obviously there was a demand which had to be fulfilled. During October of that year the inaugural meeting of the cricket club was re-formed and has gone from strength to strength from that date. In the early days facilities were limited. We were generously donated a mobile home which we used as a Pavilion for two years, the chassis of this has now been made into wicket covers. The Pavilion which now stands on the ground today was originally two and a half Sir Robert McAlpine site hostels which the Club purchased for £50 each. Work started on the Pavilion in the Spring of 1991. Since then we have added a bar and completely re-roofed the building. We now have two teams in the Lincoln Mid Week League, one being in Division 1 and one in Division 3. The Division 1 side won the League on Wednesday 17th July 1996. We have also had an Australian Touring Side playing on the Blankney cricket field for the past 4 years.
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