When Harborne CC was formed in 1868 by a group of young men from St. Peter’s and the Baptist Church, the Victorian founders could scarcely have imagined that the club would develop into one of the largest cricket clubs in the Midlands today, with five Saturday and four Sunday teams regularly taking the field.
The players moved from Richmond Hill Road, close to where the 5th XI play today, to Old Church Avenue in 1874, and the club has played there ever since, apart from a year’s absence in 1890, when the owner banned Harborne from using the ground as a result of a rift between the Anglicans and the Baptists. Fortunately, the dispute was settled amicably, and the club became one of the strongest in the Midlands in the years before the First World War. Charles Pimm was an early fast under-arm bowler, known as ‘Pump-handle Charlie’; among the other principal players were all-rounders Alfred Roberts and Wilmott Norton; the White brothers, Wilfred and Oliver; and H.C. and A.J. Simpson; to be followed by all-rounders Harry T. Chrichton (great grandfather of Warwickshire’s ‘Jim’ Troughton), Irving Smith, Jack Newey and Charlie Harlow.
The ‘roaring’ Twenties were a time of change, with new club colour (blue, black and gold) and new sight-screens. Meanwhile, the Church of England took over the ground’s freehold, a position it still holds today, and a new motor mower replaced horse power, which had prevailed for nearly 60 years. Newey and Harlow were joined by Andrew Mackie, J. W. C. Turner, Louis David, Ernest Norton and Percy Whitehouse as the 1st XI became one of the most feared in the Midlands. The 1930s saw Richard Mead-Briggs, Guy Heaton and George Stephens captaining the club, supported by bowlers Alec Hastilow, Sydney Hurd and Harley Roberts, with future Warwickshire captains Peter Cramner (also an England rugby captain) and Ronald Maudsley prominent alongside long-serving 2nd XI captain Leslie Cartwright, later to be chairman, and president at the time of the centenary.
The years after the Second World War saw the high standard of cricket maintained by the prolific batsman Bernard Guy, bowlers Barry Evans and Geoff Heaton and the stylish Philip Gough, whilst the club attracted cricketers of the calibre of Freddie Brown, a future England captain, and Alan C. Smith and Ossie Wheatley, later captains of Warwickshire and Glamorgan respectively. Gough, Smith, Wheatley and Derek Benson were joined by Warwickshire and Somerset fast bowler Bryan Lobb, all pupils of Bernard Guy at King Edward’s School.
The Club’s centenary, in 1968, with former Warwickshire spinner Derrick Flint in charge, marked the end of an era, as the 1970s witnessed the opening of a new clubhouse, and entry into league cricket with the formation of the Midland Club Cricket Championship, of which Harborne were founder members, led by the attacking batsmen Bryan Saunders and Paul Knowles, fast bowlers Jim Edmonds and Dave Henry, opening batsman Simon Gilbert and all rounder Rob Fishburn. They all played in Harborne’s first ever cup final, which sadly ended in defeat at Edgbaston against Courtaulds.
Captain Jim Millichip guided the club into the 1980s, when another cup final was reached, this time a defeat by Old Hill. This side, led by seam bowler Don Collet, included batsmen Andrew James and Nigel Hornsby (both later to be chairmen) and all-rounder Brian S. Jones.
Under the enterprising chairmanship of Malcolm Willcox (a Conference chairman and president), 1993 saw the celebration of Harborne’s 125th anniversary coinciding with a ‘purple patch’ in the club’s history. 2nd XI triumphs under Simon Blackledge and John Dodge, and 3rd XI titles masterminded by Steve Mottram, were followed by the 1st XI’s maiden championship triumph in 1996, when James Moreton led a side to glory, which included the former West Indies captain Alvin Kallicharran and the Natal all-rounder Ross Veenstra, alongside seam bowlers Gareth Williams and Mark Thompson and spinner Dave Lovell.
After the formation of the Birmingham Premier League in 1998 (and another cup final appearance) further league titles were won in 1998 (Sunday) and 1999 (Saturday), when Aamir Farooque headed a First Division team which included opening bowler Andy Bryan, leading batsmen Simon Gear and South African Pieter Barnard, and wicket-keeper Tim Clay; whilst recent years have seen a Birmingham Premier League cup triumph led by Jon Cockcroft in 2007, with the support of New Zealand Test professional Ian Butler. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th XI have all won titles in the last few years, and in August 2008 the Warwickshire Sunday league title was captured by a 1st XI led by Stephen Moreton, alongside a second championship success by the 5th XI; with further titles keenly anticipated by both 3rd and 4th XIs.
So popular is the club today that a record-breaking 2008 has witnessed the 1st XI being led by Michael Powell, the seventh county captain to represent the club over the years, and a 6th XI taking the field for the first time in the club’s long history, as more players than ever have boosted Harborne’s playing ranks. Nevertheless, the prospect of a new clubhouse will depend on the fund-raising endeavours of the present membership, ably led by chairmen Tim Clay and president Frank Graves.
Alan Wild
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