The inaugural season of the Harrogate and District League was in 1920 and saw the Ash lining up for the new season under Mr T Daniel, President and Honorary Secretary was Mr A Locker, one of the Ash's star players of the early 20th century.
The committee comprised of Messrs J Stringer (Chairman) , A Newman, G Daniel,
H Hutchinson, R Hugill, F Hough, C Armiger, F Daniel, T Newbould, C Ward and W Wood.The fixture list comprised of home and away fixtures against South Stainley, Follifoot, Ripley, Harrogate Wesleyans, Bilton, New Park and Harrogate 2nds. A prestigious home and away fixture against Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club made up the season.
The Ash's first ever fixture was away to Follifoot, the Harrogate Herald of Wednesday 27th April 1920 summarised play as 'Follifoot scored a victory over Pannal Ash, who only ran up forty eight runs with all wickets down, but with only two wickets gone the home team had passed the figure after some capital batting by Crowther, Harrison and Cullingworth'.
The scorecard read as follows:
Pannal Ash
C Armiger
b. Parker
0
R Hugill
c. J Harrison b. Parker
5
G W Daniel
b. Crowther
10
H Hutchinson
run out
0
T Newbould
c. Wilson b. Parker
9
F Hough
b. Crowther
3
C Wray
c. Stancliffe b. Parker
3
P Bennett
lbw. B. Parker
0
W Joy
c. Stancliffe b. Crowther
0
C Daniels
not out
7
R Hutchinson
b. Parker
5
Extras
6
TOTAL
48
Follifoot
S Crowther
c. Armiger b. Daniels
11
J Harrison
not out
14
S Dunford
b. Daniels
3
G Cullingworth
not out
22
TOTAL (for 2 wickets)
50
Bowling Analysis
Pannal Ash Innings
Wickets
Runs
S Crowther
3
26
S Parker
6
16
Follifoot Innings
Wickets
Runs
T Newbould
0
39
C Wray
0
9
Daniels
2
11
F Hough
0
1
The first season saw an eminently acceptable fourth place finish with a playing record of won 6 and lost 6.
The batting average was won by G W Daniel, 10 innings totaling 141 runs for an average of 14.10.
The bowling average was won by T Newbould, 42 wickets at an impressive 5.57.
Harrogate 2nds were the first winners of the 'Herald Cup'.
The first few seasons of the League saw frequent changes of member clubs. For instance, Bilton and Ripley withdrawing and Staveley and Calcutt joining for the 1921 season.
There was no silverware in the early years. Although the Ash were usually competitive, 1922 could be seen as an exception when a playing record of no wins, eleven losses and one draw saw a bottom place finish. Even so, the mid-season review as quoted from the Harrogate Herald suggested 'A team of promising young players. They deserve every encouragement. The lean time is only temporary'.
The 1923 season was notable for the introduction of a second division, including an Ash 2nd XI. Remarkably, the Ash had been prime movers for this development despite failing to win a game the season before.
The fixture list for the 1st XI shows league fixtures with Wesleyans, Follifoot, Calcutt, YMCA, Roecliffe, Staveley and Knaresborough 2nds, with friendlies against Beckwithshaw and Bradford based Eldwick.
The 2nd XI fixtures included the 2nd XI teams of Follifoot, Calcutt, Wesley and Roecliffe, as well as Weeton, Scriven, Scotton and Birstwith.
Over the next few seasons we saw Spofforth, Woodlands, Goldsborough, Gas Works and Topham Bros, amongst others, add their name to member clubs.
Notable playing performances over the 1920's were from such players as F Leedham, G Usher, A Newbould, F Hough and C Daniel.
Here we see an Ash photo from the 1925 which has been donated by Mr Nigel Brooks, grandson of Mr Ronald Brooks , who very kindly allows us to reproduce it here.
(back row l – r) C Wray, T Daniel, R Brooks, A Newbould, C Daniel, R H Ward
(Umpire) (Hon Sec)
(middle row l- r) E Woods, W Storr, F A Hough, G Usher, F Dawson,
(seated l – r) W Joy E Leedham
It is interesting to note the background of this photo, it has been taken in front of the pavilion on the original ground with a backdrop. Can anyone identify this backdrop? Is it a cloth or a sightscreen? Perhaps even a set of gates?
Gradual progress was made on the playing front over the next few years. The 1st XI were runners up in Division 1 in 1928 finishing behind Woodlands CC, winning 10 out of 14 games. In 1929, they were again runners up, this time to Spofforth with a record of 11 wins out of 19.
The 2nd XI were also making great strides and in 1929 finished at the top of Division 2 for the Ash's first divisional win.
The league table read:
Division 2
P
W
L
D
PTS
AVE
Pannal Ash 2nd
13
10
1
2
22
84.61
Burton Leonard
14
10
4
2
20
71.42
ChristChurch
14
8
5
1
17
60.71
Spofforth2nd
14
7
6
1
15
53.57
Follifoot2nd
13
5
7
1
11
42.30
Gas Works
13
5
8
0
10
33.46
Calcutt2nd
14
3
10
1
7
25.00
Staveley2nd
13
3
10
2
6
23.07
The trophy was presented to Mr E Woods (captain of the 2nd XI) on the occasion of the Champions v Rest of the League.
The scorecard from the game read as follows:
Rest of League
Keogan
b. Currie
0
Pitkin
c. sub b. Wrigglesworth
6
Downey
b. Wrigglesworth
1
Parker
b. Currie
0
Plummer
not out
10
Jacques
c. Currie b. Wrigglesworth
0
Chapman
b. Wrigglesworth
0
Dixon
b. Wrigglesworth
0
Brookes
b. Wrigglesworth
0
Tasker
c. Swales b. Currie
1
Townsend
b. Wrigglesworth
2
Dobby
c. Rimington B. Wrigglesworth
4
Extras
1
TOTAL
25
Pannal Ash
Ellaway
b. Pitkin
0
Swales
lbw b. Pitkin
8
Ruddock
b. Pitkin
0
Currie
c. Pitkin b. Pitkin
7
Broader
b. Pitkin
2
Rimington
not out
9
Woods
not out
0
TOTAL (for 5 wkts)
26
We see below the 1929 2nd XI team with the first trophy won by the Ash which is being held in the lap of E Woods, the captain.
(back row l – r) W H Carr, A Gamble, G Ellaway, T Daniel , L Currie, A Broader, R H Ward
(Umpire) (President) (Hon Sec)
(middle row l – r) J Mackley, H Rimington, S Swales, E Woods, J Wrigglesworth, T Brown
(Treasurer) (Captain)
(front row l – r) C Ruddock E Ward
The start of the 1930's saw the Ash 1st XI in the runners-up spot, Spofforth again the champions. The fixture list showed some interesting friendly games with Leeds Springhill and Craven Gentlemen helping to fill in spare weekends.
The next year saw Knaresborough 2nd's, Follifoot and the Ash clear of the rest. The final weekends of the season saw Follifoot play Pannal Ash, the winners would be the champions.
A good crowd watched on as the game was played in a 'friendly fighting spirit', Pannal Ash batted first on a good wicket. Very few bad balls were delivered as the Ash made gradual progress to 107 for 9 (declared), R Dickinson (22), J Young (20) and H Wilson (20) the main contributors.
In reply, the Ash bowling was similarly tight, O Townsend (22) and R Scott (22) taking the Follifoot innings to 104 for 9 wickets.
The game was drawn with the Ash needing 1 wicket and Follifoot 4 runs to secure victory and the championship. This result let in Knaresborough 2nds to come through and take the honours.
See the 1932 League Winners feature as the Ash won their first historic 1st division title.
The following year the 1st XI put up a strong defence of their title. The league was probably at its strongest at this time, the 1st Division had 12 teams, Bilton, Woodlands, Follifoot, Killinghall, Harrogate 2nds, Beckwithshaw, Spofforth, Staveley, Calcutt, Goldsborough and Knaresborough 2nds. A runners-up spot a fine effort.
The 2nd XI, in the 2nd Division, had games against Bilton WMC, West Yorkshire Road Car Company, Scriven Park, Bilton 2nds, Gas Company, Spofforth 2nds, Markington, Woodlands 2nds and Follifoot 2nds.
A great year saw a league and cup double as the 2nd XI beat Bilton WMC and West Yorkshire RCC to the title and picked up the Rickinson Cup.
Back row J Armiger R Jackson J Young J Wrigglesworth
(L – R) C Ruddock B Freer A E Brown J Betts
Front row D Routledge T Robertshaw E Woods E Ward W Tiffany
(l – r) (Capt)
Players who performed for the Ash in this decade include: R Jackson, T Robertshaw, E Woods, C Ruddock, G Gill R Dickinson, A Newbould, W Joy, S Swales, R Hugill and C Watson.
The rest of the decade saw both the Ash teams putting in occasional exceptional individual performances which didn't unfortunately match team performances, except for at last picking up a 1938 Knaresborough Charity Cup win over Killinghall at Knaresborough CC.
The 2nd XI finished top of the North Section of Division 2 in 1939 and lost a play-off to Flaxby, winners of the South Section, in a game played at Woodlands CC.
The outbreak of WWII saw cricket continue, only Staveley CC deciding not to play a team, the rest of us playing with only one team in the league.
In 1941 a young Ash team, comprising of mostly young men under 20 years of age finished top of the league with a record of played 18, won 12 and lost 6.
The 1942 fixture list read as follows:
May Civil Service Bilton June Whixley Beckwithshaw RAF RAMC July RPC Beckwithshaw Bilton Civil Service August Harrogate RAMC Goldsborough RAF Whixley September Goldsborough
We again managed to finish top of the league with 9 wins and 5 matches cancelled, the side wasn't as strong as the previous year, but was strengthened by first team regulars when home 'on leave'.
The 1943 season saw the worst weather of the period, nearly half the games were called off. The Ash teams of this season was made up of mostly youngsters, sometimes up to 5 players under the age of 17. Apart from teams of the military, only ourselves, Whixley and Goldsborough were able to play during this season.
The season was notable for the presentation of the Briden Cup by Mr O Briden, a stalwart of the league, to be played for on a knockout basis. The first winner being the RAF team.
The return of a number of regular players saw us enter the 1944 season in 'real good heart' and with good reason, as a record of won 6, lost 2 with 2 games cancelled saw another finish at the top of the league.
Read the report of our 1944 Briden Cup win over the holders, the RAF.
During 1945 we saw additional members return to the fold and further strengthen the team.
A record of played 20, won 13, lost 3 and drawn 4 saw another top of the league finish.The Briden Cup saw another appearance in the final, the opposition being FMMWS (one of the war ministry teams). However, this was a game to forget as the formidable Ash line up was all out for 13 and lost by 10 wickets.
The record of the war period cannot be completed without our recognition of the members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Back at home our appreciation to our captain, Mr W Joy, and his players who keep our club alive and provided entertainment and no little success at this time.
The return of more members from the forces to all member clubs saw the league return to
2 divisions with 8 teams in each.The death of Mr C W Daniel, the long-serving Ash President and former player, early in the 1946 season was a blow but the club recovered to achieve a pretty successful season.
The 1st XI finished 3rd behind champions Bilton and runners-up Follifoot, whilst reaching the finals of the Briden Cup and Addison Cup, losing both times to the all conquering Bilton team.
The 2nd XI won Division 2 and captured the Rickinson Cup for a memorable double.
Below we have a picture of the 2nd XI which won the 2nd Division of the Harrogate and District League and received the cup from Mrs King, wife of Mr W H King (President).
The captain, Mr J Mellor, receiving the cup from Mrs King.
1947 was notable for the taking of cine films, by Miss Davey, who captured the teams in action, leaving the pavilion etc, also views of supporters and the preparing of refreshments. Unfortunately, these records are no longer available, which is a pity because this was another season of success.
The 1st XI were runners up in Division 1, again lost to Bilton in the final of the Addison Cup but you can read all about the 1947 Briden Cup victory over Bilton in the final at Harrogate cc.
The 2nd XI again had a Division 2 and Rickinson Cup double. In the photo below we see W Joy, acting captain, receiving the 2nd Division Championship trophy from Mrs W H King, wife of the President of the League. The familiar figure on the far right of the picture is Mr R H Ward, the long-standing Pannal Ash official who was also Chairman of the Harrogate and District League.
The 1948 season saw another briden Cup triumph, Follifoot the victims at Knaresborough CC. The Ash batted first and knocked up 142 runs in 25 overs for the loss of only 2 wickets, an outstanding innings of 90 from L Watson, the main contributor to the total.
Follifoot only managed 51 all out in reply, Ben Foggitt the Ash captain and A Hinchley sharing the wickets.
1948 Briden Cup winners
The Monday night Briden Cup games seemed to have attracted a great deal of attention in this season a crowd of 300 spectators enjoying a first round triumph over Bilton and 200 for the game against HMS Ceres.
The 1948 AGM posted the honour of being the first life member of the club to Mr R H Ward, who had joined the club in 1914 and held every management position in the club. The league also made Mr Ward a life member in recognition of 16 years as Chairman of Committee and 20 years as a committee man.
The end of the decade saw the Ash lose another Addison Cup final to Bilton.
The start of the 1950’s saw rainy weather for the first few weeks of the season as the Ash never threatened much in the League, the 1st XI finishing 3rd, well behind champions Bilton and Follifoot, the 2nd XI mid-table.
We again reached the Addison Cup Final, Bilton the opponents as usual and for the third time in a row we came off second best!!
The newspaper reports of the day complimented the batting a A S Guest (37), C Annakin (20), A Bell (34) and T Robertshaw (15) as a competitive total of 130 was posted.
Unfortunately, dropped catches proved costly with only T Robertshaw gaining plaudits for his performance in the field to support the admirable bowling effort of C Annakin (4 for 40) as Bilton sealed their fifth consecutive final victory.
We also lost in the final of the Ezart Cup.
The 1951 season started with Knaresborough Forest proposing the merger of the Harrogate and District and Nidderdale Leagues. Neither league was keen but the precarious finances of the Harrogate League meant this would be a constant theme through the 1950’s.
On the field it was the 2nd XI who took the applause reaching the final play off Division 2 at Calcutt. There was disappointment all round as a strong Marton attack saw off the Ash batting line up for 30 and knocked off the runs with the loss of two wickets.
The criteria for the Addison Cup changed in this year,we were not admitted as members of the Evening League until the following year so had to sit out the competition.
The loss of several experienced players meant the introduction of younger players who would see success in future years. Players like Rigg, Quinn, Green, Astwood, Spedding and Sanpher.
The 1953 season was exceptional (read about the Cup Double here) including a Briden Cup triumph over Railway Athletic. A fourth place finish in the league not reflective of vastly improved fielding and catching.
The outstanding batting performances were from S Swales, J Skerrow and J Metcalfe with best bowling from L Rigg, Rev L P Clare, B Spedding, L Bond and W Oddy.
Progress was maintained in 1954 with a runner-up finish in Division 1 with both side reaching the semi-final of the Briden and Rickinson Cups.
The 1955 1st Division Winners is recorded in depth elsewhere, although a loss in the final Briden Cup couldn’t dampen celebrations.
This is the first year club records mention concern as regards the ground issue, the death of club president, Mr Daniel a cause of ‘Much regret ……’
A runner's up position in 1956 to Marton was repeated with another losing Briden Cup final appearance to the same opposition.
1957 saw the final year of the Ash 1st XI in the Harrogate and District League, with a fourth placed finish as follows:
P
W
L
D
PTS
Marton
14
14
0
0
28
Staveley
14
9
3
2
20
Railway Athletic
14
7
5
2
16
Pannal Ash
14
6
4
4
16
The Ouseburns
14
5
8
1
11
Follifoot 2nd XI
14
3
8
3
9
St George’s
14
4
9
1
9
Goldsborough
14
3
11
0
6
Whilst the 1st XI moved over into the 2nd Division of the Nidderdale League, the 2nd XI remained in a one division competition.
Other teams in the competition included Gas Sports, Aldborough, Goldsborough, Follifoot 2nd XI, Green Hammerton, The Ouseburns, Marton-cum-Grafton, Minskip and Whixley.
The Ash team had Eddie Ward as captain, including long serving W Joy and reached the semi final of the Briden Cup whilst finishing 5th in the final table.
The scorecard of the final Ash game in the League read as follows:
Staveley Innings
J Binks
ct. Chapman b. Hebden
20
B Hawksby
ct. Ward b. Bainbridge
20
K Barker
ct. Horrocks b. Greensword
33
N Robinson
b. Greensword
9
C Teaseyman
ct. Joy b. Bainbridge
17
A Smith
ct. Ward b. Greensword
0
C Horner
ct. & b. Greensword
4
G Ascough
b. Greensword
0
B Ascough
NOT OUT
0
D Johnson
b. Greensword
0
EXTRAS
6
TOTAL (all out)
109
Pannal Ash 2nds Innings
E Ward
b. Robinson
33
P Chapman
LBW b. Horner
13
J Farnell
ct. sub b. Robinson
4
G Bainbridge
b. Robinson
11
H Anderson
b. Robinson
3
G Greensword
run out
0
A Mason
ct. Hawksby b. Robinson
0
W Joy
NOT OUT
20
S Horrocks
ct. Robinson b. Horner
0
C Smurthwaite
ct. Tesseyman b. Robinson
1
M Hebden
NOT OUT
12
EXTRAS
16
TOTAL (for 9 wkts)
113
Bowling Analysis:
Staveley Innings
Wickets
Runs
G Greensword
6
42
G Bainbridge
2
22
Pannal Ash Innings
Wickets
Runs
C Horner
2
37
N robinson
6
31
So, the Ash finished their last game in the Harrogate and District League with a victory, guided home by Billy Joy who had played in our first ever fixture in the league.
The dire financial state of the league was the final straw and we joined the third division of the Nidderdale League for the 1959 season.
We dedicate this section to EVERY player, committeeman, tea-lady and supporter who made our club one of the pre-eminent clubs in Harrogate at this time.
