THIS weighty tome – 258 pages in length – chronicles the life of South Northumberland Cricket Club from its formation in Gosforth as Bulman Village Cricket Club, and its first match against North Durham on July 27, 1864.
Milestones recorded include the appointment in 1875 of the club’s first professional, R. Proctor, on a wage of 35 shillings a week, and its name change to South Northumberland in 1882, when a new £200 cricket pavilion was opened and the club hosted a visiting Australian team for the first time.
The club was one of eight teams which formed the Tyneside Senior League in 1904, and in a golden period between 1906 and 1909 it topped that league four times. Packed with photographs, biographies of officials and players, this history notes that in 1955 the club employed a young Indian leg spinner, Chandu Borde.
He was shocked to discover how cold it was in Newcastle and later recalled having difficulty understanding the local accent, saying: “I would nod, not knowing what was being said.” Despite these difficulties he took 100 wickets that season.
More recent events covered include the opening of a cricket academy and indoor cricket school in 1998 and the year 2006 when South Northumberland earned the title of Best Club Side in England after beating opponents Bromley CC at Lord’s cricket ground.