In the final instalment of walk down memory lane we look back at the most successful season in the clubs history and the Double Double winning season of 1991 in which the 1st team won the Senior Ribblesdale League title and the Ramsbottom Cup whilst the 2nd team won the Ribblesdale League Division 1 title and the Lawrenson Cup.
The season started with the same captains as the previous year with Stephen Hipgrave in charge of the 1st team and Ronnie Wiseman the 2nd team however there was a change in professional as Manoj Parekh took over from David Halliwell as the paid man and John Rainger arrived from Australia as Overseas Amateur.
The 1st team was packed with local talent including captain Stephen Hipgrave, Paul Tilbury, Craig Wear, Richard Madden, Mick Chapple, Michael Wiseman, Darren Hendleman and 17 year old Glen Chapple who prior to the season starting had toured New Zealand with England Young Cricketers in a team which included captain John Crawley and Mark Butcher both of whom went on to play test cricket for England.
Also in the Earby side were the three Pickles brothers Nigel, Stephen and Andrew all of whom produced match winning displays as the team stormed to the top of the league in the early weeks of the season with Nigel hitting 117 against Cherry Tree and 102 against Read in a innings which included 13 fours and 4 sixes from just 89 balls.
Not to be outdone both professional Manoj Parekh and Overseas Amateur John Rainger also turned in match winning performances with Manoj taking 5 wickets for the loss of just 7 runs in a mesmerising spell of spin bowling against local rivals Barnoldswick in the Ramsbottom Cup whilst opening batter John scored two centuries in successive days in May to show his class.
The 1st team sat at the top of the league for the majority of the season with only Great Harwood defeating them and by beating Whalley at the end of the season they remained two points clear at the top to claim the league title. In a record breaking year professional Manoj Parekh took 64 wickets whilst Overseas Amateur John Rainger became the first Earby batsman to pass 1000 runs for the season as he scored 1035 runs.
Along with the league title the 1st team also won the Ramsbottom Cup to claim the double in a thrilling match against Great Harwood in front of a crowd of 1500. Due to injury (dislocated shoulder) professional Manoj Parekh was unavailable so Bernard Reidy stood in as Sub pro. Batting first Earby got off to the worse possible start as John Rainger was out for a duck in the first over. They soon recovered though as they posted a total of 265 for 6 from the allotted 48 overs as sub pro Reidy hit a powerful 90 and Nigel Pickles made a fine 85.
In reply despite Glen Chapple picking up a knee injury and Stephen Hipgrave playing with a broken finger Earby bowled Great Harwood out for 238 in the 47th to win by 27 runs and claim the Ramsbottom Cup with Nigel Pickles winning the man of the match trophy with his 85.
Captain Stephen Hipgrave gives us his recollection of the day :
We all decided to wear blazers, black trousers, white shirts & club ties to travel to the final at Church Meadows the home of Ribblesdale Wanderers to play Gt Harwood in the Ramsbottom Cup Final
We arrived by mini bus to a sun drenched ground.
A notable set back in the run up to the final was that our professional Manoj Parekh was unable to play after suffering a dislocated shoulder the week before !!! And I was playing with a broken finger !!
Our substitute professional for the Final was Bernard Reidy, former Lancashire & professional around the leagues.
I introduced Bernard to the team in the dressing room & then he said “Can I have a word with you ?”
He said “ Have you some players missing? Their all so young “
I said “No !! They’ve played all year “
I won the toss & elected to bat , because if we’d have fielded first Nigel Pickles wouldn’t have scored any runs as he hated fielding first in the Sun !!
This proved to be the right decision as Nigel got 80 odd & Bernard got 90 odd !!
Earby’s innings finished on 265 for 6 off the allotted 48 overs
Gt Harwood got off to a flyer with their professional Craig Howarth, taking a liking to our young future Lancashire star Glen Chapple’s bowling , plundering him to all parts !! As he did so he said “Well bowled Golden Child “or something on those lines !!!
In the end I had to take him off from bowling for a rest !!
We got Howarth out for 50, Reidy old manned him with a slower ball and he caught & bowled him . Paul Allen got 80 odd and Kerry Tsonis the Overseas Amateur was looking like winning it for Harwood..!!
I brought Chapple back to bowl and he truly removed Tsonis, LBW .. which many Harwood players and supporters thought was a terrible decision!!! It looked plumb from deep mid wicket where I was fielding!!!
In the end Harwood finished on 238 all out in 47 overs.
It was a great game to play in and i‘m sure a great game to watch as well.
Nigel Pickles won Man of the Match and Reidy said “You’ve a great young side, hope you win the league too“
Which obviously we did.
Back Row : Bernard Reidy (Sub Pro), Michael Chapple, Keith Crabtree (Scorer), Manoj Parekh (Professional), Andrew Pickles, Glen Chapple, John Rainger (OA), Nigel Pickles & Stephen Pickles
Front Row : Paul Tilbury, Stephen Hipgrave (Captain), Craig Wear, Richard Madden & Blake Munns
The 2nd team under the leadership of Ronnie Wiseman also enjoyed equal success with David Little, Ken Halstead, Stephen Berry, Blake Munns, Craig Walton, Lee Parkinson, Tom Forster and Ian Nutter all contributing to the success of the team.
The first trophy of the season for the 2nd team was the Lawrenson Cup as they beat Great Harwood in the final. In the league the previous day they beat Edenfield to claim top spot in Division 1 of the Ribblesdale League and further wins against Rolls Royce and Ribblesdale Wanderers so them secure the Division 1 title and claim the league and cup double.
On top of the double double by the 1st and 2nd team more silverware was added to an already record breaking season with Earby’s under 18 team winning the Ribblesdale League’s Brian Morris Youth Cup by again defeating Great Harwood in the final with a convincing display for the second year running.
Many of the players in the under 18 side Lee Parkinson, Richard Madden, Glen Chapple, Craig Walton, Blake Munns, D Pease, Sam Munns, R Fletcher, Chris Walton, C Burt and David Watson contributed to the success of the 1st and 2nd team to highlight the young talent within the club.
At the end of the season the success was celebrated at the Leagues annual dinner where the trophies for the double double were received by the Earby players along with the following individual league awards :
1st team (Senior League) Batting Award, Player of the Year & Highest Individual score of 149 - John Rainger
1st team Wicket Keeping Award - Richard Madden
League’s Most Promising Young Player - Glen Chapple (3rd Year Running)
2nd team (Division 1) Wicket Keeping Award - Michael Wiseman
2nd team Bowling Award - Darren Hendleman
Scorer of the Year - Keith Crabtree (3rd Year Running)
An incredible season which has never been repeated since and one which will go down as the best in the clubs history and a fitting end to the walk down memory lane feature which has been on going for the last nine weeks.
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