Chesterfield, Clowne and cold Carling
by Alan Rowley, 20th April 2003

Easter arrives and the usual English Bank Holiday weather returns. It was cold enough to send the brass monkeys hurrying for shelter but this intrepid reporter was not deterred.

For some reason, I declined a trip around some warm Derbyshire boozers, deciding instead to take a trip up to the Chesterfield area in search of some decent cricket. As it turned out, I might as well have stayed at home as it was hardly cricketing weather.

Seats on train shock

Catching the train up to Chesterfield was less of a nightmare than I thought it might be. Expecting a crowded train that was half an hour late, I was surprised to find that the train was only a quarter of an hour late and there were seats to be found. Not bad for my local station.

A 45 minutes bus journey across North Derbyshire followed, taking in the delights of Brimington, Staveley and Clowne. Why are these places so quiet on a Saturday afternoon? Hardly anyone about, even in the town centres - strange!

Not knowing where the Clowne ground was, I stayed on the top deck of the number 77 hoping to catch a glimpse of the ground from the bus. Unfortunately, I didn't see any sight of the ground and as the town slowly disappeared behind me and countryside rapidly approached, I decided to ring the bell and get off the bus.

Ellusive Clowne Town

A passing local was summoned and he confirmed my suspicions "It's on t'other side of town, youth" the lad told me. When pushed further as to the location of the ellusive Clowne Town Cricket Club, the local told me "Dunno really mate". "Oh well, I'll head back into Clowne centre", I thought to myself.

Walking back up Station Road into the Town Centre, I consulted the ground directions that I had copied from the Clowne Town website earlier and noted references to Mansfield Road and High Leys Road. Eventually, I arrived at Mansfield Road and within a few minutes, I was in the Clowne Town bar. A quick chat with the tea ladies and I was soon sampling a nice pint of Carling, at a very reasonable £1.85 a pint.

The Clowne Town pavilion from the far side of the ground

I must admit, I was impressed by the facilities at the ground - decent bar, fruit machine, table football, pool table, television, plenty to keep you occupied when rain stops play. The ground, too, was impressive - electronic scoreboard, nets, plenty of room for a stroll around the boundary. Well worth a return visit when the season, and the weather, warms up.

Bar warmth preferred to cricket action

By the way, Clowne were playing Woodsetts, a small South Yorkshire village side playing in the Bassetlaw League. Woodsetts were batting and were cruising along at just over three an over. Not that I saw much of the action, preferring instead to seek the warmth of the bar. I did manage to take a few quick snaps of the action, though, on my only lap of the ground.

Runs for Woodsetts in their game at Clowne

When I left, Woodsetts were 77 for 3 with their opener just holing out a few runs short of his fifty. If you want to know the final scores, try the Clowne Town site - click here. A match report from Clowne's webmaster Ben Holmes can be found here.

Stale urine and beer

A short walk back to the bus stop and a fifteen minute wait in a bus shelter followed. The customary smell of stale urine and beer filled the air, as is customary in English bus shelters, before the number 77 finally arrived.

Hunger was beginning to get the better of me by now, and the site of the Staveley cricket ground promptly reminded me of references to Staveley teas on this site's message board. Alas, no game, so the delights of Staveley will have to wait for another day.

Portland's perfect pints

After a pint in the Portland Hotel, a Wetherspoons pub in Chesterfield Town Centre selling Carling at £1.49 a pint, I was soon in Queen's Park. Chesterfield were taking on Barnsley Cricket Club - a thriving club with a long history. A number of cricketers have come through their ranks and gone on to represent Yorkshire and England including Geoff Boycott, Martyn Moxon, Arnie Sidebottom and Darren Gough. Arguably their most famous old boy, however, is former umpire Harold "Dickie" Bird.

Action from the Chesterfield v Barnsley game at Queen's Park

Chesterfield had already batted and had amassed a score of 174 for 5. Barnsley, however, were the stronger side and knocked off the required runs with three wickets to spare. Chesterfield will have the chance to put their defeat behind them with a game against Bassetlaw League champions Cutthorpe on Sunday (20th). Cutthorpe were denied promotion to the Nottinghamshire Premier League due to their ground not being up to standard, and will be looking to win the Bassetlaw again in 2003.

Chesterfield skipper David Adams told Sting "We have signed Rahim Karim from Langley Mill who I am hoping for big things from. Also we are looking at Chris Seal who played Minor Counties last year with Suffolk. So with this blend of experience, including Andy Brown and Simon Lacey, coupled with our drive for youth, we may upset a few people this year - in the nicest possible way of course".

Adams also told us: "We have a sportsman's lunch on the 23rd May at the Chesterfield Hotel. The guest speaker is Sir Garfield Sobers, no less, and tickets are only £20 to include a sit down lunch. I am really looking forward to hearing him speak."

For more on Chesterfield Cricket Club, visit their website here.

More action from the Chesterfield v Barnsley friendly

After a few bottles of Landlord and Black Sheep in the Chesterfield bar, it was time for a short stroll across Chesterfield for the train journey home. Not a great day for the game, but a few beers were sampled and the chance to talk cricket again was welcomed. Next weekend sees the start of the league action, so I now have to study the fixtures to see whose beer I can sample then.

It's great to see some cricket again, even if it is rather blurred through the bottom of my pint pot. Great days return.