The Centenary of the Bassetlaw & District Cricket League
by Paul Barker, 9th April 2004

The Bassetlaw League was conceived in the mind of Mr. Frank Sissons, the then editor of the Worksop Guardian, who, in the summer of 1903 approached Mr. William Allen, the President of Worksop Cricket Club with an offer to donate a Silver Challenge Cup if a League, centred on the town, was formed.

At 5pm on 12 th August 1903 representatives of six clubs, Clowne Town, Gainsborough Britannia Works, Kiveton Park, Retford, Shireoaks and Worksop met, with Mr. Allen in the chair, at the Lion Hotel, Worksop ‘for the purpose of forming a new Cricket League’. Rules were drawn up and officers elected, and the generous offer of a Trophy to be called ‘The Worksop Guardian Cup’ accepted. That same trophy is presented to the champions of the League a century later.

By the start of the 1904 season the League had grown to eight clubs with the first match being played between Whitwell and Retford on 30 th April. The game was thought to have ended in a tie but, after a protest, it was realised that the scorers had made an error and Retford were declared the winners. The final league table for 1904 was:

The fortunes of the League fluctuated until the First World War, when competition ceased for the duration, but thereafter growth was maintained for some 75 years culminating in a membership of 136 teams in 1997. During this time the most significant changes occurred in 1953 when Division One teams were re-organised into Sections, a process repeated in Division Two in 1955, and the adoption of ‘overs cricket’ in 1968.

The final major change of the League’s first century was as recent as 2001 when, following the formation of Premier Leagues, the Divisions were re-constituted to allow every team to find its own level.

To mark the centenary the meeting of the Management Committee scheduled for 12 th August 2003 was held at the Lion Hotel and included the reading of the Minutes of 100 years ago. A commemorative game has been arranged between Whitwell and Retford for 17 th April 2004 and a League XI will play the M.C.C. in a Centenary Match at Worksop Cricket Club on Wednesday, 28 th July.