HAWORTH Road Meths Cricket Club have folded after almost 75 years.

The issue at the top-flight Timothy Taylor’s Craven League club, who reduced from two teams to one after Covid, isn’t a lack of players, however.

It is more a lack of volunteers.

Club secretary Les Gudgeon explained: “The five major personnel in the club - myself, Andy and Nick Griggs, Andrew Gudgeon (Les’ son) and Charles Briggs - didn’t really want to continue without the others so the decision was reasonably easy.

“When we went back to one team you could say the writing was on the wall.

“Our original team all grew up together, but we have lost the younger lads who played, such as Chris Griggs (family reasons) and Paul Rodwell (golf), while Rob Greenwood moved to Wilsden, and Danny Pearson moved to Bingley Congs.

“The club has basically revolved around my son Andrew and Charles Briggs, who have been captain and vice-captain, which are very hard jobs.

“While Nick Griggs and Charlie have done the work on the ground, which has all been fine, Andrew and myself have had enough.”

Les, who was skipper for 20 years (he joined the club in 1960 alongside Andy Griggs) while Andrew has been at the helm for the last 17, a remarkable family span of 37 years, added: “It is a big responsibility running a cricket club, and the league don’t really understand that every club is different, and you only have to look at the history of the clubs in Bradford to realise that.

“This decision was a fait accompli two months ago. It was not done in a fit of pique. It was not done with three who thought that we might carry on and three who thought that we wouldn’t. It was done sensibly and it was unanimous.”

Andrew, who is a PE teacher, explained: “Cricket is a long afternoon by comparison with other sports. It is a massively complex sport in that it has such a huge commitment, but the lads have been brilliant over the past four or five years.

“It is unique compared to say rugby and football, which are easier to manage, and I have got to the end of my time with that (running a cricket club), while friendships have petered out over the last four or five years and I am not getting as much out of cricket as I used to do - for a variety of reasons.

“I would probably have carried on as a player, but the club could not really run without myself and Charles doing all that we did.

“Getting a team out was no problem - that was the easy bit, and the last three or four years have probably been the easiest as a captain get a team out on the pitch as we have gone down to one team, but the three to five years before that were a nightmare.

“People don’t realise what goes on behind the scenes at a cricket club, and it not just me and Charles, it is Nick and my dad. It is about organising the club as a whole, and we have some cracking lads.”

Les added: “It wasn’t that there wasn’t anybody there to help, but it has become more difficult for them. Without Andrew and Briggsy we couldn’t have survived for the last 10 years.

“I am 73, Andy Griggs, who was our chairman, has moved to Arnside, and Nick has had enough, but we ran it successfully like that for 20 years. You can’t get people like that, and I have been explaining to the league for the past 10 or 15 years that each club is different.”

Andrew added: “We have always been a friendly, family club, but if the friends and family don’t play then it all just disintegrates.

“If there were a few more people being supportive, such as organising scorers, doing the scoring, going to meetings, doing wickets, raising money, putting the scorebox up etc then it would have been better.

“Clubs are going to just rent a ground now for £100 and have nothing to do with anything else to do with the running of a club.”

Les, who has been club secretary for 46 years, added: “We are financially sound as a club, which is a lot down to friends and family who have money, and me being prudent with that money, while the guys who are playing are absolutely fine.

“All of our registered players will become free agents.”

As for what will happen with the ground, negotiations are at an advanced stage with a club that want to play at the ground who will take over all of the responsibility for its upkeep.

Haworth Road Meths were formed around 1950, joining the Bradford Mutual Sunday School League and initially playing adjacent to Bradford Salem RUFC in Heaton (at a ground that was sold in 1968 to become part of the Shay Estate).

In 1971, Meths moved to the CF Taylor’s Ground at Baildon Bottom, which has been their home ever since, and they won Group C and Group B of the Mutual League that decade, winning the Sir James Roberts Cup (for first XIs) in 1980 at Park Avenue.

Having finished as runners-up in Group A of the Mutual League, Meths joined the Bradford Central League, where they stayed for 20 years - two years in Division Two and the rest in Division One, holding their own against the likes of Woodlands, Buttershaw St Paul’s, Jer Lane, Harden, Bolton Villas, Thackley, Fields and Bingley Congs.

Meths’ second XI won Division Two and Division One, also winning the Thrippleton Cup for second XIs) in both 1986 and 2001, while their first XI were twice runners-up in the Waddilove Trophy (for first XIs) and usually finished in a respectable position in Division One.

In 2004, Meths joined the Craven League, winning Division Two in Andy Gudgeon’s first year as first XI captain in 2008.

They have often finished in the top three in Division One, winning the Wynn Cup (for first XIs) in 2012.

Meths’ second XI have appeared in the Cowling Cup final (second XIs) several times, but, even more notably, won Division Two in 2019, which featured many first XIs.

Advancing years of players led to Meths discarding their successful second XI - they last played a full league season in 2019 - while the club played in the Bradford & District Evening League from 1978-2015, winning Division Two twice and Division One.

Meths are the tenth club to leave the Craven League since the end of the 2013 season, but only the fourth club to fold after Haworth West End (2015), Ingrow St John’s, who packed in after winning the league in 2017, and Sandy Lane (2018).

However, four clubs have joined the league in that time.