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The East Lancashire Paper Mill (ELPM) was the first limited paper mill to be founded in Lancashire Cricket Club started out as the cricket section of the ELPM recreation club which allowed workers from the mill and opportunity to explore their leisure interests.

A lane passes east west through the site, which was called ‘The Green’ at this time and later became Church Street. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the 1843 plan is the line of the original Roman Road, which runs north/south through the site on the line of Croft Lane. Historically there were seven lodges of which the five largest remain (although they are currently being drained). The area between the lodges was originally used for filter beds but in the early 20th century became a cricket pitch connected to the works.

Historical Pictures

Old Club Documents

Snippets of Club History

· The cricket club have played in a number of different leagues including the Bolton and District Association, Saddleworth league, North Manchester Cricket League.

· It was not before the club decided that they should be able to enjoy a pint or two after matches and so from 1935 they applied for a licence.

· Players didn’t own their own equipment and so the club bought for the 1935 season 1 bag, 2 bats, 1 ball (for practicing), 2 pairs batting gloves, 2 pairs of batting pads and 1 bag of balls. The scorer was paid extra for away matches as they had to ensure the safe return of the equipment bag.

· The first professional at the club was G Smith in 1936, 1937 and this was funded by Mr John Seddon

· Season tickets introduced at 3/6d for men and 2/-d for women

· The club played a number of friendly matches against Radcliffe C.C., Little Lever, Bolton C.C., Bury C.C., Stand C.C. and Worsley C.C.

· Playing subscriptions were in force by the 1939 season and anyone not paying 3/6d before the end of May did not play ! (sound familiar Nigel?).

· 1939 Mr John Seddon succeeded the late C.R. Seddon as club president.

· 1940 Bar business was booming so the club opened a bank account with Martins Bank Ltd

· 1940 with the start of the war Mr Leslie Prestwich was appointed deputy secretary with the view to taking over the role of current secretary Mr Allen Openshaw (not Oppy, could you imagine his as secretary!) when he was called up for service with H.M. Forces.

· H.M. force could be admitted to cricket matches for 2d 1941.

· 1941 Champions

· Ordered taxis to take players to away matches 1942

· Ladies allowed to be elected members at a subscription of 1/-d year. This allowed them to use the club on Saturday evenings & social evenings & use of the bowling green.

· Friendly with an Army XI (based at Lowercroft) on Sunday 31^st May 1942.

· Difficult to get hold of any cricket gear so players had to repair before ordering any new 1942

· 18^th August 1942 – Bar committee won vote to have pumps in the bar as it was thought “this would keep the beer in better condition”.

· 25^th May 1943 – RAF Heaton park applied for a friendly cricket match.

· Charity match with Royal British legion Radcliffe branch with proceeds going to the Legion Cigarette Fund and the Bury infirmary.

· Club practices were held on Tuesd and Thurs and only players with correct footwear be allowed to practice and the practice should be carried out “in an orderly manner”.

· 1944 champions

· Mill closed in 2000

Archive: Press Coverage

5^th September 2003

Cricket: Stand up for the Champions

THE champagne flowed at Croft Lane as the Millers picked up the four points needed to secure the Division One title. A reasonable sized crowd saw the Papermakers cruise home by 161 runs in a match, that as a contest, was over by mid-afternoon as ELPM, having been inserted, racked up a mammoth score of 306-6. Springhead soon had Franny Daly dropped on nought and he made a further 19 before he was caught with the score on 31. Joe Shiels (84) and James Wade (109) then embarked on a magnificent partnership of 193 as the Springhead bowlers were flayed to all parts of the ground. Both were out with the score on 224 - Shiels being runout by a direct hit from the boundary and Wade bowled, having hit a massive nine sixes in his century. Ian Wade and Gareth Young soon went but Savage, batting like a man possessed, blasted a rapid 44 of which 38 came in boundaries. He was bowled with the score on 288 and Dave Woodward and Paul Hewart combined to push the team past the 300 mark. Hewart (2-26) and Alan Openshaw bowled tightly, which resulted in Springhead making no attempt to pass the target. Only the weather seemed a problem as the dark clouds rolled in and Savage had to be removed form the attack because he was too fast for the conditions. As the weather brightened, so did Springhead and a late onslaught from Keith Lees (59*) saw them through.

28^th May 2004

Cricket: Millers get winning habit at last

ELPM finally gained their first North Manchester League win of the season as the comfortably defeated Glodwick by nine wickets. The Millers began well with Paul Hewart taking three early wickets which reduced the visitors to 18 for 3. Khan (62) blasted away and aided by Parkinson (23) took the score to 102. This signalled a major collapse as Berry rampaged through the middle and lower order taking 4 for 18, aided by Steven Dalton (2 for 23), Glodwick capitulated to 125 all out. In reply, Joe Shiels went early but with Andrew McCheyne (29 not out) anchoring the innings and Gareth Young (62 not out) providing the attacking edge with ten boundaries, their 113 partnership saw ELPM cruise to victory with 17 overs remaining.

13^th August 2004

Cricket: Millmen shock leaders

ELPM successfully played their `get out of jail' card in their match against North Manchester League Division One leaders Rochdale Catholic Club. Ten men Rochdale suffered only their second defeat of the season and it was a morale boosting win for the Millers, who face Rochdale in the cup final at the end of August. It was ELPM's four young guns who collectively won the match for the Millers, in a game that twisted and turned. Franny Daly (25) and Albert McCheyne (7), put on 40 in the first eight overs but then the wheels fell off as the Millers collapsed to 72-8. Enter teenager Carl Greaves, a late replacement, with a top score of 11, who proceded to change the course of the match as he smashed the bowling to all parts of the ground. At the other end, veteran Dave Woodward skilfully held his end up before he was LBW for 13 with the score on 116. Enter masters' degree student, Mark Robinson, top score of 6 this season, who played a blinder to reach 18 not out, and in a further seven overs the last pair added a priceless 27 runs, before Greaves was caught behind for 33, with the score on 143. Paul Hewart struck with the first ball of the innings and then he had the dangerous Mulkeen caught by McCheyne for 11, with the score on 16. Simon Carr bowled his allotted seven over spell for only 15 runs. Rochdale posted a recovery to reach 94-3 before young pace bowler Steven Dalton embarked on the spell of his short career. In the baking sun, he reeled off a ten-and-a-half over spell which ripped the heart out of Rochdale's middle order and picked up his first five wicket haul (5-27), as Rochdale crumbled to 110 all out.

The second team continued their hunt for the league championship with a 5 wicket win over Rochdale Catholic Club. On an excellent batting track, Rochdale were restricted to 170-6 with skipper Mark Kilcoyne (injured again in taking his only catch of the season) wheeling out sexagenaran Alan Openshaw, who took 3-51 in a sustained spell of fifteen overs. In reply, Mike Hodson (48) and Phil Partington put on 81 before Hodson was out. Partington was eventually out fifteen runs short of a second successive hundred. Paul Smith 23 not out ended the match with a six.

The previous Sunday, the Millers reached the Calverley Cup Final with an easy 92 runs win over Westleigh Meths. Ian Wade (71), Franny Daly (32) and Steven Dalton (28 not out) were the main contributors in a score of 194-9. In reply, Westleigh reached 89-5 before collapsing to 102 all out. Wickets were shared with Ian Wade taking three, Paul Hewart, Simon Carr and Andy Berry taking two each and off-spinner James Wade ended the match as Mark Robinson completed a stumping.

12^th May 2005

Site Electrical North Manchester Cricket League

SUNDAY saw ELPM progress to the second round of the cup after they defeated Elton Vale by four wickets. The bowlers put together a series of good spells which saw Vale collapse from 65-2 to 93-8. A flurry of runs from Ashfaq 22 which included three sixes, saw the total to 136. All the bowlers chipped in with Steve Dalton 3-29 ,Steve Keyworth 2-27 and Mike Hodson 2-22 the main wicket-takers. In reply, steady partnerships throughout the innings saw the Millers home. Skipper Joe Shiels top scored with 35. Ian Wade surprised everyone by batting sensibly until a brute of a ball reared up and he was caught for 24. It was left to Mike Hodson 28 not out to see the team safely home with seven overs remaining.

Saturday's match with Rochdalians saw the Millers lose off the last ball, having once again thrown away a winning position. In a match reduced to 30 overs, ELPM scored 151-9 with Shiels 45 and James Wade 44. Phil Partington added a quickfire 17 not out, including two sixes to see the team to a reasonable total. Poor bowling was again ELPM's downfall. The early work had left Rochdalians with a 100 required off 12 overs. At one stage Rochdalians were 115-8, but Kamran (23 not out) and Rauf (15 not out) took the score to 149-8 with one over left. Simon Carr (3-36) bowled an excellent over with only one run off the fourth ball and nothing off the fifth. The sixth ball was missed but keeper Mark Robinson missed the stumps as they scamped a bye. On the Sunday, Marcus Young led the 3rd team to an eight wicket win against Walshaw in their first match of the season.

13^th June 2005

Robinson leads Millers to narrow win

YOUNG stand-in skipper Mark Robinson played a real captain's innings as he guided ELPM to a one wicket win over last year's champions, Rochdale Catholic Club. On a poor pitch dominated by the bowlers, a third of the overs were maidens. ELPM won the toss and inserted RCC. Simon Carr 3-5, Paul Hewart 3-14 and Mike Hodson 3-21 dismissed RCC for 62 in 32 overs, with Robinson taking four catches. In reply Franny Daly top-scored with 26 as he guided the team to 40-3 before he was caught and the wheels began to fall off. Tayab ripped through the middle order to see ELPM on 47-7 and then 52-9. Last pair Robinson and Hewart took a single apiece and then Robinson hit Kahn for six. Hewart scrambled a leg bye off Tayab and three balls later Robinson hit the winning four. With three wins under his belt, Robinson hands back the captaincy to Joe Shiels, who now has a lot to live up to.

The second team's game with RCC was abandoned after a number of rain interruptions. ELPM's score of 127-6 was mainly due to Gavin Greaves' unbeaten 40. He and Andrew Berry put on 56 for the seventh wicket. In reply, CC were 80-2. On Sunday the team progressed to the cup semi-final with a comfortable eight wicket win over Prestwich. Paul Hewart's 5-8 off eight overs destroyed the top order batting and with Andrew Berry's 2-28 they reduced Prestwich to 39-7. Boyle, 31*, guided the team to 102 but Matthew Partington with 2-24 finished the innings with a slower ball which West missed and dad Phil completed the stumping. In reply, Kevin Hocking's miserable season continued as he was plumb lbw for one. Acting skipper Gavin Greaves struggled to get going and was flummoxed by a 13-year-old leggie and dollied a catch to mid-wicket for four, with the score on 31. Phil Partington and Steve Keyworth hit the remaining 75 runs off 10 overs. Partington scored 43no with six boundaries, and Keyworth's assault resulted in four sixes and six fours in his 54no.

26^th August 2005

Cricket: Seconds battling in relegation well

ELPM's second team's rearguard action to avoid relegation continued as they beat fellow strugglers Roe Green, five points ahead of them in the league, by 9 wickets. Skipper Mark Kilcoyne lost the toss and Roe Green batted. Steve Keyworth got the early breakthrough as Gerald Moore took a tricky catch. Keyworth and Alan Openshaw restricted Roe Green to 61-5 off the first 26 overs but as the wicket eased, ELPM were unable to complete the breakthrough as Roe Green came back to finish on 159-7, and secure a point. Keyworth bowled throughout the innings; taking 5-57 off 22 overs. An inexperienced Roe Green bowling attack were put to the sword by Phil Partington and Nigel Warne. After one or two early escapes, the two openers put on 138 in 27 overs before Partington was bowled for 72. Three overs later, the match was over, but not before Andrew McCheyne was roughed up by the opening bowler. He survived to hit the winning runs and Warne ended on 70 not out.