2 days ago
Bradford cricket club unveils mural inspired by 140-year long history
A MURAL celebrating more than 100 years of a cricket club's history has been unveiled.
Founded in 1905, Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club is home to a pitch once graced by legends of the sport.
Many famous names have been on the Old Lane pitch, including Pakistani legend Mohammed Yousuf and former England Test opener Bill Athey.
Their early 20th century superstars include all-rounder Charles Grimshaw and World War One veteran Fred Root.
The mural at Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club in Bradford honours different generations of players (Image: Newsquest) Beyond its claims to fame, generations of families have played sport at the club.
The club's past, present and future has been brought together in a new mural.
It is welcoming in what it hopes will be a new era for the sport as the club invites more women and people from all backgrounds to play.
Kammy Siddique, first XI Captain and vice chair of the club, said: 'At the start of the season we were looking at how we would celebrate our 140 years as a club. It just felt it was fitting to honour our past, our heritage, and we're on a bit of a crest of a wave in terms of our future stuff.
The mural at Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club (Image: Newsquest) "We wanted to bring that all together.
Describing the process of gathering 140 years worth of information, he said: 'A lot of time on the internet, time spent with some of the past players and patrons from previous years. The big thing was not to lose the history and for a club that's got some older members and volunteers not to lose that.
The mural honours different generations of players (Image: Newsquest) 'We thought we'd honour individuals and make sure they were on the wall.
'What we are is more than a cricket club. We're a community club and that includes many families and people from different backgrounds.
'Aside from cricket we do a food parcels project, we do disabilities sports, we've got womens sessions - there's loads of stuff going on that's away from just the typical men in whites playing on a Saturday.
The mural is unveiled at Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club (Image: Newsquest) 'It's a part of what we do now.
"What I've seen in my personal journey here and being a youth worker, it's a great vehicle for young people to learn discipline, learn about teams and family life, working together."
The club has a womens team, under 18s team including some people who might never have tried cricket, an over 50s team that play at a Yorkshire level, and visually impaired team.
Looking at the future, Kammy said: 'It's somewhere for everyone."
The mural was made possible through funding from The Leap.
