History

FROM the playing fields of Pavor to the green slope of Cricketfield Road, Barton Cricket Club has come a long way since it was formed in 1935.

The club’s founder fathers also took in a spell at Windmill Hill before switching to Cricketfield – hopefully our home for many years to come.

In those long-gone days nets practice was on a concrete strip at the bottom of the field or borrowing those at Audley Park (now Torquay Community College).

And the clubhouse was a little green hut with Double Diamond the main beer and run entirely by volunteers.

The likes of Den ‘Lucko’ Luxton, Cyril Brimicombe and Bill Morgan will never be seen again, although we still have Cliff Bryant, Alf Blakey and ‘Terrible Twins’ Bob and Gerry Meyer.

Regarded as a so-called ‘junior’ club by our bigger neighbours, we made our name on the park in the early days as kings of the knockout cup competition, winning countless Narracott, Brockman and Kendall Meek trophies.

We were also just as successful with the dawning of league cricket in the 1970s under the guise of the Shiphay Manor League with local derbies against St Marychurch, Cockington and Chelston do-or-die affairs. Die if you argued with Roy ‘Chopper’ Horswell!

It was a while before we were invited into the then new Devon League, but it was well worth the wait, winning promotion to the A Division in 1977.

But three years in the top flight was to end in bitter disappointment and relegation back into the B Division.

The setback proved to be a turning in the playing history of the club as the membership decided to become the first club in Devon League history to appoint a professional – with particular emphasis on coaching both young and old.

Enter the Maestro from Lahore, Agha Zahid.

The Pakistani international rejuvenated the club both on and off the field, made friends and gained respect wherever he went.

His impact on playing standards was immediate. The club went on to win championships in 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1989. It became – and still is – the only club to have accomplished the League and Devon Cup double – and twice at that – in 1987 and 1989.

It also lost its ‘junior’ tag to become one of, if not the, top clubs in the county.

The overseas player tradition has been maintained in the past few seasons. Asad Butt helped us to a top five place in the Premier Division a few seasons ago and nobody will argue that our current pro Aqeel Ahmed, back with us for a sixth summer this year, does not have a massive future in the game. Aqeel has become part of the furniture at the club, a member of the Barton family.

An array of overseas players have played for the club since the days of Zahid. They have come from all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and even Wales. Many have stayed in touch, impressed with the famous Barton welcome.

In fact, the sister of one Australian who played here liked it so much she took one of our best young players back Down Under with her and they got married last year. Lee and Sam Elmore are now living in Laverton, just outside Melbourne.

The pros are not just about helping to win games. They have added a new dimension to the club, made our approach to the game more professional. Most important, they coach both young and old.

There was a time when we were frowned upon for employing an overseas player and laughed at for our pre-match warm-ups. Now virtually everybody has a ‘pro’ and the laughing has stopped – they are too busy doing their own exercises.

The 1990s were less kind than the 1980s with a couple of victories in the Devon KO Cup but little success in the League.

For some unknown reason we seemed to be brilliant at grooming up-and-coming young players and then see them end up playing for some of our main rivals. There was little talent coming through.

But that, hopefully, is not the case now.

The colts section was brought back to life 13 years ago with just a handful of kids. Now we play in four divisions of the South Devon Youth League and boast a colts section of more than 100 youngsters aged from around seven to 17. Coaching, led by ECB-qualified coaches, takes place all year round. During the winter the demand this year for coaching has been so strong that we hired out the new sports hall at St Cuthbert Mayne School for the entire winter. During the summer the numbers turning up for our Sunday morning training school have never been so high.

The club and its coaches are also playing a major role in a new initiative being piloted in the Bay this year.

The ‘Chance to Shine’ scheme is all about introducing cricket into state schools. It means we have been sending our coaches into St Cuthbert Mayne, Torquay Community College, Watcombe, Barton, Torre and Queensway primary schools for a 12-week period to provide specialist coaching sessions as part of the curriculum. Hard work, but rewarding.

The club has also become one of the first in South Devon to be awarded Clubmark, an ECB-monitored award which proves that we provide cricket for all in a fun and safe environment.

A vast array of trophies has been bagged by the youngsters over the years, including several South Devon League championships. County cups have also been won at under-15 and 16 levels.

Several of our youngsters have been picked for regional and full Devon teams. Nick Watkin and Adam Parker were lucky enough to be selected for a ground-breaking Devon Youth Cricket Board under-16 tour to South Africa five years ago with Jack Porter following in their footsteps 12 months ago and Tom Whittle a year later. Adam and Aaron Williams returned to Cape Town and the Kruger Park with the Devon team two winters ago as coaches. Well done lads.

More importantly, a large number of the colts have now broken into senior cricket, including the first team and Premier Division games.

Last season’s first XI must have been the youngest in Devon League history with Aaron Williams at the helm for the first time.

Big guns like Andy Pugh and Darren Cowley decided to move on and Aaron was left with a young, raw team whom many tipped for the drop.

But Aaron and the lads did the club proud and finished the season in a comfortable mid-table position. They learned a lot in just one summer and stuck together throughout. They know that this season will be just as hard, if not harder. But, with the likes of Haydn Morgan and Terry Farkins returning home to the club, they are up to the battle ahead. The whole purpose of the colts section is to breed tomorrow’s first team players.

Some regard our youth set-up as the best in the county. Without the youngsters there is no tomorrow and we must strive to make sure they blossom for the sake of the club.

That’s what our entire set-up is all about. Both the club’s first and second teams are now beginning to reap the benefit of our youth policy.

It hasn’t been easy-going all the time, either on or off the field. A brilliant band of volunteers have managed to steer the social side of the club through some stormy waters and now it’s back on an even keel.

Add that kind of dedication to an army of supporters second to none anywhere in the West Country and you have a recipe for success.

Stir in new senior recruits during the winter and add to them the prospect of our Sunday morning kids becoming the Saturday afternoon stars of the future and you have a mouth-watering future.

That’s if we continue to back the younger players and all continue to pull in the right direction in typical Barton style – together. It’s something which every other club in the country envies fiercely.