History of the club
The cricket club was formed in 1947 by a number of ex-servicemen whose previous clubs had either disappeared or ceased to function during World War 2.
Their first task was to find a suitable piece of land and eventually they discovered the field at Brooks Drive. The owner, Mr John Nicholls, agreed for it to be turned into a cricket ground for a "peppercorn" rent and a great deal of work then took place to get it fit for cricket.
The players found a little wooden pavilion at a defunct club in Helsby near Chester and transported it to Brooks Drive and games were then able to be played at home as from 1948. All matches the previous year had been played away.
Fund raising activities took place, wives and girl friends joining in. Those were the days when people were only too happy to get involved and dances and dinners were enjoyed by all. Maybe it was the aftermath of the war years but there did appear to be much more of a community spirit in those days.
The club had some fine players back then, Jim Luckett, Tom Naylor, Gordon Jones, Norman Brierley to name but a few and the cricket was good and enjoyable.
As league cricket became more firmly established around the country, the club became one of the founder members of the Cheshire Cricket League in 1974. This was the first properly constituted league in the county and started with 14 clubs playing in one division. More clubs quickly joined and 2 divisions were formed in 1977.
Although we had an excellent First Eleven then, for some reason we never quite put it together and championship honours always eluded us. Maybe we were too busy enjoying ourselves to acquire that "killer punch" needed!
It was not until 1993 that we won a Championship, the 2nd XI taking the title that season. However, this showed the 1st XI the way and we won the First Eleven Championship the following year and also again in 1996. Victory in the League Cup came in the intervening season and so it can be said that the mid 90‘s were the club's most successful in terms of pots won.
In the meantime the Cheshire County League was in the process of expanding to three divisions as part of the plan to bring a pyramid structure to league cricket within the county and in 1997 Hale Barns CC moved up into that league. The cricket was tougher but all in all the players enjoyed the higher standard and longer matches of 100 overs. After 5 decent years a poor run of results saw the club move back down into the Cheshire League.
HBCC runs 3 senior league teams and we also have a full list of Sunday fixtures as well as several midweek "friendly" matches. Visiting teams include British Columbia from Canada, the XL Club of Great Britain and Cheshire Cats. We also make a tour to Devon each summer, playing 6 matches against local sides. 2003 saw us make our 26th consecutive visit.
The First and Second Elevens both play on Saturdays, the 3rd XI on Sundays. We also operate a Sunday XI with a full fixture list of friendly matches.
We also have a thriving Junior Section of about 80 youngsters. There are three teams playing in the South Manchester Junior League at Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15 levels. Once they reach 16 they are encouraged to progress into the 3rd XI and upwards where the length of game is more suitable for their talents.
Off the field the club has made great strides.
In 1975 the present pavilion was opened, replacing the original wooden one which had gradually fallen into a dilapidated condition through old age.
Various improvements and extensions since then have given the club a building worthy of its status in the area, although ideas for more enhancement are always in the pipeline.
The ground was considerably enlarged a few years ago and a new square laid. We also have excellent car parking facilities following work done in this area a few years ago.
