Huge crowds turned out to watch Michael Holding play at Blackburn Road in 1981 – and to enjoy the club’s late bar From Sticky Dogs and Stardust – The Second Innings From Sticky Dogs and Stardust – The Second Innings decided to retire on the eve of the season calling the hiring of Roberts by Haslingden and Holding “a retrograde step” – this in a league with a lineage of West Indian speedsters (not to mention Ray Lindwall Frank Tyson and others) running from Learie Constantine and Manny Martindale through Roy Gilchrist en route to a league-record 144 wickets for Burnley was rumoured to have sent 37 people to hospital When Rishton played them in the Worsley Cup final that year a jar of laxative tablets was found in their dressing room which they promptly launched out of the window before going on to win the game “I just don’t fancy playing against bowlers such as Holding and Roberts,” Bell told the Lancashire Telegraph “I will be getting married in the summer and I have other responsibilities in addition to playing cricket I want to feel that I will be at work every Monday morning in a fit condition.” It’s fair to say there were a few nerves jangling about on Easter Sunday – a few prayers as Ramsbottom opener Peter Ashworth scratched out his guard and looked up into the distance to see the lean and mean 27-year-old Jamaican standing at the top of his run and preparing to send down his first ball in Lancashire League cricket a police sergeant in Bury who had knocked off from his night shift at 5am Michael Holding And police sergeant Michael Everett in Holding’s first match for Lancashire club Rishton Photograph: ANL/ShutterstockAdding to the air of anxiety was the Ramsbottom committee’s unprecedented investment in three brand new which could either be seen as confidence-building tools or as starkly tactile reminders of the impending physical jeopardy The procurement of these various bone protectors formed the main through-line in Saturday’s Rossendale Free Press – the weekly newspaper covering Rammy Rawtenstall and Bacup – which ran its preview under the headline: “Enter the Tin-Hat Brigade.” After noting the purchase of the new £50 helmets the correspondent observed: “There will be a number of well concealed chest and thigh pads among equipment Some players could find it difficult just walking to the crease to be fair to these world-class cricketers let’s just give them a chance to get on with the job that they’re being paid (handsomely) to do players of their calibre have no need to stoop to any intimidatory tactics Flying deliveries won’t get many wickets but they could result in one or two sore heads keep a close watch on the situation.” The tone was wary – the fears and pre-emptive bargaining of a village that had spotted hordes of barbarian invaders on the horizon Holding had been playing the final day of the Jamaica Test in 32C heat He flew into London with the England squad on the Friday from where he was collected the next day by Wilf Woodhouse owner of a shop on Rishton High Street that rented TVs and top-loading video recorders coaxing Holding to the village for a summer’s work when he was near the top of many counties’ shopping lists Woodhouse had approached his man during the previous summer’s Old Trafford Test, impressing with his passion and energy, as Holding would later recount in his autobiography No Holding Back: “Wilf was very enthusiastic; I liked that He told me that the standard of cricket was good and I would not find it a chore He said that Rishton would pay me £5,000 for the summer why not?” Holding left his job in the Central Data Processing Unit of the Jamaican government and took his “first venture into professional cricket outside West Indies” Woodhouse would also loan Holding to Lancashire for what turned out to be seven first-class and seven List A matches that summer only for him to return to Jamaica to complete his degree and would pay Rishton a fee for his services as well as provide insurance coverage should he pick up an injury on county duty – although the chances of this were diminished by having his West Indies skipper The loan fee wasn’t the only benefit of the arrangement was carrying over a troublesome shoulder injury from the previous summer and as a deal-sweetener he would receive treatment from the Lancashire physio When Woodhouse and Holding pulled on to Rishton’s Blackburn Road ground that Sunday lunchtime there were already around 2,000 spectators there the biggest crowd since the days of Hall and Griffith almost 20 years earlier and 10 times the average of the previous few seasons this was the fastest bowler in the world – an action that was pure liquid the most sublime cricketing spectacle of the age – and he was at the peak of his powers “We’ll need a lot of meat and potato pie nights to pay for yon lad,” observed one Rishton ultra. The pie consumption might have been connected to the nippy April weather, a chilly 12C, with spectators hunkered under blankets, which wasn’t the case at Sabina Park earlier in the week. Read moreRishton lost the toss and Rammy opted not to get stuck straight into the batting hoping the temperature might drop another muscle-stiffening degree or two before their turn came The pitch had spent three Sisyphean weeks under covers and the winds were biting but the hum of excitement could not be muffled the home side’s batting was unable to rise to the challenge of the grand tour’s opening night and Holding’s 26 – featuring one six out of the ground which became something of a motif – was the top score in a disappointing effort a private in the Royal Transportation Corps in Hull back home on leave for the weekend and fresh from football in the morning Rishton subsided from 98 for five to 108 all out “He did not start his run-up across the main road or on Rishton Station as some comedians in the clubhouse had suggested,” observed the Lancashire Telegraph “He took 17 giant strides from the sightscreen and several times tried a shorter run.” Peter Ashworth survived physically intact but contributed just three to a run-chase in which Holding’s figures after an eight-over opening burst – four off the longer run – were none for 21 The Sunday People described him as “hampered by jet-lag and stiffness from his winter chore of cleaning out Boycott and Gooch.” Sergeant Everett had told the Guardian that his aim was simply to “pick up one four off the meat of the bat” and this he did as he and Mark Price took the score to 58 for one before the latter was run out for 23 by a direct hit from Holding at cover At 70 for two the game looked as good as won but Holding returned to clean up Everett up for a valiant 30 made over what he called “90 wonderful minutes” and at the cost of one thumbnail Holding had needed 70 deliveries to take his first Lancashire League wicket and when it came he raised his hands to the heavens in salutation Michael Holding hits out for Rishton where the vast majority of his runs would come in sixes Photograph: Courtesy of Rishton CCRuns thereafter were dragged from the depths of Rammy’s doggedness and despite a wobble from 93 for four to 94 for seven Maurice Haslam struck the winning four off Mikey a moment taking pride of place on the mental mantelpiece was never vicious,” reported the Lancashire Telegraph “He bowled fairly and won respect and admiration when he did not allow the pressure to drive him to send down bumpers.” Price reflected on “the best day of my cricketing life” (there are 23s and 23s) while Everett told the Bolton News: “It is something you cannot describe I set my stall out just to survive and help the team win When I first went out my nerves were really bad but once at the wicket I just concentrated on batting particularly early on.” Nippy indeed – though not as nippy as he might have been had it not been quite so nippy – Mikey had finished with three for 48 on a wicket lacking the zip of Bridgetown the Sunday People was having none of the “respect and admiration” stuff a rhetorical flurry that was as much projection as reporting: “Rishton wants to win something after three years of finishing among the bridesmaids That’s why Holding is being paid nearly £200 a match That’s why the ground was packed for his debut They won’t be coming back if he insists on being the first gentleman of speed They want someone pinned to the sightscreen And somewhere in his engagement of 26 matches Holding will feel obliged to satisfy them.” Whether Holding would crank things up and/or abandon his full length as circumstances (and conditions) changed was a question for down the track if anyone thought having the world’s quickest bowler in Rishton’s ranks would simply mean other teams folding Rammy had shown them to be sorely mistaken not least because the league was littered with international pros including five players who would take part in the World Cup final a couple of years later there was Lowerhouse’s Mohinder Amarnath (player of the match Enfield’s Madan Lal (a trophy in each of his first three seasons at Dill Hall Lane who sat at No 4 in the ICC bowling rankings Those illustrious West Indian sleeves would need to be rolled up This is an extract from Sticky Dogs and Stardust – The Second Innings Sign our campaign for a grant funding review Together Housing manages more than 36,000 homes across the North of England The Alderley Group has lodged an application with Hyndburn Council for permission to build affordable properties on a brownfield site will be responsible for managing the 30 homes Agent Euan Kellie Property Solutions applied on behalf of The Alderley Group while BTP Architects has been charged with the design the almost two-acre site is currently empty The housing mix consists of 16 two-bed homes and 14 three-bed homes – each home is intended to house four people which will reflect the town’s housing needs with 60 car parking spaces provided to the development The project team includes TBA Landscape Architects use the reference PP-13260502 on Hyndburn Council’s planning portal Read our comments policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The problem with Accrington and its surrounding towns is that they are building all these houses the government is bashing these housing targets on us yet Accrington Victoria hospital has just announced its closure the towns police station is just a desk in a shop while Rishton and the towns around it have no presence Huge employers like Studio have intending on leaving and jobs are for those willing to commute All towns in the area except maybe Great Harwood have little to no shops with just people loitering and open criminality Lets not forget the soulless new builds with no British traditionalism or character that will probably last 50 years The Accrington Victoria is closing due to the dangerous state of the building The services inc the MIU are being relocated within the town Some of these will be in the Accrington Pals PCC Do no developers ever give a damn about aesthetics This is a perfect example of why people don’t want development near them; who wants to look at this? There is now the requirement in LURA 2023 for mandatory design codes though so that should iron out the worst of this sort of thing The housebuilder has secured approval for a 50-home sustainable scheme in Edenfield after the eight-acre plot was acquired from Peel Land A long-held ambition to relocate Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s headquarters from Fulwood is part of plans to overhaul the leadership and development centre at Euxton Register for free North West property intelligence Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Join more than 13,000 property professionals and sign up to receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox By subscribing, you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" The upgrade is to ensure it remains resilient to climate change By NOTICEBOARD · 1 March 2025 An East Lancashire reservoir which provides a vital supply of water to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, will shortly undergo a £3m upgrade to ensure it remains resilient to climate change Funds to carry out the works at Rishton Reservoir (pictured above), near Rishton, have been raised by the Canal & River Trust, the charity that looks after the nation’s 250-year-old canal network Built around 1829, by canal company engineer James Fletcher, the supply of water from Rishton Reservoir is important to keep boats navigating on the canal, and to sustain the wildlife which today lives in and along the trans-Pennine former trade route and are due to be completed by the end of the year The project will involve essential maintenance to strengthen the reservoir and an increase in the capacity of the spillway to enable it to hold more water run-off in storm events New access bridges will be installed as well as a new and improved access track to the site During the construction phase the water levels in the reservoir will be reduced to facilitate the work North West director at Canal & River Trust needs ongoing maintenance and upgrading to meet present day standards “The £3m works are necessary to ensure the reservoir can be used for many years to come, supplying the Leeds and Liverpool Canal with water so it can continue to be a vital habitat for nature as well as safeguarding the local communities.” The Canal & River Trust’s reservoirs store the water which keeps the canals topped up throughout the year The charity manages 71 large reservoirs - some of the oldest in the country and among the oldest of their type in the world or for those who visit the towpath to spend time by water Many people enjoy the reservoirs themselves for sailing A significant programme of investment in these reservoirs is underway to make sure they stay resilient to climate change and comply with the strict legislation that applies to all large reservoirs To find out more about the work of the Canal & River Trust, including how you can support it through volunteering or making a donation go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk LoadingDaily Email Updates {{contentTitle}}